Thank you for the list.

Now that is one VERY well-read widow! Well done Tpoulos!

wow, i did not realise so many existed! my local bookshop had just one that didnt speak to me. thanks

Great list! I've read almost every one and between all of the reading, journaling, You all here on DS, and my faith, I am sure that is why I have been able to work through so much that I have worked through.

Hugs...
-Diana

The last one on the list - "Seven Choices" - was the one that helped me the most and really spoke to me. Wish I had found it sooner than I did. It was a turning point for me.

Thanks for the list!

Love and Hugs, Martha

I bought I wasn't ready to say goodbye a few days after John died and I absolutely love it. It has really helped me. I also found a book called "If Only I Knew" BY Lance Wubbels - It says it is Gentle Reminders to Help you Treasure the People in Your Life. It is different sayings and I carry it everywhere I go. Example: If Only I Knew . . . This was the last gift I could give you, I would surprise you with something that says nothing compares with YOU!

Thanks for sharing this list Tracy. I have read most of these books and several more... perhaps, if I get a chance, I will add to this list.
some have ministered to me tremendously!!!
I appreciate you and the friendship we share!!
Hugs & Blessings, Linda

A Widows Story by Joyce Carole Oates .... is another great book she really speaks of how I felt during the first awful year....

The book that helped me the most is "A Grace Disguised" by Jerry Sittser

I have several of the books you listed. The one that helped me the most was I Wasn't Ready to Say Goodbye.
It seems to cover all that I was and am feeling. I use it as a reference at times.
Thanks for the post
Peace to you,
Dave

A good list - I kept "Healing After Loss" out of the library for 9 months straight - the wonderful ladies there just kept renewing and renewing it, without me even asking. Two more - "The Year of Magical Thinking" by Joan Didion, and "A Grief Observed" by C.S. Lewis. These two, by two amazing writers, are about their own journey.

I have not had success with grif books. They tend to make me more depressed than before. I am not a constant reader and I tend to drop interest. What I have found is that many of the books and even short publications seem to center on "moving on". Moving on does not fit into my life at this point and will not for..let's say 20 years when the last child is out of college. It is well and good for some to discuss moving on, but for some of us, the instruction manual is falling short.

Maggie

I have read most of the books at our library for widows; or at least let me say---scanned them and returned them as far too many only rehashed what everyone else said.
A friend who had been widowed 2 yrs earlier recommended I find
"Don't Take My Grief Away From Me" by Doug Manning.

The first part of the book is about making funeral arrangements which did not apply to me but the 2nd half really did help me.
This book validated that I deserved to grieve as I felt I needed; I did not need to follow a schedule to meet anyone's expectations but my own.
In fact, I believe his was the first book that didn't use the phrase:
"Initially, you will feel numb"......................

Instead, he wrote about being "in shock"; and that was my experience.

I will look for "7 Choices" and " I wasn't ready to say Goodbye" based on others recommendations; I have not seen these two titles before this post.

Thanks for starting this post, this has been helpful too me.

In fact, as I write, I realize I should have my own copy of "Don't take Away My Grief" and will go to Amazon now.