Customer Reviews

Empty Chair, The: Handling Grief on Holidays and Special Occasions

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is a wonderful easy read that helped me through a difficult time. I thought that I had completed the grieving process for my father, but realized that during the Holidays I would get really down. After reading The Empty Chair, I realized that what I was going through was normal, and needed to deal with those emotions. Since reading this book, I have learned how to enjoy the Holidays and remember the good times with my father instead of resenting and grieving that he is not there to share those special times.

If you know of anyone who just lost someone close to them this is an excellent gift.

This book is an excellent tool for ritualizing loss in any situation, especially during the holidays. It offers an effective format to simply state what you may be holding back while sitting around the holiday dinner table or gathering around the Christmas tree or at a family reunion. It is often hard to spontaneously say that we miss the person who is no longer there, whether it be from death or divorce, that there is an empty spot in our hearts. You may get choked up while going through the suggested format, but it can be extremely healing.

I used this book to help prepare a 40 minute discussion/talk on managing grief during the holidays. I would recommend it for several reasons: first, it's easy to read and pretty short but still adequate enough for the specific topic; second, I really liked the organization of the chapters - each section was broken down into a chapter about a phase of grief, a chapter on Christian meditation specific to that phase, and a chapter on practical application and actions you could try for that phase. Overall I would say this is a great read if you are looking for something quick and basic with some practical advice strewn throughout. It is not a comprehensive psychological look at grief and I also wouldn't recommend it for someone who is in the immediate wake of a loss.

I found this book very helpful after losing a loved one. I particularly liked the format of this book. The authors give excellent ideas and suggestions as well as inspiring meditations. I highly recommend "The Empty Chair" to anyone who has experienced a death of someone close to them.

First of all, this book has handling grief on holidays and special occasions right in the title but it barely touches on that!!!! I have seen other books do a much better job helping survivors honor their loved one, acknowledge their grief, etc than this one does. If you are looking for help on how to handle the holidays, this one will not give you much help.

Second, I did not realize how Christian this book is when I bought it. The Christian meditations are nice for those of you who are. It should at least say that in the title or cover or something! It does not. If you are Christian, you may like the meditations. They are thoughtful and inspiring if you follow this faith. I am sure you will draw comfort from it. If you are not Christian, you probably won't and you will be skipping a lot of pages! While I understand that death and spirituality overlap, I have a problem with the fact that this book is Christian but does not advertise itself as such.

As for rituals and such to honor your loved one, there are other books that do a much better job than this one in that department.

While I do not doubt the qualifications of the authors, I do not think this book does a good job in addressing the subject because it barely touches on the sublect at all!! I would pass this one up if you are specifically looking for holiday help. It may help you if you are a Christian who needs guidance with grief from the death of a loved one, but since this book is so general, it will leave you searching for more help.

What a great book! In tackling a sometimes difficult topic, the authors did a splendid job in addressing holidays and other occasions and how to handle them after losing a loved one. I have enjoyed this book so much that I've recommended it to several friends.

This little book is a must-read for getting through the holidays. We lost my dad on 12/31/09. As difficult as the holidays were last year, I do have some very sweet and wonderful memories that he and I were able to share during his last two weeks. Of course those memories are now close to the surface with the holiday season upon us. This little book has truly been a blessing. Rich with warmth and comfort. Highly recommend!!

I didn't find this book helpfull at all. I'm seriously tired of hearing and reading "your loved one died you didn't" because it doesn't feel that way. I hope if you try this book in your grieving process you can get more from it than I did

As I was getting ready to order another copy of Christmas Gifts, Christmas Voices, I noticed that this book was advertised as being a book on a similar topic. I am glad I found out about this book. (I think it's a great service that Amazon points out books similar to the ones you've ordered.)

This is a very comforting book. And I recommend it to anyone who has lost a loved one druing the holidays. The author writes in a gentle tone that is very appropirate for the subject matter.

Also recommended:Christmas Gifts, Christmas Voices--a story of grieving and loss that, in the end, leaves you inspired.