Relationship Loss Grief

Al-Ghazālī's writings were meant to help man to live a life in accordance with the sacred law, and by doing so gain a deeper understanding of its meaning. Al-Ghazali believed in practical-ethical perfection and that by exercising his capacity for reason, man would be drawn to the spiritual alchemy that transforms the soul from worldliness to complete devotion to God. This alone, he believed, could produce ultimate happiness.

In this deeply emotional memoir, a longtime ESPN writer reflects on the suicide of his son Max and delves into how their complicated relationship led him to see grief as love.

Growing up in Alabama, Renkl was a devoted reader, an explorer of riverbeds and red-dirt roads, and a fiercely loved daughter. Here, in brief essays, she traces a tender and honest portrait of her complicated parents - her exuberant, creative mother; her steady, supportive father - and of the bittersweet moments that accompany a child’s transition to caregiver.

This audiobook gives you the information, suggestions, and step-by-step guidance you need to create a meaningful funeral. It will help you if you want to express your own wishes, want to talk to someone close to you, or if you need to arrange a funeral. It is designed to support people who intend to use the services of a funeral director, but it also gives inspiration to those who would rather not.

Surviving Sibling Loss: The Invisible Thread That Connects Us Through Life and Death is the gold standard of grief books, helping not only people who are grieving but also their therapists, partners, and friends better support their loved ones. The chapters are deliberately short and full of easy-to-find resources, and the book can be listened to again and again. This structure aids those who are struggling, who fatigue and lose focus easily under the weight of their grief.

Eden had her best friend Katie—she didn’t need anyone else. But then there was Truman. Katie’s older brother, the artist. The recluse. The boy with the innocent smile and the dangerous eyes. Eden had never really known Truman—not until the night of Katie’s accident. That was the night they’d finally let each other into their orbits—only to have the sky come crashing down on them.

Author and longtime Buddhist Margaret Meloni spent years applying the practice to transform her fear of losing dear ones and reframe death as a friendly companion. Now she’s here to share the powerful wisdom that can aid you in your darkest moment of need. In Sitting with Death, following the traditional teachings of the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path, Meloni lays out the myriad ways you can learn to come to terms with such a momentous finality. And by soaking up the depth of loving knowledge provided, you’ll gain clarity and closure on the way back to joy.

Are you afraid of death? What is death? Is it the end, the beginning, or a transition? Why are we so afraid of death? After all, death is inevitable. Overcoming the Fear of Death: Through Each of the 4 Main Belief Systems helps us reduce and overcome our fears without having to change our beliefs about death.

There is one day in Joan Childs' life that she wishes she could do over: the day her daughter, Pam, a brilliant psychotherapist, plunged from a 15-story building to her death. In this vivid memoir, Childs (herself a psychotherapist) explains how her daughter's life was taken by the most unforgiving of executioners: bipolar disorder. It was the delusions, not her daughter, who made the final decision to end her life.

In Love Is Greater Than Pain, Marilyn shares her profound understanding of the afterlife. Today a renowned medium, Marilyn reveals the beauty in the transition from the physical to the spiritual plane, helping those who are dying, as well as those left behind. With personal stories and transcripts from channeling sessions, Marilyn teaches us how to interact with the afterlife and to joyfully embrace the reality that love truly is greater than pain.

We are slaves of our mind and actions. Decide to change it, initiate yourself in stoic thinking. Do you wonder how those people with so many misfortunes and obstacles keep smiling? Do you want to be able to master your emotions? Do you want to be really strong? Stoicism gives you the tools to lead an invincible life, to be undefeated in any situation and to get closer to perfection. And get closer to perfection and mastery of yourself in the face of criticism, deception, infidelity, rejection, death...in everything you will remain impassive.

Vanessa's husband, Paul, dies suddenly and tragically on their regular Sunday morning swim. How will she cope with her dilapidated house, her teenage children, the patients who depend on her? Will therapy help? Why do mysterious white feathers start appearing in unexpected places? Beautifully written and honestly relayed, Vanessa uses her professional skills to explore the many questions posed by unanticipated death and to try to find a way forwards.

"I'm not picking up a heartbeat." These are the most dreaded words an expectant mother can hear. As joy and anticipation dissolve into confusion and grief, painful questions refuse to go away: Why me? Did I do something wrong? How will this affect my ability to have a family? What do I say to my children without scaring them? With the warmth and compassion of a Licensed Professional Counselor and writing as a mother who has suffered the loss of a baby and a 16-year-old son, Pam Vredevelt offers sound answers and advice.

A stunning blend of the personal and professional, The Archaeology of Loss is Sarah Tarlow’s first memoir. An accomplished archaeologist, much of Sarah’s work is concerned with the ritual and belief behind the practice of grief. In 2012, she was awarded the Chair in Archaeology at the University of Leicester. But in the years that followed this appointment, Sarah’s husband, Mark, would begin to suffer from a progressive but undiagnosed illness, finally resulting in his inability to drive, to walk, to taste or to care for himself.

A beloved spouse dies. Your husband, wife, and life partner is gone. Your world is upended. The emotional pain can be intense. Your heart begins asking questions. "Am I going crazy? Am I going to make it? Where is God in all this?" Many of the people around you don't know what to say or do. They utter clichés and platitudes. "It's okay. You're strong. You'll get through this."

What if you knew that compassion was the antidote to healing our hurt, hate-filled world? Would you know how to use it in every circumstance, with family, friends, and strangers alike? Would you be open to doing so, even when it involved acts that may seem unforgivable? Would you be willing to be gentle and sympathetic with yourself?

In this mini-audiobook collection of essays, prominent atheist author Greta Christina offers secular ways to handle your own mortality and the death of those you love. Blending intensely personal experience with compassionate, down-to-earth wisdom, Christina (Coming out Atheist and Why Are You Atheists So Angry?) explores a variety of natural philosophies of death.

When their only child was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis (CF) at the age of two, Maryanne O'Hara and her husband were told that Caitlin could live a long life or be dead in a matter of months. Thirty-one years later, Caitlin lost her battle with this devastating disease following an excruciating two-year wait on the transplant list and a last-minute race to locate a pair of healthy lungs. The sudden spiral of events left Maryanne in an existential crisis, searching to find an answer to the eternal question: Why we are here?

Life is full of love, but it is also full of loss. Like paper cuts to the heart, every big and seemingly insignificant loss—the loss of friendships, faith, dreams, health, community, and everything in between—grieves us more than we think it will, and often more than we let on. Why? Because they matter. In this compassionate and deeply personal book, Rachel Marie Kang invites you to see and be seen in the midst of your sorrow, your suffering—your story.

“It’s just grief,” they’ll tell you. “It will pass. We all lose someone at some point in our lives.” But the death of a partner is so much more than “just grief.” It’s a different kind of grief—the kind that permanently shifts our perspective on life.