16 Best Books About Grief For Surviving The Holidays

With the holidays approaching grief can be difficult to navigate and discuss with others, right? It’s not a one size fits all category because everyone handles grief in their way. It’s a personal journey that everyone must face on this side of Heaven. The thing to keep in mind, is there are resources to help you. So, that being said what are some of the best books about grief at Christmas?

My church recently had group counseling on grief led by one of our Pastors. The title of the session was Surviving the Holidays. The room was filled with people who have lost loved ones recently.

How Do You Get Through The First Holiday Without Loved One?

In all honesty, keeping it real, for me, the only answer is drawing on God’s strength, not my own. The holidays are gonna be different this year. I lost my Mama on August 19, my baby brother on September 4, and 2 ex-in-laws on the same day which was September 16.

Have you lost a loved one this year? I want you to know that your ONE true source of strength will come from God alone. Preaching to myself here as well.

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Hope For Grief: A Grief And Loss Collaboration

God has placed on my heart to start a series titled, (Hope For Grief: A Grief And Loss Collaboration) that will run for a couple of months from various contributors. I truly feel in my heart and soul God is going to use the loss resources to not only heal my broken heart but yours as well on experiencing loss.

What are some Best Books About Grief For Surviving Christmas?

The first post in the (How He Heal Series: A Collaboration Series On Grief And Loss) is about the best book about grief. This list can be used every day of the year, but the holidays remind us of those who are no longer with us, right?

Included will be the best books on…

• Best Books about Grief on the Loss of a Parent
• Best Books about Grief on the Loss of a Spouse
• Best Books about Grief on the Loss of a Sibling
• Best Books about Grief on the Loss of a Child

The Help You Need To Fight Depression

Best Books about Grief on the Loss of a Parent

Loss of a Parent: Adult Grief When Parents Die (Healing from the Loss of a Parent)

Loss of a Parent: Best Books on Grief and Loss of a Parent

A book to help you:

• Gain some context by learning about the 7 stages of grief, which stage you might be in currently and get an idea about what you might experience next
• Guided exercises will help you work through your grief in a healthy way
• Understand how complicated or prolonged grief is common, and gain insight into how to try and move on
• Understand that it’s okay to have confusing or unexpected thoughts and emotions, that people react differently to losing a parent, and that you are most likely ‘normal’ in how you’re feeling
• Feel less isolated in your grief, by reading the stories of how other people felt, and how they dealt with their loss

Comfort for the Grieving Adult Child’s Heart: Hope and Healing After Losing Your Parent

In Comfort for the Grieving Adult Child’s Heart: Best Books on Grief and Loss of a Parent

Discover how to…

• Process complicated grief emotions (sadness, anger, guilt, confusion, guilt, anxiety, depression, feeling overwhelmed, etc).
• Navigate all the relational changes – feeling alone, misunderstood, isolated, and even rejected by those around you.
• Handle the increased stress and uncertainty that this heavy loss can bring.
• Deal with physical and mental health issues, illnesses, and new symptoms that often arise.
• Take care of yourself through diet, hydration, fitness, and rest.
• Deal with a myriad of practical issues (financial challenges, parenting, family activities),
• Handle the intense sense of being orphaned that comes with this loss.

You will also find hope in how to…

• Think through the challenging spiritual and faith questions that frequently surface.
• Relate well to the people around you – those who are helpful and those who aren’t.
• Overcome the tendency to run from emotional pain with unhealthy habits or compulsive behaviors.
• Deal well with triggers and the grief bursts that will come.
• Find the support you need for survival, recovery, and healing (safe people, fellow grievers, counseling, etc.).
• Develop a simple, realistic plan for birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays.
• Use your grief for good – for yourself, your family, and others.
• Allow this loss to give you greater perspective and motivate you to live more effectively than ever before.
• Make your life count, one day, one moment at a time.

Healing After the Loss of Your Mother: A Grief & Comfort Manual

Healing After the Loss of Your Mother: Best Books on Grief and Loss of a Parent

A heartfelt and practical guidebook for those mourning the loss of their mother and for supporters hoping to help a loved one through the grief. 

This is an essential step-by-step guidebook for anyone uncertain about what to do or where to turn after their mother’s death. 

For those hoping to support someone who is grieving, this book also offers insight on how to comfort them by explaining what a person in mourning is going through and how to be most helpful to them. 

