SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2017 STELLA PRIZE In the year before her death, as she struggled with an untreatable illness, Cory Taylor began to write about her experiences, the patterns of her life, and of those she had lost. Dying is about vulnerability and strength, courage and humility, and anger. It is also about the acceptance that it takes to live a good life and say goodbye to it in peace.

Reassuring and helpful strategies to guide you through your grief Grief is a natural reaction to loss, but in some cases it can be devastating, causing a loss of direction which can impact our relationships and work. This practical guide will help you to regain a sense of control and offers tried and tested strategies for adjusting to life without your spouse, friend or family member. Relentless grief can cause a host of physical problems, including difficulties eating, disrupted sleep and becoming over-reliant on alcohol. It can also lead to serious emotional and psychological problems such as depression, anxiety, panic attacks and complicated grief. But techniques from cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) can help. This self-help book covers: * Coping with the unexpected or long-anticipated death of a loved one * Establishing a routine and tackling avoidance of difficult issues * Practical concerns such as making decisions and dealing with birthdays and anniversaries * Returning to work and planning a new future OVERCOMING self-help guides use clinically-proven techniques to treat long-standing and disabling conditions, both psychological and physical. Many guides in the Overcoming series are recommended under the Reading Well Books on Prescription scheme. Series Editor: Professor Peter Cooper

John Welshons weaves together his own personal awakening with those of others he's counselled to create a deeply felt and beautifully expressed primer on dealing with grief. "Grieving", says Welshons, "offers a unique opportunity to develop deeper and fuller life experiences, to embrace pain in order to open the heart to joy". Written for those who have experienced any kind of loss - death, divorce or disappointment - this book offers reasonable, reassuring thinking on dealing with grief and finding the inner gifts that promote healing. Learn how to: feel fully alive again, fill your life with love, forgive yourself and others, heal your relationships, help others who are grieving, fill your life with peace, care for yourself and others and heal a broken heart.

In response to increased academic interest in the fields of death studies, memorial studies, and human and animal studies, Skin, Meaning and Symbolism in Pet Memorials examines the mourning rituals which exist between people and their domestic pets. Paying close attention to the changing role and increased prominence of the companion animal in the domestic setting, each chapter considers a different form of companion animal memorialization, linking modern practices such as tattooing to historical examples of animal focused memento mori, particularly taxidermy. The final chapter adopts a forward focus in its provision of a framework for future studies related to how death and memorialization rituals are increasingly coming to occupy the digital space. While skin and touch are the focal points of many encounters explored in the text, what becomes evident is how the virtual realm is increasingly intruding into the touch experience. As a result, the posthumous, online afterlives of pets are set to become a social issue of increasing significance to the death and mourning experience. This work meets the needs of academics, post-graduate students and general readers alike, appealing to anyone with an interest in death studies, popular culture, tattooing and human and animal studies.

How did life begin? How does it end? What happens to those qualities that make each of us alive as individuals after the bodies they animated die and disappear? Taking inspiration from Sir David Attenborough's maxim 'Nature wastes nothing' and drawing on the wisdom of commentators as varied as NASA astronauts, the Dalai Lama, existential philosophers, a couple of prescient teenagers and even an engagingly 'human' gorilla - Hope . . . and the Hedgehog distils the thinking behind the principal interpretations of creation, before presenting them to the reader in an easily digestible summary. This is not a religious book and nor does it extol religion - rather it offers the same kind of assurance Bear Grylls presents to his readers. In the same way, it helps unpick the enduring puzzle that prompted Steve Jobs, creator and co-founder of Apple, to enigmatically describe death as 'Very likely the single best invention of life.' Which reinforces the importance of hope addressed here.

When her brother dies of AIDS and her husband dies of cancer in the same year, Rosemary is left on her own with two young daughters and antsy addiction demons dancing in her head. This is the nucleus of The Art of Losing It a young mother jerking from emergency to emergency as the men in her life drop dead around her; a high-functioning radio show host waging war with her addictions while trying to raise her two little girls who just lost their daddy; and finally, a stint in rehab and sobriety that ushers in a fresh brand of chaos instead of the tranquility her family so desperately needs. Heartrending but ultimately hopeful, The Art of Losing It is the story of a struggling mother who finds her way-slowly, painfully-from one side of grief and addiction to the other.

A deeply resonant memoir for anyone who has loved and lost, from acclaimed poet and Pulitzer Prize finalist Elizabeth Alexander. In THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD, Elizabeth Alexander--poet, mother, and wife--finds herself at an existential crossroads after the death of her husband, who was just 49. Reflecting with gratitude on the exquisite beauty of her married life that was, grappling with the subsequent void, and feeling a re-energized devotion to her two teenage sons, Alexander channels her poetic sensibilities into a rich, lucid prose that describes a very personal and yet universal quest for meaning, understanding, and acceptance, taking stock of herself at the midcentury mark. This memoir is about being strong when you want to collapse, being grateful when someone has been stolen from you--but mostly, it's about discovering the truth in life's journey: the good, the bad, and the ugly.

‘A most magnificent, beautifully written memoir’ - Nina Stibbe

'Deft, witty and profound . . . had me turning the pages all night' - Jessie Burton

Jean Hannah Edelstein was looking for love on OKCupid the night she lost her father. She had recently moved back to America to be closer to her parents, leaving behind the good friends, bad dates and questionable career moves that defined her twenties. But six weeks after she arrived in New York, her father died of cancer – and six months after that she learnt she had inherited the gene that determined his fate.

