An essential grief guide and recovery workbook for those who have said, "I thought I'd feel better by now."

Grief does not follow a timeline or a set path. It is nonlinear and messy, doubling back on itself just when you thought you were out of the woods. Those who have experienced the loss of a loved one know this unequivocally, but Western society still seems to think that grief should only last six months to a year-tops-when in fact, grief can last throughout a person's entire life and manifest as serious mental health issues, including depression, anxiety, anger, and despair.

The Long Grief Journey, co-written by a psychotherapist and a clinical psychologist who have both worked with grieving individuals for decades, is for the people who are past the acute pain and effects of a sudden loss and are now learning to live beyond that. It is for those who by all appearances seem to have "moved on." They're working, carrying out their responsibilities, showing up for important life events, yet they quietly bear the weight of their sadness and longing for their loved one. There's a name for this type of long-term, unresolved grief. In fact, there are several: complicated grief, traumatic grief, complex bereavement, prolonged grief, extended grief, abnormal grief, exaggerated grief, and pervasive grief disorder. If you feel "stuck" after experiencing the death of a loved one, even if much time has passed, this book is for you.

With exercises, journal prompts, and rituals that will further help readers along their grief path, The Long Grief Journey is designed to educate, support, and coach you to rekindle a desire to live life fully, all while still cherishing and embracing the memories of your loved one.

"Now there is a hand to hold... "

Each year about eight million Americans suffer the death of someone close to them. Now for thse who face the challenges of sudden death, there is a hand to hold, written by two women who have experienced sudden loss. This updated edition of the best-selling bereavement classic will touch, comfort, uplift and console. Authors Brook Noel and Pamela D. Blair, Ph.D. explore sudden death and offers a comforting hand to hold for those who are grieving the sudden death of a loved one.

Featured on ABC World News, Fox and Friends and many other shows, this book acts as a touchstone of sanity through difficult times. I Wasn't Ready to Say Goodbye covers such difficult topics as the first few weeks, suicide, death of a child, children and grief, funerals and rituals, physical effects, homicide and depression. New material covers the unique circumstances of loss, men and women's grieving styles, religion and faith, myths and misunderstandings, I Wasn't Ready to Say Goodbye reflects the shifting face of grief.
These pages have offered solace to over eighty thousand people, ranging from seniors to teenagers and from the newly bereaved to those who lost a loved one years ago. Individuals engulfed by the immediate aftermath will find a special chapter covering the first few weeks.

Tapping their personal histories and drawing on numerous interviews, authors Brook Noel and Pamela D. Blair, Ph.D, explore unexpected death and its role in the cycle of life. I Wasn't Ready to Say Goodbye provides survivors with a rock-steady anchor from which to weather the storm of pain and begin to rebuild their lives.

PRAISE FOR I WASN'T READY TO SAY GOODBYE

""I highly recommend this book, not only to the bereaved, but to friends and counselors as well.""
Helen Fitzgerald, author of The Grieving Child, The Mourning Handbook, and The Grieving Teen

""This book, by women who have done their homework on grief... can hold a hand and comfort a soul through grief 's wilderness. Oustanding references of where to see other help.""
George C. Kandle, Pastoral Psychologist

""Finally, you have found a friend who can not only explain what has just occurred, but can take you by the hand and lead you to a place of healing and personal growth. Whether you are dealing with the loss of a family member, a close personal associate or a friend, this guide can help you survive and cope, but even more importantly... heal.""
The Rebecca Review

""For those dealing with the loss of a loved one, or for those who want to help someone who is, this is a highly recommended read.""
Midwest Book Review

