Loss can have many meanings from loss of family or friends, loss of something valued, a loss of an ability. This book discusses those losses, how we react to them and how we can adapt to them. It explores both the common themes and challenges that characterise the human experience of loss.

Dr. Michele Reiss, an expert in the field of death and dying, specializes in helping clients cope with life-threatening illnesses and helping their families through the grieving process. A highly respected therapist, she counseled Randy Pausch, author of The Last Lecture, and his wife, Jai, as Randy was dying of pancreatic cancer. Now Dr. Reiss provides comfort and counsel for readers who are coping with the challenges of serious illness or grief. Through real-life examples of people who have dealt with cancer and other illnesses, she has given us a book about hope and the art of living and loving well, despite significant adversity. This beautifully written, inspiring book reminds the rest of us that time is precious, and that we should live our lives fully, generously, and with joy.

A guide to living life in the moment uses lessons learned from the dying to help the living find the most enjoyment and happiness.

How we cope with grief and come to terms with the death of a loved one shapes our world. In this comprehensive guide to the mourning process, Dr Volkan, a world-recognised authority on grief, shows how each mourning is as individualised as our fingerprints, encoded with our past history of losses. Anecdotal and compassionate, this is a profoundly moving and informative study of how grief and loss shape all our lives.

This is a memoir of my personal and professional experiences with grief. The story begins with my wife becoming sick with cancer at age 27. Her sickness and death was devastating and transformed my world. The first several chapters are about my personal grief journey. I was a middle school counselor when she died, and in dealing with her loss I embarked on a new career as a bereavement counselor. At first I was just a volunteer facilitating support groups for widowed men for the American Red Cross in a program called "First Step". I eventually did a my doctoral study on this program. When this program ended, I was invited to begin a bereavement program for St. Brigid parish in Westbury, NY. I facilitated support groups there for over three decades. Eventually, I started another bereavement program for St. Bernard's parish in Levittown, which features specialty groups for bereaved parents and survivors of suicide. Most of the book is about lessons I have learned from my clients about loss. In addition to support groups, I have seen clients privately for many years. My lessons on grief also include what I have learned from people who I trained to become support group facilitators, from students in my graduate course at Hofstra University, and from my work for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. The book is has a broad perspective; it speaks about many different losses, i.e. death of a spouse, child, sibling, parents and complicated grief. It is unique in that most books on the topic are either personal accounts from well-known people, i.e. Option B by Sheryl Sandberg or professional works by experts in the field, i.e. Living Beyond Loss by Monica McGoldrick. This both combines both perspectives in an easy to follow writing style. It is written for grieving individuals and their caregivers. Since it is a memoir, I am the main character but I also speak about the many individuals who have influenced me in my work. People who have suffered unimaginable losses, and yet somehow managed to survive and lead meaningful lives. They have inspired me to write this book so others can benefit from their grief journey.

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.