One of the most prolific authors in our library is our dear friend and mentor to Olivia’s House, Alan Wolfelt! One of his newest releases, “When Your Soulmate Dies,” acts as a navigation tool for discovering healing after the love of your life dies. Borrow this book today!

For those who have experienced the death of an adult child, it can be difficult finding other parents to connect to. Dorothy Ferguson’s “When Winter Follows Spring” is a book written by someone who understands this loss on a personal level and will guide the reader into finding comfort through connection.

Nadine Galinsky Feldman’s When A Grandchild Dies captures the complexity of emotions that follow such a tragic loss. While working through their own bereavement, grandparents are tasked with also supporting their own child in mourning, which can cause their grief to become disenfranchised and minimized. This resource is a wonderful paper companion to have nearby during the time when you need a support and an understanding author.

To Dance with White Dog by Terry Kay is a heartwarming book that will keep you invested from beginning to end! This novel tells the story of Sam, an older man with grown children whose wife dies of cancer. Shortly after she dies, Sam finds that a pesky white dog starts showing up at his back door. . .only no one seems to see the dog but him! Sam’s children mean well in looking after him, but they tend to hover. . .and do they ever see the dog? If you could use a laugh, a cry, and a good read, this is the book for you!

In 2006, a tragedy struck our community when an armed man entered an Amish schoolhouse and took the lives of ten children. Jonas Bieler had previously lived in the same Amish community and had lost his own daughter years prior to this catastrophe, so his insight into the aftermath was acute. In Think No Evil, aptly named, Jonas writes about the overwhelming sense of forgiveness, love, and support that emanated from his former Amish community. Jonas came to our center years ago to extend this resource with Leslie, and to share the stories of unity that followed the unthinkable tragedy.

We lost one of the greats in Joan Didion. Loss, however, is a topic that Didion was quite familiar with. In her book The Year of Magical Thinking, Joan openly shares the story of her infant daughter’s brush with death, which surprisingly led into the death of Joan’s husband, and how she chose to find healing. We are honored to carry this book, and Joan’s legacy, on our shelves.

No matter your age, even if you are established in adulthood, losing a parent is painful. The Orphaned Adult by Alexander Levy normalizes the slew of emotions brought on by a parent’s death, whether you were close-knit, estranged, and anything in between. Grab this book off the shelf when you need the support of a peer who is walking a similar path that you are beginning to navigate.

A few years ago, Olivia’s House was contacted by Donald Rosenstein and Justin Yopp, authors of the incredible book, The Group. They were eager to share their resource with us, and we were just as eager to have it in our library and share it with all of you! The Group tells the true story of the two authors co-leading a support group for men who had lost their wives. . .men who were not quite used to sharing their feelings in public space! Over time, this group became tight-knit and relied on each other in their most difficult times. We love the embodiment of bringing people together to heal, and this is an excellent read!

When Patty Dann’s husband was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer, she was overwhelmed with her own feelings of grief, let alone the fear of having to tell their three-year-old son! The Goldfish Went on Vacation: A Memoir of Loss (And Learning to Tell the Truth About it) is an honest, uncertain, and sometimes humorous look at the way Patty navigates her husband’s diagnosis alongside her family.

Edith Eger was only 16 years old when she, her parents, and her sister were sent to Auschwitz Concentration Camp during WWII. In 1945, both she and her sister were recovered together, and began to move forward in life desperate to escape the past. As Edith began to come to terms with her trauma (including learning what trauma was), she started a career studying psychology. Almost 60 years later, Dr. Edith Eger continues to treat patients and speak around the world, sharing the story of how a young dancer from Poland made “The Choice” to survive and thrive, rather than succumb to her trauma.

Did you know that there is a difference between masculine grief and feminine grief? Regardless of gender, we find healing in different ways, and Swallowed by a Snake by Thomas Golden provides a precise look into masculine grief! This is an excellent resource for a person who recognizes the impact that one person’s bereavement can have on the entire family, and how to find healing in unique ways.

