Conscious Grieving: A Transformative Approach to Healing from Loss [Paperback]

From one of the leading grief therapists, this compassionate and accessible guide to grieving offers a new framework for understanding and navigating loss.

This gentle book will walk you through the darkest valley. Warm, practical, and kind, it will lift your spirit and tell you the truthyou are not alone. Kate Bowler,New York Timesbestselling author ofNo Cure for Being Human

Conscious Grievingis a book for anyone seeking guidance and support after loss. Renowned grief therapist Claire Bidwell Smith combines her deeply personal experience of loss with her long career spent working with thousands of people to introduce a new approach to grief, one that promotes hope and even transformation.

What does it mean to grieve consciously? Most of the time, when we lose someone we love, it feels like grief is just happening to us. We feel out of control, and overwhelmed. Claire reminds us that while loss is something that inevitably happens to all of us, how we choose to grieve is up to us. When we can consciously engage with our grief, rather than avoiding it, we can access profound pathways to healing.

Presented in a series of thoughtful, brief vignettes that dont overwhelm the reader,Conscious Grievingoffers a new framework for each stage of grief: Entering, Engaging, Surrendering, and Transforming.

• Entering  staying present and taking care of ourselves as we navigate the shock and upheaval of a new loss.
• Engaging  navigating that first year after a loss by staying in tune with our needs as more complicated feelings of depression, guilt or anger surface.
• Surrendering  facing the changes to our identity and who we are becoming in the face of loss.
• Transforming  through ritual, honor, hope, and grace, and learning to carry our grief with intention so that we can continue to grow, heal, and thrive.

Grief asks a lot from us. But the lS.