The Soul in Grief: Love, Death, and Transformation (Paperback)

by Robert Romanyshyn (Author), Thomas Moore (Introduction) "Each day brought with it a renewal of that leaden heaviness of grief..." (more)
Key Phrases: Duino Elegies, Gaston Bachelard, Green Man (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"Robert is introducing us to a new way of imagination that has direct relevance to our everyday situation, especially to its strong emotions and scarcity of meaning...it is a form of education of the deepest sort, the kind that happens when we are forced to find a way to live in the midst of grief."
-From the Foreword, by Thomas Moore

"The Soul in Grief shows how moments of grief can help us move beyond false constructs of the ego...it expands our idea of psychology to situate life and the soul within the greater fabric of the living universe."
-David Fideler, editor of Alexandria: A Journal of Cosmology, Philosophy, Myth and Culture

Product Description
The death of a loved one is also a loss of a part of one's self. In this quiet book of reflection, Robert Romanyshyn shows that mourning and despair need not become stuck and fixed. A new self can be rebuilt, but it will take time. Grief is a process that must run its course.

Drawing on personal experience, Romanyshyn beckons the reader to do the psychological work grief demands: letting go of previous attitudes and assumptions, giving up control of experience and emotions, and giving in to the soul's impetus toward healing itself.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 184 pages
• Publisher: North Atlantic Books (September 25, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1556433158
• ISBN-13: 978-1556433153
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #661,096 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A delicate and sensible book, March 12, 2000

By	Liliane M.T. Boardman (Tacoma, Washington) - See all my reviews

The Soul in Grief offers an in-depth look not only at death and grieving but also at love. Dr. Romanyshyn writes about the experience of his wife's sudden death, of her lingering presence, of the unseen world of the dead, and of his attempt to make sense of a senseless loss. He speaks of his well-intended friends who, after a while, encourage him to go on with life. But how does one go on with life when one's whole world is so suddenly shattered? The author relates how the numbness, depression, grief, and despair he feels are slowly transformed as he honors the dreams, reveries, and images that visit him. Describing his journey through grief, the author interweaves his personal experiences, dreams, and reveries with myths, folktales, poetry, and various art expressions. Dr. Romanyshyn speaks with the unique yet universal language of a bereaved heart that dares to delve into the depth of his own pain and existence. Even though the book speaks of death and mourning, in the end, it is a hymn to love and life. It is a sensible and delicate book that will speak to anyone touched by death and grieving. I also highly recommend it to anyone who is at a loss for words when trying to comfort someone in mourning.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A soulful work by a wonderful man,, December 4, 1999

By	Craig Chalquist, PhD, author of TERRAPSYCHOLO... (Bay Area, CA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

this book invites the reader into the imaginal space opened up by grief. It is a space we tend to fear and therefore neglect in our mechanized, electronicized, and tremendously busy culture... one reason we have so much unfinished emotional business. Dr. Romanyshyn's book reminds us that melancholy can be a path to greater self-fulfillment--for as Viktor Frankl pointed out, there are values known only to those with the courage to suffer well. Highly recommended. -- Craig Chalquist, designer of the Thineownself self-exploration site.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Echoes my own grief at the loss of my gay soul-mate, March 23, 2003

By	Joseph Bridwell (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Two things impressed me about his book. The first was that the author honestly & truthfully deals with his grief as an extremely personal & individualized experience - the anguish, the depression, the ache, the doubt, the inconsistency; the unwanted & unhelpful push by society, friends, religion which really want us to not remind them of grief; the moments of relief, forgetfulness & grace, etc. The second was that, in his honesty, I was found a very many of passages which echoed exactly my own grief even though the author lost his long-time friend, lover & wife but I lost my friend, gay lover, soul- & life-mate.