Some of My Favorite Books on Grief

They helped me cross the chasm of grief into stability

There are many books out there on grief, but it can be hard to know where to begin. Here are some of my favorites you can start with. I have categorized them based on different themes. If you are in the first year of grief, you might be experiencing grief brain and it might be hard for you to read books. Most of these books have audible versions – try purchasing those if you need to.

Please note that this article contains affiliate links, and if you choose to purchase any of these books through these links, I'll earn some coffee money which I promise to use while making helpful content like this one for you.

Book Themes

• Early Grief
• Consolations
• How to Cope
• Grief Journals
• Memoirs
• Poetry
• Grief Dreams
• Deeper contemplations on grief & death
• Afterlife

Early Days of Grief

• It’s Ok That You’re Not Ok by Megan Devine
• The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion
• Bearing the Unbearable: Love, Loss, and the heart-breaking Paths of Grief by Joanne Cacciatore
• Grief Day by Day:Simple Practices and Daily Guidance for Living with Loss by Jan Warner
• I was not Ready to Say Goodbye: Surviving, Coping and Healing after the Death of a Loved oneby Brook Noel and Pamela Blair
• Your Grief, Your Way: A Year of Practical Guidance and Comfort After Loss by Shelby Forsythia
• What's Your Grief?: Lists to Help You Through Any Loss by Eleanor Haley and Litsa Williams

Consolations

• The Dark Interval: Letters on Loss, Grief, and Transformation by Rainer Marie Rilke
• Consolations: The Solace, Nourishment, and Underlying Meaning of Everyday Words by David Whyte

Books to Help You Sit with Grief

Spiritual

• The Wild Edge of Sorrow: Rituals of Renewal and the Sacred Work of Grief by Francis Keller
• The Grief Process: Meditations for Healing by Stephen Levine and Ondrea Levine
• Unattended Sorrow: Recovering from Loss and Reviving the Heart by Stephen Levine
• Healing After Loss – Daily Meditations for Working through Grief by Martha W. Hickman
• Good Mourning: Moving Through Everyday Losses with Wisdom from the Other Side by Theresa Caputo
• Good Grief: Heal Your Soul, Honor Your Loved Ones, and Learn to Live Again by Theresa Caputo

Science & Psychology

• Before and After Loss: A neurologist’s perspective on Loss, Grief, and Our brain by Lisa Schulman
• The Grief Recovery Handbook, 20th Anniversary Expanded Edition: The Action Program for Moving Beyond Death, Divorce and Other Losses by John W. James and Russell Friedman
• Resilient Grieving: How to Find Your Way Through a Devastating Loss (Finding Strength and Embracing Life After a Loss that Changes Everything) by Lucy Hone Ph.D. and Karen Reivich Ph.D.
• Anxiety: The Missing Stage of Grief: A Revolutionary Approach to Understanding and Healing the Impact of Loss by Claire Bidwell Smith
• Finding Meaning: The Sixth Stage of Grief by David Kessler
• Continuing Bonds: New Understandings of Grief (Death Education, Aging and Health Care) by Dennis Klass and Phyliss R. Silverman

Grief Journals

• How to Carry What Can't Be Fixed: A Journal for Grief by Megan Devine
• Forever in My Heart: A Grief Journal by Tanya Carroll Richardson
• Angel Catcher: A Journal of Loss and Remembrance (Grief Recovery Handbook, Books About Loss, Bereavement Journal)by Kathy Eldon and Amy Eldon Turteltaub

Memoirs on Grief

• A Grief Observed by C.S Lewis
• Notes on Grief by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
• The Long Goodbye: A Memoir by Meghan O’Rourke

Poetry Books About Grief

• On This Big Night by Ning Tendo (Coming Soon)
• Thirst by Mary Oliver
• What the Living Do by Marie Howe
• River Flow: New and Selected Poems by David Whyte
• Everything is Waiting for You by David Whyte
• Time is a Mother by Ocean Vuong
• Life on Mars by Tracy K. Smith
• Devotions by Mary Oliver

Grief Dreams

• Grief Dreams: How They Help Us Heal after the Death of a Loved One by T.J Wray with Ann Black Price
• Grieving in Dreams: Finding Peace After Loosing by Sister by Jenn K. Lee
• Visitation Dreams of Loved Ones: Understanding Their Message, Meaning and Transformative Power by Preston Ni

Deeper Contemplations on Death & Grief

• Who Dies?: An Investigation of Conscious Living and Conscious Dying by Stephen Levine
• A Year to Live by Stephen Levine
• Die Wise: A Manifesto for Sanity and Soul by Stephen Jenkinson
• Walking Each Other Home: Conversations on Loving and Dying by Mirabai Bush and Ram Dass
• Dying into Life: A Weeklong Program Recorded with These 2 Master Teachers in 1982 by Ram Dass, Stephen Levine, and Friends

The Afterlife

• After: A Doctor Explores What Near-Death Experiences Reveal about Life and Beyond by Dr. Bruce Greyson
• Many Lives, Many Masters: The True Story of a Prominent Psychiatrist, His Young Patient, and the Past-Life Therapy That Changed Both Their Lives by Brian Weiss
• Journey of Souls: Case Studies of Life Between Lives, Fifth Revised Edition by Michael Newton
• Destiny of Souls by Michael Newton
• Heaven, an Unexpected Journey: One Man's Experience with Heaven, Angels, and the Afterlife (An NDE Collection by Jim Woodford