#books about grief

[bitesizebookreviews]

A Heart That Works

A Heart That Works

Rob Delaney

135 pages

Spiegel & Grau, November 2022

You forget that my son dies. Then you remember. The you forget again. I don’t forget. I don’t hanker much about Victorian times, but the idea of wearing all black following the death of someone you love makes a lot of sense to me. For a while, anyway, I’d have liked you to know, even from across the street or through a telescope, that I am grieving.

I don’t even know how to review this book. Rob Delaney, a comedian and actor best known for his role in Catastrophe, wrote a book about his son who died. When little Henry was only eleven months old, he was diagnosed with brain cancer. From there, this little boy would spend the next fourteen months hospitalized, mostly recovering from brain surgery that left him with some disabilities.

For a while it seemed like little Henry was slowly getting better and he was allowed to come home. But the cancer returned and nothing could be done to save the toddler.

A gifted writer and obviously deep in grief, Delaney’s ode to his son is like nothing I’ve ever read. Part love letter, part angry diatribe, part muses on parenting and part advocacy for sick kids and universal health care, it’s so deeply touching and laced with humor.

Only to be read at a time where you’ll be able to cry openly, and be prepared to keep thinking about Henry and the family who loves him for a very long time after you’re done reading.

[jamietukpahwriting]

People will tell you what they want you to know, he'd said. If that was true, I would have brought up Ethan right away, not just with him but everyone I met. That's what you do about the best thing that's ever happened to you. Unless, I guess, it is also the worst.

Once and For All by Sarah Dessen

[five-star-reads-only]

This reads the way grief feels. It’s a mess. It’s run on sentences, random thoughts, venomous rage, and a frantic search for something - words, answers, anything - that can make the loss make sense, that will behave as balm to the gaping wound. There isn’t anything that can do this, though, and the author does not sell us pretty lies or try to dress up this truth.

This wasn’t an easy book for me to read and, despite its length, it took me over a month to finish. This isn’t because I disliked it. It’s simply that the rawness of it impacted me deeply.

I don’t think this book will be easy for anyone, although we must fiercely remember how much harder it was to experience firsthand and write. I do believe those who’ve known such devastating loss will find fragments that resonate; that even in the pain it conjures, comfort can be found, too.

[bookishlyvintage]

Happy Happy Happy, Nicola Masters [thoughts | book sleeve]

[patheticphallacy]

book review | dear mothman by robin gow

After Noah’s best friend, Lewis – another trans boy, and the only person Noah was out to – dies in a car accident, Noah begins to leave notes for Mothman, who Lewis believed lived in the woods behind their homes. Their combined research project into Mothman becomes Noah’s alone, as he tries to comprehend his grief, and his relationship with his own trans identity now his best friend is gone. A…

[livingwithmyself2003]

January 9, 2023: Dealing with Grief

I’m sorry I haven’t posted anything for a long while. For a time I was very stressed trying to work on gifts for my family before Christmas. 

Then, the morning of Christmas Eve, my dog passed away. I haven’t really talked about it or processed it. I didn’t post about it on social media and other than my family dealing with it, I only told my boyfriend and one close friend. My other two friends whom I care deeply for, I wanted to tell them but I didn’t because I was scared to ruin the Christmas mood. My Christmas was utter hell. The presents were cool, family dinner was cool. but the fact of what happened haunts me still, and ruined Christmas, I don’t think Christmas will ever be the same for me. I talked about it with my therapist and now my therapist is out of the country and I won’t see him for another couple of weeks so I kind of have to deal with this on my own.

He’s gone. I don’t know what to do. I want to hurt myself so bad and I just keep thinking about him. Thinking about him makes me relive the trauma, and on top of that makes me relive trauma of my other animals passing and even my grandparents passing. It hurts so bad. It reminds me of how when these types of things happen my family simply doesn’t talk about it. They deal with the pain on their own. I feel so alone in my grief. Even my boyfriend doesn’t entirely understand my grieving process, hell I don’t even understand my grieving process. 

I want him back so bad, I’m still half in denial, half coming to terms but I scream and cry at night, almost every single night, I leave my light on now at night and listen to people talk as I fall asleep, that way I don’t feel so alone.

His name was Lancer, he was at least 15 years old, I had known him for a good majority of my life. We would give him cute nicknames like Lancer the Prancer, and Lancito the bean and cheese burrito. He was a good dog. As I write this I’m crying and I just want to die. I want to see him again. I want to see all my animals and grandparents again. I just want to go home, wherever home is now. 

I keep reliving that moment over and over again. It doesn’t ever leave my head. I’ve been very irritable lately, getting into fights constantly with my boyfriend, and I know its party the fault of me still dealing with my grief. I got into a fight with my dad recently too, I’m so tired of dealing with everything. I’m not gonna do anything bad to myself though I really wish I could.

 I’m 103 days clean from self harm. 

Do you guys have any book recommendations on dealing with grief or tips on dealing with grief? I would really appreciate it. Thank you for reading my post.

-Peaches

[rachel-sylvan-author]

"A Monster Calls" by Patrick Ness book recommendation by Rachel Sylvan

[somnimagus]

My page for @sheikahzine; about Impaz's duty to her village, empty of people and full of memories.

[id in alt text]

[theriverbeyond]

Harrow the Ninth is really a book about what happens when you are the Best At Something your whole life and you sweat and bleed and sacrifice everything to earn your way to the place/position you've always dreamed of, but then when you do succeed it isn't as you expected. Not only does everyone you once admired turn out to be an awful person, but your abilities are no longer special. Your talent isn't enough. Your effort isn't enough. Your new peers have worked just as hard as you have and know just as much as you do, but more than that: they seem suddenly better, faster, more capable, all while you flounder in the shallow end of the pool as the abilities you spent your whole life honing abandon you in your time of need. Humiliation becomes your constant companion as you sweat and bleed and try anyway, but what once netted you endless success and acolades is now barely enough to survive.

And then, of course, there is The Skull

[bluestation]

i found you in the future

[abruisedmuse]

No one talk to me.

I'm mourning a fictional character.

[54625]

"Have you no more memories?"

I am made of memories.

"Speak, then."

[jamietukpahwriting]

"Did I hear Bee say you need a job?" "That's what I'm told," he replied. "You're told?" "It's actually more of an ultimatum," he admitted. "Apparently I am both annoying ~and~ expensive."

Once and for All by Sarah Dessen

[waitineedaname]

I'm beginning to notice a pattern in my interests

[thesweetnessofspring]

"I can't believe you didn't rescue Peeta." "I know," he replies. There's a sense of incompleteness. And not because he hasn't apologized. But because we were a team. We had a deal to keep Peeta safe. A drunken, unrealistic deal made in the dark of night, but a deal just the same. And in my heart of hearts, I know we both failed. "Now you say it," I tell him. "I can't believe you let him out of your sight that night," says Haymitch. I nod. That's it.

All these months of taking it for granted that Peeta thought I was wonderful are over. Finally, he can see me for who I really am. Violent. Distrustful. Manipulative. Deadly. And I hate him for it.

HungerTown 6/?

[wedarkacademia]

All my grief says the same thing— this isn't how it's supposed to be. And the world laughs, holds my hope by my throat, says: but this is how it is.

Fortesa Latifi, The Truth About Grief