The Grief Recovery Handbook
The Grief Recovery Method Handbook is really THE handbook on grief recovery. This book was written by John James & Russell Friedman, the founders of the Grief Recovery Institute, and it’s meant to be a workbook of sorts.
When I work with clients for grief recovery, we use this book to guide us through the process. It is the most helpful to go through the book and the process with a certified Grief Recovery Specialist (me). However, the book can be read and worked through individually as well.
The book outlines the Grief Recovery Method, and also gives personal examples from the authors’ lives that are relatable and real. This book is no-nonsense and gives the reader a real primer on what grief is and how we can look at it in new ways. For example, one of their definitions of grief is “the conflicting feelings caused by the end of or change in a familiar pattern of behavior.” That sentence alone helped me to make sense of emotions I was feeling that I hadn’t assigned to grief because the circumstance wasn’t related to a death.
Even just reading the first few chapters of this book can bring insight and healing, but when you use it as the workbook it’s intended to be, it is life-changing.