If you’ve lost your mother, please know this: If you’re grieving, you’re healing – and you are not alone.

This grief recovery manual provides helpful information on: 

• What can I expect? The list  
• How do I do this? The process  
• How long will this pain last? 
• Getting a support system 
• Shifting relationships 
• Identity crisis 
• Grief work vs. allowing 
• Coping tools 
• Grief vs. Depression 
• When to seek help 
• Triggers 
• Surviving the holidays, Mother’s Day, birthdays, and special occasions 
• The new normal 
• The path toward healing 
• What to do/what not to do for someone grieving 
• Grief community forum Q&As 

Bonus: personal journaling section

• Notes to myself
• Favorite stories and memories
• Gratitude Journal

Missing You Dad: Guided Grief Prompts Journal Memory Book For Grieving And Processing The Death Of A Father

Missing You Dad: Best Books on Grief and Loss of a Parent

• Losing someone you love dearly like a dad can be a difficult situation to deal with mentally and emotionally. This guided prompts workbook journal hopes to provide a way to express those thoughts on paper and create a memory book to cherish the memories, as well as, help with the healing process
• Up to 40 prompt questions to help recall and reflect on memories of your dad
• Lined paper to write down your thoughts, as well as, stick photos on it too
• Additional lined paper for more content
• Suitable for kids (age 7+), teens, and adults

Best books about grief on the loss of a Spouse

Getting to the Other Side of Grief: Overcoming the Loss of a Spouse

There is little in life that rocks us like the death of a husband or wife. Whether you’re feeling alone, drowning under an ocean of emotions, or you’ve worked your way through to the darkest nights of the soul and are now wondering how to get on with your life. You’ll find comfort and guidance inside Getting to the Other Side of Grief

Heartbroken: Healing from the Loss of a Spouse

In Heartbroken – this deeply personal, easy-to-read book – you will learn how to…

• Process grief’s overwhelming, roller-coaster emotions (sadness, anger, confusion, anxiety, fear, guilt, depression).
• Manage life’s new upheavals and stresses, including physical symptoms and illness.
• Survive feeling misunderstood, alone, and even rejected.
• Deal with all the different relationship shifts (family, friends, church, social groups) that occur with this loss.
• Take care of yourself – health, fitness, nutrition, expectations, and commitments.
• Think about and face the future with hope, including birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays.
• Recover, heal, grow, and live again.

As you read, you will discover three important truths:

• You’re far from alone,
• You’re not crazy,
• You will make it through this.

Healing a Spouse’s Grieving Heart: 100 Practical Ideas After Your Husband or Wife Dies

Healing a Spouse’s Grieving Heart offers 100 practical, here-and-now suggestions for helping widowers or widows mourn well so they can go on to live well and love well again. Whether your spouse died recently or long ago, you will find comfort and healing in this compassionate book.

Lemons on Friday: Trusting God Through My Greatest Heartbreak

In Lemons on Friday, readers walk with Mattie Jackson Selecman during the first years of grief following Ben’s tragic death as she grapples with her loss and leans on a steadfast God.

Based on Selecman’s journal writings, Lemons on Friday will speak to all readers who must carry on without their loved ones and take a hard look at faith when their lives have not gone as planned.

Lemons on Friday grapples with questions like these:

• How did I get here?
• Will this always hurt?
• Who am I now?
• How do I move forward?

Best Books about grief on the loss of a sibling

Surviving the Death of a Sibling: Living Through Grief When an Adult Brother or Sister Dies

Based on the author’s own experiences, as well as those of many others, Surviving the Death of a Sibling helps adults who have lost a brother or sister to realize that they are not alone in their struggle.

Just as important, it teaches them to understand the unique stages of their grieving process, offering practical and prescriptive advice for dealing with each stage.

In Surviving the Death of a Sibling, T.J. Wray discusses:

• Searching for and finding meaning in your sibling’s passing
• Using a grief journal to record your emotions
• Choosing a grief partner to help you through tough times
• Dealing with insensitive remarks made by others

Surviving Sibling Loss: The Invisible Thread that Connects Us Through Life and Death

Surviving Sibling Loss: The Invisible Thread that Connects Us Through Life and Death is the gold standard of grief books, helping not only people who are grieving but also their therapists, partners, and friends better support their loved ones.