For anyone who has had an unexpected loss, Judy Brizendine’s title “Stunned by Grief” seems to encapsulate the experience. This direct yet conversational resource gives real perspective from both Brizendine as well as those who have walked the path of bereavement. It normalizes the occurrences after a loss that tend to “stun,” all while providing tools to help re-map your life and begin the journey of healing.

Still Here with Me by Suzanne Sjoqvist is a book that all bereaved teens and young adults can relate to! Each chapter is told from the perspective of a different person, all sharing their stories of losing a parent as a child or teen. As we are isolated in current times, this book reminds us that our shared experiences can be relatable through the written word.

Do we have any fans of “The Office” in the house? Then Soul Pancake is the book for you! Originally founded by Rainn Wilson (who played Dwight Schrute on The Office), Soul Pancake has grown from this special book into an online organization dedicated to asking real questions and getting real answers! The Soul Pancake book encourages the reader to engage in seeking wisdom and is a thought-provoking resource for the teen in your world.

When comedy writer Carol Scibelli’s husband of 33 years died of cancer after being diagnosed only a month prior, she immediately felt the weight of the word “widow.” What would this mean for her identity? As she traveled along her journey of bereavement, Scibelli shared her memories, experiences, and awkward exchanges, finding humor in the most seemingly mundane parts of healing. “Poor Widow Me” invites the reader to laugh through their tears as they accompany Scibelli through her journey of life, loss, and laughter.

One of the sweetest books in our library is Making Toast by Roger Rosenblatt. His story begins tragically with the death of his daughter, but soon Rosenblatt, AKA “Boppo,” moves in with his grandchildren and becomes more a part of their lives that he could have imagined (so much so that his 2-year-old grandson has a preference toward James Joyce?). Borrow this book today!

Do you ever feel like others are expecting your bereavement process to follow a specific timeline? Those who have experience grief know that healing is not a straight line. Megan Devine’s “It’s OK that You’re Not OK” reminds readers that what works for some, may not work for you, and while you figure out your coping strategies. . .it’s OK that you don’t feel OK!

Author of Cry Until you Laugh Richard Obershaw understands that the number of grief-related resources can be overwhelming for the newly bereaved. This book provides easy-to-read, concise education on what mourning really looks like. If you are a straight shooter, this book is for you!

When Catherine Tidd lost her husband in a tragic motorcycle accident, she was thrown into the world of widowhood while also having to raise three young, bereaved children. With no roadmap to follow, Confessions of a Mediocre Widow tells Catherine’s story of learning to live again. The road is bumpy, and she confesses to making some ‘mediocre’ choices, but she ends up creating an excellent resource for any woman navigating life after loss.

Elaine Alpert’s book, “Beyond the Why of Loss” will resonate with both professionals and anyone who has experienced their own losses in life. Elaine normalizes the “Why” questions that accompany a loss, while bringing the reader beyond those questions and into a place of healing. This is a book that you can return to time and again, remembering that when life shocks you, you are receiving an invitation to heal, and Elaine teaches that we are up to the task of answering this call. A personal friend and colleague of Olivia’s House, we were honored to preview this manuscript and provide a professional review.

Though we know that grief doesn’t happen in “stages,” Claire Bidwell Smith’s Anxiety: The Missing Stage of Grief shines a light on the experience of anxiety that some may experience very intensely after a loss. Smith is a mental health therapist based out of South Carolina who has done years of research regarding the sometimes-debilitating feelings of anxiety after a loss. Whether it’s anxiety about the loss itself, what the future may hold, or even if you’re not sure why you’re feeling so anxious. . .this is the book for you!

All Death is Loss, but not all loss is death. We teach this concept at Olivia’s House, and Pauline Boss’s “Ambiguous Loss” encapsulates the feelings of grief that accompany these lifecycle losses. If you are experiencing a loss in your life that doesn’t involve death, this is the book for you!