Books

Continuing Bonds & Grief

Love Knows No Death -  Grief Transformation Self-help Workbook and Visual Program developed by Dr. Piero Calvi-Parisetti.  Mental health professionals are coming to realize that patients who believe that their deceased loved ones still survive do better than those who do not believe in survival. The Love Knows No Death approach recognizes that vague hope or wishful thinking does not have the power to transform grief. Such transformation can only come from knowing, which can be attained only through personal experiences, thorough examination of the evidence, and changing the way we think. Those who put the effort into diligently following this workbook may very well experience life changing effects. The “afterlife perspective,” once integrated into the grieving process, will allow you to lead a better life and truly honor those who have passed before you.

Continuing Bonds: New Understandings of Grief 

Continuing Bonds (e-book, 1996 by Dennis Klass, Phyllis R. Silverman, Steven) - The Love Knows No Death workbook is based in part on the work of these early pioneers. This book gives voice to an emerging consensus among bereavement scholars that our understanding of the grief process needs to be expanded. The dominant 20th century model holds that the function of grief and mourning is to cut bonds with the deceased, thereby freeing the survivor to reinvest in new relationships in the present. Pathological grief has been defined in terms of holding on to the deceased. Close examination reveals that this model is based more on the cultural values of modernity than on any substantial data of what people actually do. 

Bearing the Unbearable:  Organized into fifty-two short chapters, Bearing the Unbearable is a companion for life’s most difficult times, revealing how grief can open our hearts to connection, compassion, and the very essence of our shared humanity. Dr. Joanne Cacciatore—bereavement educator, researcher, Zen priest, and leading counselor in the field—accompanies us along the heartbreaking path of love, loss, and grief. Through moving stories of her encounters with grief over decades of supporting individuals, families, and communities—as well as her own experience with loss—Cacciatore opens a space to process, integrate, and deeply honor our grief.

What's your Grief - A Grief Website for the Rest of Us: What’s Your Grief seeks to help people explore ideas, experiences, and concepts related to grief, coping, and life after loss. Browse our library of resources below for online courses, books, helpful blog posts, and more.

Permission to Mourn: A New Way to Do Grief – TomZuba.com LLC 

The Grief Recovery Handbook - The Grief Recovery Method 

Well of Grief Ritual: Kitty Edwards of the Living & Dying Consciously Project. Ideas for grief rituals. 

The Irreverent Grief Guide: Overflowing with experience and facts, The Irreverent Grief Guide is NOT for everyone, but it just might be for you.

Complex PTSD: From Surviving to Thriving: A Guide and Map for Recovering from Childhood Trauma. This may be helpful for grief-work in general, especially Complicated Grief due to PTSD, as the method the author uses the most for guiding the reader through their self-healing work is embracing active grieving through various methods.