Download or read book Living in the Shadow of the Ghosts of Grief written by Alan D Wolfelt and published by Companion Press. This book was released on 2007-06-01 with total page 162 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Are you depressed? Anxious? Angry? Do you have trouble with trust and intimacy? Do you feel a lack of meaning and purpose in your life? You may be living in the shadow of the ghosts of grief. When you suffer a loss of any kind—whether through abuse, divorce, job loss, the death of someone loved or other transitions, you naturally grieve inside. To heal your grief, you must express it. That is, you must mourn your grief. If you don't, you will carry your grief into your future, and it will undermine your happiness for the rest of your life. This compassionate guide from one of North America's most beloved grief educators will help you learn to identify and mourn your carried grief so you can go on to live the joyful, whole life you deserve. Embrace your grief and step into the light.

Download or read book Living in the Shadow of the Ghosts of Your Grief written by Alan D. Wolfelt and published by Companion Press. This book was released on 2007-06-01 with total page 162 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Explaining how multitudes of North Americans are carrying the pain of all types of loss—not just the deaths of loved ones but also the loss of a spouse through divorce, children who leave home, and the decline of health as they age or get sick—this balanced resource empowers mourners and grief counselors to turn grief into an experience to be learned from. Defining the varieties of heartache and its consequences, this effective guide explores how to inventory, understand, embrace, and reconcile one's accumulated sorrow through a five-phase "catch-up" mourning process. Readers will learn to use a spiritual and holistic approach to examine and integrate the ignored loss from their pasts, so that they can go on to live fuller, more balanced lives.

Download or read book Grief Cottage written by Gail Godwin and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2017-06-06 with total page 339 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Longlisted for the 2020 Grand Prix de littérature américaine Publishers Weekly Best Books of 2017 (Top 10) Chicago Public Library Best of the Best Books 2017 Indie Next Summer 2018 Pick For Reading Groups The haunting tale of a desolate cottage, and the hair-thin junction between this life and the next, from bestselling National Book Award finalist Gail Godwin. After his mother's death, eleven-year-old Marcus is sent to live on a small South Carolina island with his great aunt, a reclusive painter with a haunted past. Aunt Charlotte, otherwise a woman of few words, points out a ruined cottage, telling Marcus she had visited it regularly after she'd moved there thirty years ago because it matched the ruin of her own life. Eventually she was inspired to take up painting so she could capture its utter desolation. The islanders call it "Grief Cottage," because a boy and his parents disappeared from it during a hurricane fifty years before. Their bodies were never found and the cottage has stood empty ever since. During his lonely hours while Aunt Charlotte is in her studio painting and keeping her demons at bay, Marcus visits the cottage daily, building up his courage by coming ever closer, even after the ghost of the boy who died seems to reveal himself. Full of curiosity and open to the unfamiliar and uncanny given the recent upending of his life, he courts the ghost boy, never certain whether the ghost is friendly or follows some sinister agenda. Grief Cottage is the best sort of ghost story, but it is far more than that--an investigation of grief, remorse, and the memories that haunt us. The power and beauty of this artful novel wash over the reader like the waves on a South Carolina beach.

Download or read book The Mourner s Book of Faith written by Alan D. Wolfelt and published by Companion Press. This book was released on 2013-03-01 with total page 202 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Experiencing the death of a loved one can often lead to questioning or abandoning one’s spirituality, yet in this compassionate book, Dr. Alan Wolfelt explains that the essential need to mourn and question the meaning of life and death is not inconsistent with faith but instead is a reflection of an ongoing and ever-deepening relationship with God. The book explores all types of losses and viewpoints, containing favorite quotations on faith from a variety of religious traditions. It explains that the need to mourn and having faith are not mutually exclusive and are, in fact, both essential components of the journey through grief. This compassionate guide explains how embracing grief can deepen one’s faith and lead to a more meaningful, joyful life.

Download or read book The Mourner s Book of Courage written by Alan D Wolfelt and published by Companion Press. This book was released on 2012-07-01 with total page 202 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Written for those times in grief when the strength to do the hard and necessary work of mourning is waning, this book contains inspiring words about finding the courage deep within to embrace the pain and go on living. Presented in a one-reading-a-day-for-a-month format, it features compassionate writings by grief educator Dr. Alan Wolfelt, as well as quotes on courage from some of the world's greatest thinkers. The Mourner's Book of Courage provides the needed boost to confront grief directly and allow the process of healing to continue.

Download or read book Understanding Your Grief written by Alan D. Wolfelt and published by Companion Press. This book was released on 2004-02-01 with total page 194 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Explaining the important difference between grief and mourning, this book explores every mourner's need to acknowledge death and embrace the pain of loss. Also explored are the many factors that make each person's grief unique and the many normal thoughts and feelings mourners might have. Questions of spirituality and religion are addressed as well. The rights of mourners to be compassionate with themselves, to lean on others for help, and to trust in their ability to heal are upheld. Journaling sections encourage mourners to articulate their unique thoughts and feelings.

