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Tuesday, February 27, 2018

Grief Works: Stories of Life, Death, and Surviviing

By Julia Samuel


Scribner     2017
261 pages     Spiritual
The Shortlist

Grief Works by Julia Samuel is a profound look at the process of grief. Samuel is a grief counselor, and the help she offers comes from the stories of the grieving people she has met. Her approach is to listen and offer guidance only when necessary. In explaining grief, she makes a provocative statement that has stayed with me. “The process is in the movement—the back and forth—between the loss and restoration. Sadness, tears, yearning, and preoccupation with the person who has died alternate with present-day tasks, functioning, having hope for the future, and having a break from the grief.”

Samuel tells stories and imparts the knowledge she has gained in dealing with grief in several categories: when a partner dies; when a parent dies; when a sibling dies; when a child dies; and when we face our own death. The conclusion of the book talks about how we can help those who are grieving around us.

This book came to me at an appropriate time. In the last month, we have lost two people close to us—a dear and long-term friend, and the grandfather to several of our grandchildren. One loss was abrupt and unexpected, while the other was prolonged and anticipated. Then today, a notice came that the husband of a friend was killed in an automobile accident. It reminded me that death is always with us, and we need to be always ready to practice empathy with those who are suffering.

Because of my age, I suppose, I read with interest the stories about facing your own death. They were helpful and enlightening. I recommend this book to anyone, because neither we, nor the people around us, can escape death. Reading Grief Works can serve as a reminder that grief and love go hand in hand.

Julia Samuel is a British grief counselor, and a good friend of Princess Diana and the royal family. Grief Works was published in Britain last year and is now available in the US.






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