Suggested Readings

Living When a Loved One Has Died
By Earl A. Grollman

When someone you love dies, Earl Grollman writes, “there is no way to predict how you will feel. The reactions of grief are not like recipes, with given ingredients, and certain results. . . . Grief is universal. At the same time it is extremely personal. Heal in your own way.”

If someone you know is grieving, Living When a Loved One Has Died can help. Earl Grollman explains what emotions to expect when mourning, what pitfalls to avoid, and how to work through feelings of loss. Suitable for pocket or bedside, this gentle book guides the lonely and suffering as they move through the many facets of grief, begin to heal, and slowly build new lives.

Life After Life
By Raymond A. Moody, Jr., M.D.

Raymond Moody investigates more than one hundred case studies of people who experienced “clinical death” and were subsequently revived. First published in 1975, this classic exploration of life after death started a revolution in popular attitudes about the afterlife and established Dr. Moody as the world’s leading authority in the field of near-death experiences. Life After Life forever changed the way we understand both death — and life — selling millions of copies to a world hungry for a greater understanding of this mysterious phenomenon.

Canadian Angels By your side
By Karen Forrest

This book is a collection of uplifting angel stories from people across Canada that will make you laugh, make you cry, but above all inspire you. Read loving angel messages and heartfelt prayers. Learn how you can summon angels in your daily life; invoke Archangel Raphael for healing; how angels visually appear to you and how to send angels to your loved ones in need.

Check out Karen’s website for other great books on angels.

 
By James Van Praugh
 
James Van Praagh is a spiritual medium–someone who is able to bridge the physical and spiritual worlds. Unaware of his spiritual gifts until he was in his twenties, he slowly came to terms with his unique abilities. In addition, many of his sessions with grieving people who came to him looking to contact the spirits of deceased loved ones are explored. From a devastated mother recieving a message of hope from her deceased little girl to communicating with a young man, killed in Vietnam, who doesn’t realize he’s dead, the theme of hope and peace in the afterlife is affirmed. Van Praagh also helps the reader recognize and positively deal with the pain of grief in a healthy, honest manner. Part spiritual memoir, part case study, part instrumental guide, ‘Talking to Heaven’ will change the way you perceive death…and life!
 

Beyond Tears
By Ellen Mitchell

Nine mothers who lost a child and met in a support group give comfort and direction to bereaved parents in a chorus of supportive voices.  The death of a child is that unimaginable loss no parent ever expects to face. In Beyond Tears, nine mothers share their individual stories of how to survive in the darkest hour. They candidly share with other bereaved parents what to expect in the first year and long beyond.

  • Harmonious relationships can become strained
  • There is a new definition of what one considers “normal”
  • The question “how many children do you have?” can be devastating
  • Mothers and fathers mourn and cope differently
  • There simply is no answer to the question “why?”

This sharing in itself is a catharsis and because each of these mothers lost her child at least seven years ago, she is in a unique position to provide perspective on what newly bereaved parents can expect to feel. The mothers of Beyond Tears offer reassurance that the clouds of grief do lessen with time and that grieving parents will find a way to live, and even laugh again.