Download or read book Healing a Child s Heart After Divorce written by Alan D. Wolfelt and published by Companion Press. This book was released on 2011-04-01 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Addressing the significant loss that divorce represents for children, this caregiving companion makes it possible for adults to guide them through the natural grief that accompanies the experience. Contending that children can continue to thrive if they are shown the way, this sensitive guide provides 100 practical suggestions for supporting them. Aimed at assisting a wide range of adults, the methods presented are ideal not just for parents but for grandparents, teachers, day care workers, counselors, and even coaches who care for and about kids. Enabling grownups with down-to-earth tips, this handbook is essential for helping sons and daughters navigate the inevitable array of confusing thoughts and feelings.

Download or read book In The Shadow Of The Banyan written by Vaddey Ratner and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2012-09-13 with total page 436 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A stunning, powerful debut novel set against the backdrop of the Cambodian War, perfect for fans of Chris Cleave and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie For seven-year-old Raami, the shattering end of childhood begins with the footsteps of her father returning home in the early dawn hours bringing details of the civil war that has overwhelmed the streets of Phnom Penh, Cambodia's capital. Soon the family's world of carefully guarded royal privilege is swept up in the chaos of revolution and forced exodus. Over the next four years, as she endures the deaths of family members, starvation, and brutal forced labour, Raami clings to the only remaining vestige of childhood - the mythical legends and poems told to her by her father. In a climate of systematic violence where memory is sickness and justification for execution, Raami fights for her improbable survival. Displaying the author's extraordinary gift for language, In the Shadow of the Banyanis testament to the transcendent power of narrative and a brilliantly wrought tale of human resilience. 'In the Shadow of the Banyanis one of the most extraordinary and beautiful acts of storytelling I have ever encountered' Chris Cleave, author of The Other Hand 'Ratner is a fearless writer, and the novel explores important themes such as power, the relationship between love and guilt, and class. Most remarkably, it depicts the lives of characters forced to live in extreme circumstances, and investigates how that changes them. To read In the Shadow of the Banyan is to be left with a profound sense of being witness to a tragedy of history' Guardian 'This is an extraordinary debut … as beautiful as it is heartbreaking' Mail on Sunday

Download or read book Reframing PTSD as Traumatic Grief written by Alan D Wolfelt and published by Companion Press. This book was released on 2015-03-01 with total page 186 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An estimated eight percent of Americans are thought to be suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder at any given time. Many are victims of or witnesses to violence. Others have been neglected of abused. Some have experienced a traumatic accident or natural disaster. Still others have experienced the sudden and perhaps violent death of someone they love. No matter the cause, PTSD results in symptoms of acute stress, including anxiety, persistent thoughts or flashbacks, and a host of other physical, emotional, cognitive, social, and spiritual challenges. In this guide for counselors and caregivers, Dr. Alan Wolfelt reframes PTSD as a form of grief. Helping PTSD sufferers mourn their unacknowledged and “carried” grief over the traumatic events that caused their symptoms is the key to helping them heal. Rather than seeking to quickly treat away symptoms of PTSD, caregivers who follow Dr. Wolfelt's “companioning” philosophy will instead see the natural and necessary PTSD symptoms as indications that the sufferer needs additional support and encouragement to express himself. This holistic new approach acknowledges clinical PTSD treatments as part of the solution while emphasizing that authentic mourning is the primary and most essential healer.

Download or read book Life After Trauma written by Dena Rosenbloom and published by Guilford Publications. This book was released on 2015-04-07 with total page 319 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Trauma can turn your world upside down--afterward, nothing may look safe or familiar. This compassionate workbook has already helped tens of thousands of trauma survivors start rebuilding their lives. Full of practical strategies for coping and self-care, the book guides you toward reclaiming a solid sense of safety, self-worth, trust, and control, as well as the capacity to be close to others. The focus is on finding the way forward in your life today, no matter what has happened in the past. The updated second edition has a new section on managing emotions through mindfulness and an appendix on easing the stress of health care visits. Dozens of step-by-step questionnaires and exercises are included; you can download and print additional copies of these tools for repeated use.

Download or read book Companioning the Bereaved written by Alan D Wolfelt and published by Companion Press. This book was released on 2005-03-01 with total page 210 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Renowned author and educator Alan Wolfelt redefines the role of the grief counselor in this guide for caregivers. His new model for "companioning" the bereaved gives a viable alternative to the limitations of the medical establishment, encouraging counselors and other caregivers to aspire to a more compassionate philosophy. This approach argues that grief need no longer be defined, diagnosed, and treated as an illness but rather should be an acknowledgement of an event that forever changes a person's worldview. Through careful listening and observation, the caregiver learns to support mourners and help them help themselves heal.

Download or read book Understanding Your Suicide Grief written by Alan D. Wolfelt and published by Companion Press. This book was released on 2009-08-01 with total page 242 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For anyone who has experienced the suicide of a loved one, coworker, neighbor, or acquaintance and is seeking information about coping with such a profound loss, this compassionate guide explores the unique responses inherent to their grief. Using the metaphor of the wilderness, the book introduces 10 touchstones to assist the survivor in this naturally complicated and particularly painful journey. The touchstones include opening to the presence of loss, embracing the uniqueness of grief, understanding the six needs of mourning, reaching out for help, and seeking reconciliation over resolution. Learning to identify and rely on each of these touchstones will bring about hope and healing.

