Companion Through The Darkness: Inner Dialogues on Grief (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

Product Description

As a result of her own experience with many kind of loss, Stephanie Ericsson offers an intimate, profoundly touching guide for those in grief, legitimizing the complex and often taboo emotions we all feel when loss transforms our lives. In Companion Through the Darkness, Stephanie Ericsson defines grief as "the constant reawakening that things are now different." Using a very simple format -- which combines excerpts from her own diary writings with brief essays -- she vividly speaks the language of loss and captures the contradictory, wrenching, and chaotic emotions of grief. The book can be opened at any point to chapters no more than a few pages long on such themes as:

Abandonment: The sudden state I am forced into. I no longer belong to you. I no longer belong to anyone.

Rage: The state I use to survive seemingly moments of intolerable pain.

Humor: The backside of agony.

Pity: The look on people's faces when they haven't a clue what to say to me.

Transition: The moments, strung out over months, when I know I am no longer the woman I was, but not quite the woman I am becoming.

The result is compelling, intimate, and heartbreakingly truthful -- a book that promises to be enormously sought-after support and touchstone for all those making their own journey through grief.

About the Author

Stephanie Ericsson is a screenwriter and advertising copywriter and the author of ShameFaced and Recovering Together. She began writing a journal of her experiences after the loss of her husband while she was pregnant with their only child, and later published a widely acclaimed excerpt from the book in the Utne Reader. A frequent speaker on the subjects of loss, she lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Harper Paperbacks; 1st edition (January 27, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060969741
• ISBN-13: 978-0060969745
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #60,323 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Companion through the Darkness, August 8, 2000

By A Customer

My wife Robin died of lung cancer 11 months ago. My four daughters are heart broken,motherless and trying to cope with the reality of a lifetime without their mom. I came across Stephanie Erricsons book Companion through the Darkness on Amazon .com . Reading this book was an emotional rollercoaster of tears and laughter. Her uncommon insight and understanding of the process of grief and rebirth continues to help me through this hell. I can remember looking at my wedding ring and thinking "what am I to do?" Ms. Erricson had some sage advice which I followed. This book, above all the others I have read, is far and away the most important guide to healing and reconnection you will find.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The definitive companion for the recently bereaved, December 22, 1999

By	Vivien Shiers (Toronto, Canada) - See all my reviews

My young widows' support group all agree that this is the ONLY book that we kept returning to, month after long and lonely month. Five years later this is the book we all buy for the newly bereaved of our aquaintance. Like us, Stephanie has "been there and done that", and we all benefitted from sharing her experiences.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Total Validation of My Grief Experiences, February 8, 2001

By A Customer

This book was by far the best book on grief and grieving I have come across and I have shared it and recommended it to my counselors, other widows, family and friends. The straight and honest language used so totally expresses the emotions and experiences of grieving the loss of a spouse. I found this book to be such a wonderful validation of my loss and grief experiences - I rely on it on a regular basis to tell others what I went through. I can't say enough good things about this book and this author. Kudos to Ms. Ericsson!