Heartbreaking, hopeful and disarmingly funny, This Really Isn’t About You is a book about finding your way in life, even when life has other plans.

An edge-of-your-seat psychological thriller from the acclaimed author of Every Line of You - A Good Girl's Guide to Murder meets virtual reality ... 'A pacy, intelligent novel that will have readers racing to get to the final page.' THE BOOKSELLER 'A pixelated whirlwind of a ride through the darkest secrets of the human mind, explored through the lens of virtual reality gaming!' LEE NEWBERY, AUTHOR OF THE LAST FIREFOX Lola's been selected to play a new virtual reality game - Better Than Life. In her game, she's loved. Is beautiful. Can do whatever she wants. But she quickly breaks the one rule: not to recreate people or places from real life. She recreates her house and a boy she fancies. Soon she's skipping school to play. But Lola has secrets - dark ones that begin to surface inside her game - and the more she tries to fix her problems, the more she overlooks a much bigger threat ... An original, high-concept psychological thriller - Holly Jackson meets VR horror Set in an exclusive boarding school, this rollercoaster ride of a story involves an unreliable narrator,immersive gaming, a dark secret and a huge twist Perfect for fans of Cynthia Murphy and Kathryn Foxfield PRAISE FOR EVERY LINE OF YOU: 'What a debut. So tense - and it didn't lead where I thought it was going.' SUE WALLMAN, author of YOUR TURN TO DIE 'Frankenstein meets Heathers. Bonnie and Clyde for the digital age, Every Line of You is a gripping thriller about the power of AI and a fresh twist on the intensity of first love.' AMY MCCAW, author of MINA AND THE UNDEAD

"Our Lord Jesus Christ is the Conqueror of death, and, consequently, of the death of our departed ones. Let us say to them in Him, not 'Farewell,' but 'Until we meet again, beloved spouse, good parents, dear brother or sister. Until we meet again!'" While many are now abandoning traditional religious practice, none the less, the reality of death and questions regarding the afterlife remain at the forefront of spiritual consciousness. How Our Departed Ones Live is the answer to those who seek the truth as expressed through the experience of the Orthodox Church. This comprehensive book discusses the source of death and mortality, the inner connection and mutual relationship between the living and the departed, intercession by the living for the departed, and life beyond the grave. It will comfort the grieving and inspire all Christians to strengthen their resolve as they seek first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness.

Children with SEND (special educational needs and disabilities), especially those in special schools, often experience grief at a much younger age than others, as some of their peers are more likely to have life-limiting medical conditions. Yet many adults do not know the best way to support a grieving child with SEND. This book provides all the resources that educational professionals need to ensure their community is fully prepared to acknowledge and support pupil bereavement and loss. Issues covered include bereavement and loss policies and procedures, an appropriate curriculum (including the issues of life, death and loss), how to inform the school community of the death, how to support pupils and staff with the loss, common signs of grieving and how grief affects children at different ages and developmental stages, plus activities and resources to support pupils with their grief. There is also an extensive appendix with template documents for schools to use such as draft letters, policies, procedures, curriculum and lesson ideas.

As read on BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week

'Moving, intellectual and unsentimental. I think it will become a classic' Melvyn Bragg

'Thoughtful, subtle, elegantly clever and oddly joyous, Every Third Thought is beautiful' - Kate Mosse

In 1995, at the age of forty-two, Robert McCrum suffered a dramatic and near-fatal stroke. Since that life-changing event, McCrum has lived in the shadow of death, unavoidably aware of his own mortality. And now, in his sixties, he is noticing a change: his friends are joining him there. Death has become his contemporaries’ every third thought.

And so, with the words of McCrum’s favourite authors as travel companions, Every Third Thought takes us on a journey towards death itself. This is a deeply personal book of reflection and conversation – with brain surgeons, psychologists, hospice workers and patients, writers and poets, and it confronts an existential question: in a world where we have learnt to live well at all costs, can we make peace with dying?

'As charming and touching as it is astute and insightful' Adam Alter, New York Times bestselling author of Irresistible and Drunk Tank Pink 'This a very useful book, even perhaps for people who have never been near a computer in their lives' Jake Kerridge, Sunday Telegraph Seen any ghosts on your smartphone lately? As we're compelled to capture, store and share more and more of our personal information, there's something we often forget. All that data doesn't just disappear when our physical bodies shuffle off this mortal coil. If the concept of remaining socially active after you're no longer breathing sounds crazy, you might want to get used to the idea. Digital afterlives are a natural consequence of the information age, a reality that barely anyone has prepared for - and that 'anyone' probably includes you. In All the Ghosts in the Machine, psychologist Elaine Kasket sounds a clarion call to everyone who's never thought about death in the digital age. When someone's hyperconnected, hyperpersonal digital footprint is transformed into their lasting legacy, she asks, who is helped, who is hurt, and who's in charge? And why is now such a critical moment to take our heads out of the sand? Weaving together personal, moving true stories and scientific research, All the Ghosts in the Machine takes you on a fascinating tour through the valley of the shadow of digital death. In the process, it will transform how you think about your life and your legacy, in a time when our technologies are tantalising us with fantasies of immortality.

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.