Holidays can be especially difficult times for those grieving the deaths of loved ones. Grief specialist Harold Ivan Smith offers help for the holidays in A Decembered Grief.

Suffering the loss of a loved one at any time of the year is difficult. Yet, during the holidays or special occasions those grieving experience a more intense sense of loss.With keen perception, A Decembered Grief provides illustrations and insights for those facing grief-impacted holidays and emphasizes God's ability to transform the season into a time of grace and healing.

A Grief Observed is a collection of Lewis's reflections on the experience of bereavement following the death of his wife, Joy Davidman, in 1960. The book was first published under the pseudonym N.W. Clerk as Lewis wished to avoid identification as the author. Though republished in 1963 after his death under his own name, the text still refers to his wife as "H" (her first name, which she rarely used, was Helen). The book is compiled from the four notebooks which Lewis used to vent and explore his grief. He illustrates the everyday trials of his life without Joy and explores fundamental questions of faith and theodicy. Lewis's step-son (Joy's son) Douglas Gresham points out in his 1994 introduction that the indefinite article 'a' in the title makes it clear that Lewis's grief is not the quintessential grief experience at the loss of a loved one, but one individual's perspective among countless others. The book helped inspire a 1985 television movie Shadowlands, as well as a 1993 film of the same name. Clive Staples Lewis (1898-1963) was a British novelist, poet, academic, medievalist, lay theologian and Christian apologist. He is best known for his fictional work, especially The Screwtape Letters, The Chronicles of Narnia, and The Space Trilogy, and for his non-fiction Christian apologetics, such as Mere Christianity, Miracles, and The Problem of Pain.

Used for years by individuals, grief counselors, and support groups, Roses in December has helped readers understand the grieving process, support family members, give insight into sibling grief, and maintain their marriages during difficult times. This newly revised edition offers the same compassion and encouragement plus chapters on losing loved ones under special circumstances, such as suicide and AIDS. With deep empathy, Marilyn helps those who are grieving find God’s comfort. Having lost three sons, she knows the tremendous sorrows and struggles that come with the death of loved ones. Yet she shares how even in the winters of our lives God provides roses—special occasions, special people, and special memories—to give us strength and draw close to Him.

A thoughtful guide to getting through the loss of a friend.

Braving the Fire is the first book to provide a road map for the journey of writing honestly about mourning, grief and loss. Created specifically by and for the writer who has experienced illness, loss, or the death of a loved one, Braving the Fire takes the writers' perspective in exploring the challenges and rewards for the writer who has chosen, with courage and candor, to be the memory keeper. It will be useful to the memoirist just starting out, as well as those already in the throes of coming to terms with complicated emotions and the challenges of shaping a compelling, coherent true story. Loosely organized around the familiar Kübler-Ross model of Five Stages of Grief, Braving the Fire uses these stages to help the reader and writer though the emotional healing and writing tasks before them, incorporating interviews and excerpts from other treasured writers who've done the same. Insightful contributions from Nick Flynn, Darin Strauss, Kathryn Rhett, Natasha Trethewey, and Neil White, among others, are skillfully bended with Handler's own approaches to facing grief a second time to be able to write about it. Each section also includes advice and wisdom from leading doctors and therapists about the physical experience of grieving. Handler is a compassionate guide who has braved the fire herself, and delivers practical and inspirational direction throughout.