Joanne Cacciatore

In this journaling book, grief expert Joanne Cacciatore, author of the bestselling Bearing the Unbearable, provides support and guidance, as writing prompts, for anyone experiencing traumatic loss and grief. From the bestselling author of Bearing the Unbearable and Grieving is Loving, here are 52 writing prompts for exploring grief and journaling about those whom we've lost. Writing about those we've lost can be part of a contemplative practice, alone or with therapists, family, friends, or with a grief support group. However you use this journal and its writing prompts, please take the time to write from the heart, really be with each prompt, dive deeply--and do so with a spirit of love and compassion for all beings, including yourself.

"A wondrous, hopeful, heart-breaking witness to one of the darkest journeys imaginable... This will be one of those rare books that people re-read, think about, and encourage others to read." --Bruce D. Perry, M. D., Ph. D, author, with Oprah Winfrey, of What Happened to You"I love this book. I absolutely could not put it down. It is beautifully written and cuts to the very heart of life and love: The story of Havi's short, beautiful life and early death from Tay-Sachs is harrowing, heartbreaking, uplifting, profound and sometimes funny. Havi will charm the socks off you."--Anne LamottLife is unfolding as planned for Myra Sack and her husband Matt until their beautiful year-old daughter Havi is diagnosed with Tay-Sachs, a fatal neurodegenerative disease, and given only a year to live. Myra and Matt decide to celebrate Havi's short life and vow to show her as much of the world as they can, surrounded by friends and family who relocate to be in Havi's orbit. Tapping their Judaism, they transform Friday night Shabbats into birthday parties--"Shabbirthdays"--to replace the birthdays Havi will never have.

Grief sometimes leaves us without words. Yet narrating our feelings, thoughts, and experiences can be so helpful in relating to our inner world. These cards are an invitation to begin that process. From the bestselling author of Bearing the Unbearable, here are 52 cards with prompts for exploring grief and starting conversations about those whom we've lost. These cards can be used as part of a contemplative practice, as journaling prompts, by or with therapists, or used in community with family, friends, or with a grief support group. They can be read aloud, alone or with others. You can read one card prior to meditation, or simply take one in and reflect deeply on what arises. However you use these cards, please take the time to really be with each one, dive deeply--and do so with a spirit of love and compassion for all beings, including yourself.

In the style of a quote-a-day collection, this book from Wisdom's bestselling author Joanne Cacciatore distills down the award-winning book Bearing the Unbearable into easy-to-access small chunks, and includes much brand-new material, including new prose and poems from Dr. Jo and other sources as well. From INDIES Gold Medal Award-Winner and Wisdom Bestseller Joanne Cacciatore If you love, you will grieve--and nothing is more mysteriously central to becoming fully human. This book is a companion to carry with you throughout your day, to touch in with and be supported by when bearing the unbearable pain of a loved one's death--whether weeks or years since their passing. Our culture often makes the bereaved feel alone, isolated, broken, and like they should just "get over it"--this book offers a loving antidote. Open to any page and you'll find something that will instantly help you feel not alone, while honoring the full weight of loss. This book is comprised of quotations from Bearing the Unbearable, and other sources as well, plus an enormous amount of new material from Dr. Jo. Especially well-suited for the grieving mind that may struggle with concentration, just 30 seconds on any page will empower, hearten, and validate any bereaved person--helping give strength and courage to bear life's most painful losses. Praise for Bearing the Unbearable "This masterpiece is the greatest gift I could give to someone entrenched in grief, or to the loved ones of the bereaved."--The Tattooed Buddha "Simply the best book I have ever read on the process of grief."--Huffington Post "Anyone who's trying to deal with a loss, or anyone who knows someone dealing with a loss, (and in truth, isn't that everyone?) will benefit from reading this amazing book."--Foreword Reviews "It offers hope for those who feel like their loss has disconnected themselves forever from humanity and the circle of life."--Doug Bremner, MD, professor of psychiatry, Emory University and author of You Can't Just Snap Out of It "This is a holy book, riddled with insight and compassion."--Francis Weller, author of The Wild Edge of Sorrow

Bestselling author, spiritual teacher, grief counselor, and poet Stephen Levine spent more than 40 years in the Southwest, living near the Carson National Forest and the Picuris Pueblo in northern New Mexico and tending a wildlife reserve in southern Arizona for The Nature Conservancy. He spent every day interacting with, meditating on, and learning from the local wildlife and landscape as well as from his own companion animals. Inspired by the Jataka Tales--hundreds of anecdotes and fables depicting earlier incarnations of the future Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama--Levine collected his own stories of transcendent moments with animals. These memoirs, essays, and poems comprise an open-hearted, vulnerable, sometimes apologetic, and often humorous exploration of the mystical importance of animals in the cultivation of meaning and purpose in our lives and in teaching us compassion and empathy.

If you love, you will grieve--and nothing is more mysteriously central to becoming fully human. Foreword INDIES Award-Winner -- Gold Medal for Self-Help When a loved one dies, the pain of loss can feel unbearable--especially in the case of a traumatizing death that leaves us shouting, "NO " with every fiber of our body. The process of grieving can feel wild and nonlinear--and often lasts for much longer than other people, the nonbereaved, tell us it should. Organized into fifty-two short chapters, Bearing the Unbearable is a companion for life's most difficult times, revealing how grief can open our hearts to connection, compassion, and the very essence of our shared humanity. Dr. Joanne Cacciatore--bereavement educator, researcher, Zen priest, and leading counselor in the field--accompanies us along the heartbreaking path of love, loss, and grief. Through moving stories of her encounters with grief over decades of supporting individuals, families, and communities--as well as her own experience with loss--Cacciatore opens a space to process, integrate, and deeply honor our grief. Not just for the bereaved, Bearing the Unbearable will be required reading for grief counselors, therapists and social workers, clergy of all varieties, educators, academics, and medical professionals. Organized into fifty-two accessible and stand-alone chapters, this book is also perfect for being read aloud in support groups.