Customer Reviews

Loving Grief

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Not a "self-help" book--and better because of it. Just a beautifully transparent look at one man's struggle with the loss of his wife, and the search for how to integrate that reality into his life. Also a widowed man, I found myself deeply engaged in this book. It gave me comfort--normalized my grieving in a way that surprised me.

Having recently lost my husband, I found this the most helpful book on how to manage the pain while moving to gratitude of loving memories

This book brought tears to my eyes. Loving Grief is well written from the perspective of a care giver and spouse. The insights help friends / family understand the sorrow, journey forward and another meaning for life after death.

If ever there was a book that so succinctly surgically removed layers of engulfing grief off the walls of the heart, this is it!

This is not only a book to digest and be transported to a much finer state of being, it is preliminarily A BOOK TO GIVE AWAY! Last year, my beloved cousin died of cancer . . . she was like a mother to me. I was literally overwhelmed with a devastating sense of loss. I cried for weeks.

Someone gave me Paul's book, and slowly, layer after layer of that suffocating fat was removed and gave me a big, full cleansing breathe of fresh air. This book GAVE ME ABILITY TO LEAVE THE PAST IN THE PAST and still go on loving my lost one.

More dramatic was the quick recovery his book generated in the spouse and children of my loved one. Also, my best friend lost his wife to brain cancer and this book was a life saver to him.

This is one surgery that is easy, concise and thoroughly cleansing. There is a scripture that asks: "A grieving heart, who can bear?". With this book what seems impossibly horrible is turned around into a flower garden memorial of love, and YOU CAN MOVE ON!

In a final note, this book may also be rudimentary healing to any kind of loss, including a breakup between lovers, or renegade children: it makes a place of being for that person who has gone away.

Paul Bennett's book is a real gem, a thoughtful and inspirational book that will bring comfort to many. Paul's meditative review of the months leading up to his wife's death and the months that followed contain profound insights for the bereaved as well as gentle guidance for family and friends of the grieving. Poetic and lyrically written, this is the type of book that can be turned to in the dark of night for solace and understanding. Highly recommended for all who have ever lost a loved one.

As someone who has recently faced the challenge of the death of my dear fiance, I found Mr Bennet's book very helpful. Beautifully written, it offers hope without sounding trite. Just looking at the angel on the cover is all I need to do sometimes. A good reminder that one's grief is a reflection of the love that was and will continue to be. Comforting.

Having been a hospice volunteer for several years didn't prepare me for te death of my wife. Nothing can. Bennett's book is lyrical, poetic and spot on as far as the experiences, regrets, misgivings, doubts, sadness and growth that the gift of grief can give us. His metaphors and imagery touched more than words can normally carry. It was a hard read because it was so similar to my experience watching my wife die from colon cancer. A brief book that can be read in an evening .. but one I return to in my thoughts long afterward.

Loving Grief
Paul Bennett has made a significant addition to the world of love, tragic loss and grief. In sharing his poetic, well-crafted stories, Bennett clarifies and re-frames the desolation of the long days and months following his beloved's death. ("Grief is how loving her feels. My grief is, in fact, nothing more or less than my love for her.") For months since reading this book, I have been haunted by lines from his opening chapter, "This book is what I would say softly to you if you and I were sitting on the porch after the setting sun has left us, two shadows facing each other...or if perhaps your head rested on my shoulder as your tears ran...this is what I would murmur to you about grief." I believe that Bennett's "murmurs" will be a healing balm to many grief-stricken hearts.

This beautifully written book is about love and loss, and about one man's discovery of growing through loss and finding meaning in it. Rather than letting go of Bonnie, his beloved wife of 20 years who died of cancer in 2002, over time the author learns to let go of his grief and the pain of losing her. Ultimately he comes to recognize the gifts he has received from loving her, as he discovers who he was in her presence, and who he has become in her absence. An inspiring book that will bring comfort and hope to anyone mourning the loss of a love.

This book is a true gem. I recommend Loving Grief Loving Grief to everyone who has ever lost a loved one. It is simple, easily read, yet profound in it's impact. It can be read through or opened at random. The words and message are comforting and the poetry is beautiful. I have already given it to several other people experiencing grief, and just ordered more as gifts.