Two Books on Grief to Help You Find Your Way and Live Again

Two books on dealing with grief showed up in my mailbox last week. "Solace" by Roberta Temes and "Life Between Falls" by Julie Lange. While it may have been a coincidence that I got them at the same time, it was fortuitous nonetheless. The two books take very different approaches for helping the reader deal with painful losses with the result that they are perfect complements to each other. I strongly recommend that those interested in the topic consider them a set.

"Life Between The Falls" is a 'personal travelogue' of the author's pain and eventual recovery has she dealt with the shocking loss of her teenage son followed by the deaths of her father and grandfather. Lange makes it very clear that she "holds no advanced degrees and is not a nationally known expert on anything at all." In other words she's just like us. And after three family deaths she decides to share the story of her healing journey.

Dr. Temes's "Solace" is more of a "how to" deal with the loss of a loved one and draws on Temes' work as a psychotherapist and lecturer on bereavement. Even though every loss is different and no one can tell you exactly how you will feel or what you should do, "Solace" is an outstanding guide through the different stages of grief. Temes addresses the various options of help (bereavement groups, counselors, visualization techniques and others).

No book can take the pain away of the loss of a loved one and grief is natural. But prolonged grief should not be allowed to keep the living from getting on with their lives. Both of the above books do a good job of providing information and comfort at a very difficult time.

Amazon Links:

Life Between Falls: A Travelogue Through Grief and the Unexpected

Solace: Finding Your Way Through Grief and Learning to Live Again