Reading List

Books for Grief, in All Its Forms

Not just death. Grief shows up in job loss, migration, breakups, and endings we don't always name. These are the books I return to.

01

It's OK That You're Not OK

Megan Devine

The book I recommend most. Devine pushes back hard on the idea that grief needs fixing, and it's such a relief to read.

02

The Year of Magical Thinking

Joan Didion

A memoir, not a self-help book, and somehow more useful than most self-help books on grief.

03

A Grief Observed

C.S. Lewis

Short, raw, and over sixty years old, and it still holds up completely.

04

On Grief and Grieving

Elisabeth Kübler-Ross & David Kessler

The stages of grief, from the source, with more nuance than the internet version everyone knows.

05

Bearing the Unbearable

Joanne Cacciatore

For the losses that feel too big to survive. Cacciatore writes from her own experience, and it shows.

06

The Wild Edge of Sorrow

Francis Weller

Grief as something communal and even sacred, not just a private problem to manage. Changed how I think about ritual.

07

Option B

Sheryl Sandberg & Adam Grant

More practical and research-driven than most grief books. Good for people who want data alongside comfort.

08

Grief Is Love

Marisa Renee Lee

Reframes grief as ongoing, not something you move through and finish. That reframe alone helps a lot of people.

09

Finding Meaning

David Kessler

Kessler adding a sixth stage to Kübler-Ross's model, meaning-making. I think about this one a lot with clients.

10

Wintering

Katherine May

Not written as a grief book exactly, but about fallow, hard seasons in general. I recommend it for loss that isn't death, like job loss or burnout.

Curious what these ideas look like in practice? They shape a lot of how I work with clients. Get in touch if you'd like to talk.