On Grief and Grieving: Finding the Meaning of Grief Through the Five Stages of Loss [Large Print] [Hardcover]

Elisabeth Kubler-Ross (Author), David Kessler (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2006

Shortly before her death in 2004, Elisabeth Kübler-Ross and David Kessler, her collaborator, completed the manuscript for this, her final book. On Grief and Grieving is a fitting completion to her work. Thirty-six years and sixteen books ago, Kübler-Ross's groundbreaking On Death and Dying changed the way we talk about the end of life. Now On Grief and Grieving will profoundly influence the way we experience the process of grief.

On Death and Dying began as a theoretical book, an interdisciplinary study of our fear of death and our inevitable acceptance of it. It introduced the world to the now-famous five stages: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. On Grief and Grieving applies these stages to the process of grieving and weaves together theory, inspiration, and practical advice, all based on Kübler-Ross's and Kessler's professional and personal experiences, and is filled with brief, topic-driven stories. It includes sections on sadness, hauntings, dreams, coping, children, healing, isolation, and even the subject of sex during grief.

"I know death is close," Kübler-Ross says at the end of the book, "but not quite yet. I lie here like so many people over the years, in a bed surrounded by flowers and looking out a big window....I now know that the purpose of my life is more than these stages....It is not just about the life lost but also the life lived."

In one of their final writing sessions, Kübler-Ross told Kessler, "The last nine years have taught me patience, and the weaker and more bed-bound I become, the more I'm learning about receiving love."

On Grief and Grieving is Elisabeth Kübler-Ross's final legacy, one that brings her life's work profoundly full circle.

--This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Elisabeth Kuebler-Ross left us one last gift, and it's a masterpiece. Having illumined the subject of death, she has now illumined the subject of grief. She and grief expert David Kessler have written a modern classic, the kind of book that all of us will want to keep on our bookshelves because we know it speaks to our deepest hearts."

-- Marianne Williamson

"Elisabeth Kuebler-Ross deserves to be remembered because her life and work have made this world a better place. On Grief and Grieving is a heartfelt tribute to all who have lost a loved one, from a woman who changed our lives by changing our relationship to death and dying. What a wonderful book Elisabeth and David have written."

-- Caroline Myss --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

About the Author

Elisabeth KÜbler-Ross, M.D. (July 8, 1926 – August 24, 2004) was a Swiss-born psychiatrist, humanitarian and co-founder of the hospice movement around the world.  She was also the author of the groundbreaking book On Death and Dying (1969), which first discussed The Five Stages of Grief. Elisabeth authored 24 books in 36 languages and brought comfort to millions of people coping with their own deaths or the death of a loved one. Elisabeth's passions included working with terminally ill children, AIDS patients, and the elderly, amongst others. Her greatest professional legacy includes teaching the practice of humane care for the dying and the importance of sharing unconditional love.  

 

Elisabeth is a 2007 inductee into the National Women’s Hall of Fame and Time Magazine named her one of the 100 greatest thinkers of the 20th century. Her work continues by the efforts of hundreds of organizations around the world including, The Elisabeth KÜbler-Ross Foundation: www.EKRFoundation.org

David Kessler is the coauthor of Life Lessons: Two Experts on Death and Dying Teach Us About the Mysteries of Life and Living. On his own, he is the author of The Needs of the Dying, which received praise from Mother Teresa and has been translated into eleven languages. He is a nationally recognized leader in the field of hospice and palliative care. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Thorndike Press (March 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786283432
• ISBN-13: 978-0786283439
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (72 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,912,536 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

144 of 147 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A very worthwhile read for those who grieve, October 14, 2005

By 

Stephanie Manley (Houston, TX) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: On Grief and Grieving: Finding the Meaning of Grief Through the Five Stages of Loss (Hardcover)

So often when we grieve people who have not experienced similar losses try to offer us suggestions of why the death made sense, why we shouldn't feel so bad, and that we should get over grieving and just move on with our lives. While sometimes those suggestions are good, and worthwhile, often we look back at others and think, you could not know how I feel. This book does a wonderful job of exploring the flood of emotions you feel after you lose someone.

This book goes through in depth the stages of grieving and the misconnecptions that we may have about those stages. For example, acceptance does not mean, we are ok, and moving on without our loved one. In reality, it is knowing they have passed away and adjusting our lives around that loss, and guess what, you don't have to like moving on. I like how this book helps you explore the palette of grief that we all have with the deaths of loved ones.

I honestly found myself weeping and remembering the deaths of my loved ones that I had recently lost. It was refreshing to read that the depth of the loss of my loved ones was normal, healthy, and even healing. I liked that in the forward the author felt that if he didn't lose sleep over writing the book, you would never lose sleep when reading the book. I can't recommmend this book enough for those who have lost loved ones. This book is a real blessing in the healing process of the death of a loved one.

73 of 74 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars As a widower for ten years, this book the best yet, October 10, 2005

By 

Paul D. Harvill - See all my reviews
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This review is from: On Grief and Grieving: Finding the Meaning of Grief Through the Five Stages of Loss (Hardcover)

As a widower for ten years, this book is the best yet on the grief and grieving process. Good practical information. Not an academic type of publication. I have read many such books since my spouse died.

Another excellent book is C.S. Lewis' "A Grief Observed".

59 of 59 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't Miss the Wisdom of this Book on Grief and Grieving!!, November 23, 2005

By 

Bob Hoff (Carlsbad, NM) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: On Grief and Grieving: Finding the Meaning of Grief Through the Five Stages of Loss (Hardcover)

On Grief and Grieving: Finding the Meaning of Grief through the Five Stages of Loss by Elizabeth Kubler Ross and David Kessler is a must-read book, a compelling page-turner for me, that provides profound insights into the necessity that we must properly grieve the passing of our loved ones.

As pointed out by the authors, the grieving process is not instinctual for us; it requires learning. It is particularly important that as adults that we don't forget to teach our young about grieving, for if a child doesn't grieve in an appropriate way for him or her, that repressed grief may surface years later, a phenomenon that sometimes happens to adults as well.

The book is very humane and compassionate and "teaches with short, clear and concrete stories" that analyze some of the many possible surrounding circumstances that others have faced in losing loved ones. Potentially, we and the people we know could face such circumstances as well. In addition, with these stories, the authors provide relevant and insightful advice and the reasons for that advice.

The authors state that, "if you do not take the time to grieve, you cannot find a future in which loss is remembered and honored without pain." They remind us that we will never forget our loss of a loved one and that we will never be the same; they also remind us that we can learn, when our own individual timetable suggests, that it may be possible to find "renewed meaning" in our lives. This renewed meaning will continue to include, "loving memories and honor for those we have lost."

I highly recommend that you read this book and that you give it to others, as personal circumstances "dictate." Kubler Ross is a legend in the field of grief counseling (she passed away within the last year) and Kessler brings remarkable humanitarian credentials of his own to the writing task. Their combined efforts results in producing a highly readable, compassionate, insightful, and useful book, nothing short of superb.