The Sudden Loss Survival Guide: Seven Essential Practices for Healing Grief (Bereavement, Suicide, Mourning)
- Description
- Product Details
- About the Author
- Read an Excerpt
- What People are Saying
- Table of Contents
“The Sudden Loss Survival Guide is a must-read guidebook for everyone who has experienced an unexpected loss of any kind in their life.” – The Grief Reiki
Healing after loss. When a loved one passes unexpectedly, the person left behind can lose their bearings. After the sudden death of her mother, Chelsea Hanson, a nationally-recognized grief educator and founder of With Sympathy Gifts and Keepsakes, didn’t know where to turn for help, what to do next, or how to put the pieces of her life back together. Hanson’s The Sudden Loss Survival Guide gathers everything that she learned during her own recovery process and provides an indispensable road map to aid those who’ve experienced a life-changing loss.
A proactive, intentional approach. While you cannot control losing a loved one, you can consciously guide your own recovery. Through the application of simple, proactive practices, The Sudden Loss Survival Guide will empower you to overcome the darkness and anxiety of grief.
Action-based tools. The Sudden Loss Survival Guide includes heart-lifting prompts and action steps that guide you towards reengaging in life and discovering deeper meaning. Through Hanson's grief healing practices, this book delivers the essential answers and tools needed to survive, cope, and heal from the devastating impact of sudden loss.
The Sudden Loss Survival Guide is a distinctive grief recovery handbook. In this book, discover:
- Seven practices for healing, including creative memorialization and maintaining an ongoing spiritual connection
- Skimmable, stand-alone passages with immediate, usable information for the trauma you’re facing
- A transformative method for living a meaningful, fulfilling life in remembrance of your loved one
Readers of grief books like Your Grief, Your Way, I Wasn’t Ready to Say Goodbye, or Grief Day By Day will learn how to live again with the help of The Sudden Loss Survival Guide.
ISBN-13: 9781642502282
Media Type: Paperback
Publisher: Mango Media
Publication Date: 05-19-2020
Pages: 276
Product Dimensions: 5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)
Chelsea Hanson is a nationally recognized grief educator and founder of With Sympathy Gifts and Keepsakes, which is an online memorial gift store and grief support center. Hanson found her true purpose in grief support and legacy work and graduated from the Universityof Wisconsin – Madison as a grief support specialist with certifications in holistic life coaching and life legacy preservation. By connecting her 20 years of business expertise with her true calling, she is an entrepreneur who specializes in grief products and programs to help others transform personal setbacks into opportunities to live a meaningful life. Chelsea transcended unexpected loss over time, losing both her father and mother at a young age. She now lives and works in Green Bay, Wisconsin, with her husband and son. Marty Tousley, RN, MS, FT, is both a bereaved parent and a bereaved child. She has focused her practice on issues of grief, loss, and transition for more than 40 years. As a grief counselor, Tousley administers and moderates GriefHealingDiscussionGroups.com and runs GriefHealing.com.Tousley is the author of Finding Your Way through Grief: A Guide for the First Year and The Final Farewell: Preparing for and Mourning the Loss of Your Pet. She is a frequent contributor to healthcare journals, newsletters, and magazines for the public, and has written several articles and book chapters in the professional nursing and medical literature. Her online articles appear on the Grief Healing Blog, as well as the Open to Hope Foundation and the Grief Toolbox websites.She is a registered nurse with a master's degree in Advanced Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing. She has earned the Board Certified TeleMental Health Provider (BC-TMH) credential and was awarded the Fellow in Thanatology (FT) certification by the Association for Death Education and Counseling.She and her husband Michael live Sarasota, Florida. Jan Warner's husband died in 2009, and she started the blog, Grief Speaks Out, which continues today. When Warner later created Grief Speaks Out, an online community, she never imagined that it would become a loving, supportive community to over 2 million people worldwide. Warner is the author of Grief Day by Day: Simple Practices and Daily Guidance for Living with Loss. She has a Master’s degree in Counseling and has worked in child abuse and suicide prevention. She owned the bookstore, The Turning Page. She has produced documentaries including The Last Laugh by Ferne Pearlstein and Poetry of Resilience by Katja Esson. She also produced the off-Broadway play, Party Face. Jan is an avid traveler and has been to all 7 continents. Her favorite thing, though, is spending time with her daughter Erin and her granddaughter Gwendolyn. She lives in New York City.
