In THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD, Elizabeth Alexander finds herself at an existential crossroads after the sudden death of her husband. Reflecting with gratitude on the exquisite beauty of the intimacy they shared, grappling with the resulting void, and finding solace in caring for her two teenage sons, Alexander channels her poetic sensibilities into rich, lucid prose that universalizes a very personal quest for meaning and acceptance in the wake of loss. THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD is both an endlessly compelling memoir and a deeply felt meditation on the blessings of love, family, art, and community. For those who have loved and lost, or for anyone who cares about what matters most, this book is required reading.

This wide-ranging selection combines popular choices of traditional poems read at funerals with powerful poems by contemporary writers more tuned to our present age of doubt and disbelief. There are poems here for churchgoers and believers, including classic verses of grief and consolation by John Donne, Christina Rossetti, Emily Bronte and Emily Dickinson, the anonymous Do not stand at my grave and weep, and the poems read at Princess Diana's funeral. But there are also poems for people of all faiths and religions, for agnostics and atheists, and most importantly for those who aren't sure what they believe, whose grief over loss is the more intense for not knowing what happens to the soul after death. Grief isn't denied but experienced and made more bearable by being put into memorable words. Searing poems of lament are followed by moving elegies celebrating the lives of those we will always love. Whether and how the spirit survives is then explored in an extraordinary gathering of poems by writers as different and diverse as the Persian mystic Rumi, Zen Buddhist composers of Japanese haiku, and American poets Mary Oliver and Jane Kenyon. Buttressed against their assertions of faith in an afterlife are modern sceptics, from Auden and Larkin to William Carlos Williams and C.K. Williams, whose wrestling with the meaning of death helps us make sense of no sense, mirroring our own anxieties and difficulties. But however various and contradictory these poems, their message chimes with Larkin's famous words, proving 'Our almost-instinct almost true:/ What will survive of us is love.' Unlike other poetry anthologies of loss, mourning and remembrance, Do Not Go Gentle offers a selection of poems specifically for reading at funerals and memorial services. It can also be used for reading aloud to friends and family, or for reading while numbed and bewildered - all times when the right poem can help us share and bear the burden of immediate grief.

Nothing can steal peace and joy and undermine the very foundation of someone's life like losing a child. It is devastating on a level that most of us can't imagine. Written after the loss of the author's own child, "Surviving the Loss of a Child" offers encouragement and hope to those who may think they will never be able to live fully after such tragedy. Bereaved parents, as well as friends, counselors, pastors, and caregivers, will find this book a source of comfort and discover coping mechanisms as they move through their grief. Revised and updated, it has short chapters that are easy to take in, perfect for people going through this difficult time.

Written by a mother who lost her 21 year old son to suicide, this book deals with the themes of suicide loss through the lens of the author's personal grief. Addressing the process of post-traumatic growth, this memoir provides the bereaved with therapy exercises and creative activities to help them come to terms with their loss. Although it deals directly with losing a child, much of the book pertains to grief generally, especially complicated grief after a sudden death, and thus provides comfort to any reader who has lost a close one to suicide or anyone interested in young people struggling with mental health. Organised thematically, it addresses the many issues and stages involved in the grieving process and ends each chapter with a variety of beneficial yoga, breathing and therapy activities. This allows readers to dip in and out of the book, and go at their own pace - replicating the fact that grief is not a linear journey but an iterative one that goes back and forth. This book is a lifeline for anyone struggling to process loss.

'A beacon of hope in a dark world' Cathy Rentzenbrink, The Pool One night in November 2015, when Antoine Leiris was at home looking after his baby son, his wife Helene was killed, along with 88 other people, at the Bataclan Theatre in Paris. Three days later, Antoine wrote an open letter to his wife's killers on Facebook. He refused to be cowed or to let his baby son's life be defined by their acts. 'For as long as he lives, this little boy will insult you with his happiness and freedom,' he wrote. Instantly, that short post caught fire and was shared thousands of times around the world. An extraordinary and heartbreaking memoir, You Will Not Have My Hate is a universal message of hope and resilience in our troubled times.

One woman's heartbreaking story of a marriage destroyed by her husband's addiction to alcohol.

The dynamics of codependency are illuminated in this gripping tale. Author Fran Simone describes her husband's attempts at treatment and subsequent relapse, his suicide, and her own recovery through a twelve-step program for families.

Fran Simone, PhD, is a recently retired professor emeritus from the graduate college of Marshall University in South Charleston, West Virginia. Her essays have appeared in "The Voice" and "The Quarterly" of the National Writing Project, the "Charleston Gazette," "Writers Digest," and "The Forum."

'Insightful, wise and life-affirming' Observer 'Turns death into life, despair into hope, sorrow into joy' Stephen Fry In Radical Acts of Love, Janie Brown, oncology nurse and counsellor, offers a sensitive and wise insight into our final moments by recounting twenty conversations she has had with people who were dying.