Download or read book The Truth About Grief written by Ruth Davis Konigsberg and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2011-01-04 with total page 274 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The five stages of grief are so deeply imbedded in our culture that no American can escape them. Every time we experience loss—a personal or national one—we hear them recited: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. The stages are invoked to explain everything from how we will recover from the death of a loved one to a sudden environmental catastrophe or to the trading away of a basketball star. But the stunning fact is that there is no validity to the stages that were proposed by psychiatrist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross more than forty years ago. In The Truth About Grief, Ruth Davis Konigsberg shows how the five stages were based on no science but nonetheless became national myth. She explains that current research paints a completely different picture of how we actually grieve. It turns out people are pretty well programmed to get over loss. Grieving should not be a strictly regimented process, she argues; nor is the best remedy for pain always to examine it or express it at great length. The strength of Konigsberg’s message is its liberating force: there is no manual to grieving; you can do it freestyle. In the course of clarifying our picture of grief, Konigsberg tells its history, revealing how social and cultural forces have shaped our approach to loss from the Gettysburg Address through 9/11. She examines how the American version of grief has spread to the rest of the world and contrasts it with the interpretations of other cultures—like the Chinese, who focus more on their bond with the deceased than on the emotional impact of bereavement. Konigsberg also offers a close look at Kübler-Ross herself: who she borrowed from to come up with her theory, and how she went from being a pioneering psychiatrist to a New Age healer who sought the guidance of two spirits named Salem and Pedro and declared that death did not exist. Deeply researched and provocative, The Truth About Grief draws on history, culture, and science to upend our country’s most entrenched beliefs about its most common experience.

Download or read book Healing Your Grief When Disaster Strikes written by Alan D. Wolfelt and published by Companion Press. This book was released on 2014-04-01 with total page 130 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When your family, neighborhood, city, or area of the country is affected by a natural disaster, it’s normal and necessary to feel grief and the traumatic experience of actually witnessing and surviving the event may be consuming you. This book will help you understand and embrace your difficult thoughts and feelings. It will be a compassionate companion to you as you move through shock and numbness and struggle with ongoing grief symptoms such as fear, guilt, and sadness. Some of the 100 ideas explain the basic principles of grief and mourning and how they apply in the aftermath of a natural disaster, while others offer immediate, here-and-now suggestions of things you can do today to express your grief and live with meaning in each moment.

Download or read book The Anger of Grief written by Alan D Wolfelt and published by Companion Press. This book was released on 2022-05-01 with total page 71 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Anger in grief is natural. It's normal to feel anger and other explosive emotions such as hate, blame, terror, resentment, rage, and jealousy after the death of someone you love or another significant life loss. Yet it's challenging to experience these feelings day after day. And it can be hard knowing what to do about them. Allowing them to seethe and build up inside you is not the answer. Neither is lashing out at people who care about you. This book will show you how to understand and express your anger and other explosive emotions in restorative ways. Learning to be with your anger and soothe it will not only help you on your healing journey in grief, it will also give you tools for living the remainder of your days with less suffering and more joy. If you are angry, let us begin.

Download or read book When Grief Is Complicated written by Dr. Alan Wolfelt and published by Companion Press. This book was released on 2018-03-01 with total page 177 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: After a significant loss, grief is normal and necessary. But sometimes a mourner's grief becomes naturally heightened, stuck, or made more complex by especially difficult circumstances, such as suicide, homicide, or multiple losses within a short time period. This is called “complicated grief.” In this primer by one of the world's most respected grief educators, Dr. Wolfelt helps caregivers understand the various factors that often contribute to complicated grief. He presents a model for identifying complicated grief symptoms and, through real-life examples, offers guidance for companioning mourners through their challenging grief journeys. This book rounds out Dr. Wolfelt's resources on the companioning philosophy of grief care, making it an essential addition to your professional library.

Download or read book The PTSD Solution written by Alan D. Wolfelt and published by Companion Press. This book was released on 2015-10-01 with total page 171 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A new approach to understanding PTSD as a form of grief rather than a medical disorder Have you ever felt that something essential was missing from your post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) treatment options? If you suffer from PTSD, you know the problem is complex, but what you probably don't know—and what the medical establishment isn't telling you—is that post-traumatic stress is not fundamentally a medical disorder but rather a form of grief. Your body, mind, and soul experienced tremendous loss, and to fully integrate the many losses into your ongoing life, you must explore and express your necessary grief. In other words, you must mourn. This groundbreaking book reveals a new approach to understanding PTSD and its debilitating symptoms. With compassion and insight, it affirms the nature and severity of your experience while providing you with a step-by-step plan to transcend it. A full review of traditional medical treatments for PTSD are presented and included as part of the healing plan. Whether your PTSD is severe or more subtle, whether your traumatic experience was recent or in the distant past, this book unlocks the secret that will finally allow you to once again live and love fully.