Remember: Honor Your Beloved And Memories CreativelyMemorializing Your Loved One “Time cannot steal the treasure that we carry in our hearts, nor ever dim the shining thought our cherished past imparts, for memories of the one we love still cast a gentle glow to grace our days and light our paths wherever we may go.” —Author Unknown Adjusting to the sudden death of the person you love does not mean burying memories, pretending he or she never lived, or getting rid of all personal belongings and tangible reminders. Instead, you adapt to your changed circumstances by using ongoing remembrance, commemoration, and rituals to feel the steadfast love and enduring spirit of your beloved. Remembrance supports healing through healthy grieving, maintains a continuing bond with your loved one, and allows you to appreciate the legacy of your beloved. Mourning the person’s absence invites his or her presence to continue to exist. Later in this chapter I will give you specific ideas for remembrance, memorialization, and rituals to commemorate your beloved in the years ahead and throughout your life, but first let’s explore the significant benefits of using ongoing remembrance. First, remembrance is a pathway to healing. Healing requires remembering. Recollection is a normal, sacred part of grieving. When you define and use this essential practice, it opens your broken heart to healing. Your open heart holds an everlasting, faithful place for your beloved. It’s here, where you maintain your relationship, not sever it, to provide comfort. It’s here where you reminisce about your beloved, and not forget, to sustain you. It’s here where you continue the bond of love, rather than relinquishing it, to empower you. Second, remembrance is a permanent corridor to love. Loving requires remembering. When someone dies, you still love the person who has been an important part of your life. Your love doesn’t die. Your grief is an expression of your remarkable love. Recalling your cherished one gives you the means to express this love. Invoking his or her presence in your day-to-day life through recollection allows that love to grow stronger, rather than diminish. When you have the courage to remember, rather than forget, you embody love. Third, remembrance is a passageway to befriending and healing grief. Grieving requires embracing pain. When you mourn through remembrance activities, you are turning towards your grief, rather than away from it. To mourn, and ultimately integrate loss into your life, you need to allow, experience, and express your grief. As you have learned throughout this book, sorrow asks you to say hello to your pain before you can say goodbye; go backward, before you go forward; and descend before you transcend. When you embrace your sorrow through remembrance, you support your natural, organic ability to mourn in order to be touched and changed by the mysterious power of grief. Lastly, ongoing remembrance is a positive pathway to living. Living requires remembering. When you find ways to respect and celebrate the person you miss through memorialization, tributes, and personally meaningful approaches, you are making life-sustaining choices. You are affirming your ability to heal and live with greater fulfillment and aliveness. When you are aware of absence, you are aware of life. Remembrance facilitates living. At times, remembering will hurt and that’s part of healing after sudden loss. Your natural inclination may be to run from your sorrow and anything related to your loved one. Don’t hide or destroy your memories because it is painful now. You’ll revel in your precious memories in the future and throughout your lifetime. The past travels with you and makes you who you are today. When you use a conscious, healthy process to honor your dear one in daily life, you’ll hold onto the love, spirit, and essence of the person. By remembering your beloved in daily life, love continues to exist. As you remember, you’ll never forget. And isn’t that we all want? How will ongoing remembrance benefit you?Read an Excerpt
“Grief is a universal experience. Sooner or later, we all experience grief. When it's triggered by an unexpected loss, it's doubly difficult to handle. Chelsea Hanson's new book, The Sudden Loss Survival Guide, is the perfect resource for anyone suddenly confronted with the loss of a loved one. Read it and weep...tears of love and healing.”What People are Saying About This
From the Publisher
—BJ Gallagher, coauthor of Your Life Is Your Prayer
“Grief is a normal yet highly personal response to loss. It is neither an illness nor a pathological condition, but rather a natural process that, depending on how it is understood and managed, can lead to healing and personal growth. The Sudden Loss Guide helps the reader to do both.”
—Marty Tousley, RN, MS, FT
This is a Book of Healing Practice One: Readjust Journey through Grief Practice Two: Release You Can and Will Go On Practice Three: Renew Caring for Yourself Practice Four: Reconnect Healing Grief with Spiritual Presence Practice Five: Reassess Noticing Your Growth Practice Six: Reassure Revealing Your Heart Practice Seven: Remember Memorializing Your Loved One EpilogueTable of Contents
Introduction
This is a Book of Transformation
This is a Book of Comfort
How to Use this Book
The Seven Grief Healing Practices
Practicing What You Learn
Noticing Resistance to Healing
Starting A Dedicated Healing Journal
Creating a Safe Place to Grieve
Making Your Healing Sanctuary Meaningful
Using Your Healing Sanctuary
Understand Sorrow
How Will I Get Through Loss?
What Grief Is
What Grief Is Not
How Long Will Grief Last?
What Should I Expect?
Am I Going Crazy?
Why Don’t Others Talk About Death?
Should I Talk About Her/Him?
Where Is My Loved One?
Why Did This Happen
Why Am I Questioning My Faith?
How Do I Make Sense Of This?
Will I Have Closure?
Will Happiness Ever Reappear
Allow and Let Go of Grief
Choosing Hope
Committing to Healing
Owning Your Grief
Defining Healing
Choosing to Heal with Intention
Affirming Your Intention to Heal
Allowing Your Painful Emotions
Soothing Resistance to Grieving
Letting Go of Emotions
Identifying Cumulative Grief
Foster A Support System
Reaching Out for Help
Asking for Specific Help
Finding Support From the Right People
Talking About Sorrow
Putting Your Needs First and Expressing Preferences
Being an Advocate for Your Needs and Emotions
Exploring and Breaking Grief Myths
Dealing with Misinformation
Surviving the Milestones
Making Progress
Easing Into Work Challenges
Navigating the Grief Terrain
Develop Ongoing Spiritual Connection
Using Spiritual Connection
Noticing the Signs
Imagining Heaven
Asking for Without a Doubt Signs
Becoming Familiar with Types of Signs
Not Sensing Signs
Using Meditation
Using Prayer
Discover Meaning and Purpose from Loss
Viewing Today as a Gift
Living Life Authentically
Cultivating Desires from your Authentic Self
Answering the Important Questions
Bringing Joy into Your Life Gradually
Finding Passion and Purpose
Exploring Your Inner Self
Returning to Joy
Provide Peace to Those you Love
Letting Others In
Creating a Legacy Letter
Overcoming Resistance to Sharing Your Message
Crafting Your Legacy Message
Sharing Messages for Future Occasions
Shining On
Honor Your Beloved and Memories Creatively
Choosing How to Remember
Repurposing Personal Belongings
Redesigning Jewelry
Linking to Tangible Items
Using Living Memorials
Mourning With Symbols
Remembering Through a Cause
Using Remembrance Practices
Living While Remembering
Suggested Reading
Acknowledgments
About the Author