"We don't just meet people by accident; they are meant to cross our path for a reason." Unknown AMID THE NOISE AND HASTE is my first novel of inspirational adult fiction based on the belief that everyone has a guardian angel and that if you are tapped into your own subconscious deeply enough, you start believing that this angel takes many forms, physically and mentally, to help you get through life. This 76,500 word novel is as much a spiritual journey as it is a physical one, as my protagonist's adventures span four continents, and more than a dozen countries, in search of herself during her work as a broadcast journalist. Inclusive of many non-fiction references to and interviews with real people, musicians, artists, cities and events from the end of the 90s into the turn of the new millennium, Piper Brown follows the voices of her mantra found within the famous poem, THE DESIDERATA, to find her way back home. AMID THE NOISE AND HASTE is similar in texture and diction to Elizabeth Gilbert's NY Times Bestseller, EAT, PRAY, LOVE, in the sense that there is a young female protagonist searching for a balance in life. As my heroine is being guided by the wisdom of her God, she like all of us, struggles with the human condition and is ever evolving, moving from her morning to her noon then to her night of life, in order to find the answers for which she's been searching. As a music reporter and travel journalist, Piper Brown shares, with an entire generation of readers just entering middle age or 'the afternoon of life', her profound love, infectious laughter, and wide-eyed curiosity, while she discovers herself through the real people, music and travel adventures she experiences. We believe she is a kindred spirit; we want to cheer her on in victory and cry with her in defeat. " Prologue 'What walks on four legs in the morning, two at mid-day and three at night?' The Riddle of the Sphinx The answer is Man; he crawls on all fours as a baby, and then walks on two feet for the majority of his life; then he gives way to the use of a cane as he reaches old age. Although there are many interpretations of the history behind the riddle, its purpose and its inventor, legend has most commonly credited it to Oedipus as a riddle that he enforced to provide security into the entrance of the great tombs of the pyramids. One needed to answer the question correctly or be slain. It was Hera, who knew the answer. I was very fortunate throughout my life to have had the opportunity to travel and it was on one such adventure to Egypt where I was reminded about the complexities and the capabilities of the human spirit. I was in awe of the pyramids and the Sphinx and marveled at the construction of such eternal masterpieces because most particularly, they had been crafted so many centuries ago; but it made me realize that no matter how much we as humans have evolved, we are still plagued by the same riddles, suffer the same conditions and pay the same consequences as our human brethren did back then. We are the most evolutionary creatures on the planet. Yet we cannot seem to move beyond our own complexities and limitations. We are all united in our misery by what makes us divinely human. My protagonist, naturally, is no different, she suffers the same human conditions; she lives, she loves and she dies. She is ever evolving moving from her morning to her noon then to her night of life, but she feels the need to go outside herself in order to seek what is really within all along, in order to find 'peace with her soul' as it says in The Desiderata and to find her 'home', whatever that is perceived to be. This then bares the question, is she actually meeting and seeing real people or merely incarnations of her self?" The moral of the story is to listen to the voices in your head, to tap into your subconscious. They're telling you things for a reason; they're showing you the way to go home.

A workbook of healing and hope
Based on the bereavement classic I Wasn't Ready to Say Goodbye: Surviving, Coping, and Healing after the Sudden Death of a Loved One, this workbook offers step-by-step support and encouragement through the grief journey.
In the wake of sudden loss, the I Wasn't Ready to Say Goodbye Companion Workbook, written by two women who have experienced tragedy, acts as a warm touchstone to navigate the unique emotions and challenges of grief. Tapping their personal histories and drawing on numerous interviews, authors Brook Noel and Pamela D. Blair, PhD, explore unexpected death and its role in the cycle of life.
This edition also includes new material regarding the unique circumstance of loss, men and women's grieving styles, religion, faith and grief's unanswerable questions.
Called a "support group in your hands" by professionals and mourners alike, this companion workbook will comfort, uplift, and console. Exercises guide readers through the gap created by loss, anger, guilt, loss of purpose, and the unique challenges based on the relationship to the loved one. Using a combination of self exploration questions, visualization activities, and journaling, I Wasn't Ready to Say Goodbye Workbook shows grieving readers how to endure, survive, and grow from the pain and turmoil surrounding sudden loss. Combined with the classic I Wasn't Ready to Say Goodbye, this workbook truly places a support vehicle in the hands of those who are mourning. In tandem with the updated edition of the book, the second edition of the workbook reflects the fact that the face of grief has changed in the past 10 years.
Praise for I Wasn't Ready to Say Goodbye
"As one who deals with unexpected death, I am so pleased to find a truly valuable reference for those souls who are blindsided by such misery. This book is thoughtful, thorough, and intensely meaningful. Up until now Rabbi Kushner's reference When Bad Things Happen to Good People has been my mainstay in such circumstances; I will add this book to my recommended list."
-E. Charles Douville, MD, Cardiothoracic Surgeon, Providence, Portland
"The authors have captured a means of discussing and exploring a very painful life passage in real life, down to earth language and experience. Many thanks to Pam and Brook for their generosity in sharing their discoveries to further our healing."
-Charlotte A. Tomaino, PhD, Neuropsychologist
"This book, by women who have done their homework on grief, can hold a hand and comfort a soul through grief 's wilderness. Outstanding references of where to seek other help."
-George C. Kandle, Pastoral Psychologist