The chapters are deliberately short and full of easy-to-find resources, and the book can be read cover to cover or picked up and put down again. This structure aids those who are struggling, who fatigue and lose focus easily under the weight of their grief.

Healing the Adult Sibling’s Grieving Heart: 100 Practical Ideas After Your Brother or Sister Dies

Compassionate and heartfelt, this collection offers 100 practical ideas to help understand and accept the passing of a sibling to practice self-healing.

Healing the Adult Sibling’s Grieving Heart offers principles of grief and mourning that are clearly defined, accompanied by action-oriented tips for embracing bereavement.

Whether a sibling has died as a young or older adult or the death was sudden or anticipated, this resource provides a healthy approach to dealing with the aftermath.

Recovering from the Loss of a Sibling

When a brother or sister dies, surviving siblings often receive little support or recognition of their pain. But their grief is real, and there is a way to recover from it.

Through intimate, true stories and interviews with brothers and sisters who have lost a sibling, expert-on-grief Katherine Fair Donnelly provides valuable insight on how to survive this traumatic experience. 

Recovering from the Loss of a Sibling is the first guide dedicated to those who have lost a brother or sister, and presents practical ways they can take the necessary steps toward recovering from their devastating loss.

Best Books about Grief on the Loss of a Child

Shattered: Surviving the Loss of a Child

In Shattered, Gary Roe walks the reader through the powerful impact a child’s death can have – emotionally, mentally, physically, relationally, and spiritually.

• Intense, unpredictable emotions can hijack us at a moment’s notice.
• Our minds spin. We forget things. It feels like we’re going crazy.
• Our bodies get hit. Our health can be impacted.
• Our souls feel crushed, shaking our faith and what we think we believe.
• Our relationships change. The deep loneliness of the heart can set in.
• Our plans and dreams are shattered. We’re now in uncharted territory.

Yes, the loss of a child affects everything.

In Shattered, you will discover how to…

• Manage the massive changes that are occurring in your life
• Take care of yourself during this process
• Honor your child with your grief
• Love those around you, even with a broken heart
• Live life as well as possible while amid great pain
• Make your child’s life count in deep and powerful ways

Shattered is not a magic pill. The death of a child cannot be fixed. But comfort, compassion, guidance, and hope can be found in these pages.

Beyond Tears: Living After Losing a Child

Meant to comfort and give direction to bereaved parents, Beyond Tears is written by nine mothers who have each lost a child. This revised edition includes a new chapter written from the perspective of surviving siblings.

The death of a child is that unimaginable loss no parent ever expects to face. In Beyond Tears, nine mothers share their individual stories of how to survive in the darkest hour. They candidly share with other bereaved parents what to expect in the first year and long beyond.

The Unspeakable Loss: How Do You Live After a Child Dies?

The Unspeakable Loss helps those who mourn to face the urgent questions that accompany loss:

• Will my tears ever stop?
• Who am I now without my child?
• How can I help my other children cope?
• I lost my only child, how do I live?
• Will my marriage survive?
• Will life ever feel worth living again?

No matter where you are in your grieving process, The Unspeakable Loss provides a space to mourn in your way and helps you understand how the death of a child affects siblings, other family members, and friends, recognizing that we each grieve differently.

And while there is no one prescription for healing, Zenoff provides tools to practice the important aspects of grieving that are easily forgotten – self-compassion and self-care. 

Surviving the Unthinkable: The Loss of a Child

Surviving the Unthinkable: The Loss of a Child is an eye-opening, heartwarming, life-giving book, filled with hope, truth, faith, inspiration, motivation, and tools to survive, believing they will have a meaningful life again.

Although the book is focused on bereaved moms with a section written especially for family and friends, its practical, powerful message delivered through numerous, valuable topics can inspire anyone who lost a loved one, tenderly guiding them through the challenges and roller coaster ride of grief and all there is to learn about the Grief Process.

Best Books About Grief For Surviving The Holidays

Grief more often than not is a roller coaster of feelings and you never just “get over it.” However, remember the ONE who will NEVER leave you nor forsake you and whom you can lean on for strength…Jesus

Whatever stage of grief, you find yourself in during the holidays turn to our list of the best books about grief for support and guidance.

Your Turn

Listen to this song friends. This was played at Mama’s funeral and the meaning behind the song is beautiful. However, at times my emotions get the best of me and leave tears streaming down my face, but I know my Mama is in a better place now and no longer suffering.

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