Remembering with Love: Messages of Hope for the First Year of Grieving and Beyond

Provides reassurance and compassion for those struggling with a loved one's loss.

No two people experience grief in precisely the same way, and no one can tell you how to grieve. It is a process that can't be rushed or avoided. There are no simple shortcuts-it must be lived. Our intention is not to provide a formula or roadmap to grieving. Instead, we have chosen to include a wide range of feelings, options, issues, and experiences that, hopefully, you will relate to as your grief ebbs and flows over time. There are nearly three hundred entries within Remembering With Love. You may want to start at the beginning and follow along, or use the Reader's Guide to locate the specific topics that coincide with your own needs. Some pages may feel appropriate for a particular day, while others may not. We invite you to draw the messages you find most meaningful into your heart and leave the others for another time. you may also wish to revisit pages that are especially meaningful to you. This book begins with a section titled The Early Days. These pages offer immediate words of encouragement which can be read daily during this trying time. As the weeks and months progress, new challenges and concerns will confront you. The sections titled The Early Weeks and The Uneven Path address issues that may surface at this time, allowing you to find the messages that speak to your own concerns. As you continue your struggle to heal, you may notice that at times your feelings may become less intense. At some point you may discover that you are having more good days than bad, when the pain of grief will not always seem quite so overwhelming. The section titled The Continuing Journey Towards Healing helps you recognize your progress toward renewal while continuing to offer validation of your woundedness. As important as it is to recognize that you have survived the first year, we are aware that grieving does not abruptly end after the first anniversary. The section titled Beyond The First Year takes you past this point, offering ongoing emotional support. Special Days, Moments, and Concerns is a collection of poetry and prose for birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, and considerations of particular significance. You may find a need for additional encouragement at these critical times. Finally, a resource list of support organizations is included at the end of this book for your use. We hope it will help you find additional sources of strength during this most difficult and trying journey.