The 20 Best Books to Help You Cope With Grief, Recommended by Experts
Losing a loved one is one of life's greatest challenges. The grief that follows can feel overwhelming, complex, and even isolating. While there's no one-size-fits-all solution for processing loss, many psychologists and counselors recommend certain books to help guide people through the grieving process.
We consulted a panel of 16 grief experts including psychologists, social workers, grief counselors, authors, and directors of organizations focused on loss and bereavement. They shared their top book recommendations to help people better understand, work through, and find meaning in their grief journey.
Whether you've experienced the death of a parent, child, sibling, spouse or other close relationship, or you're hoping to support a loved one who is grieving, insights from these 20 books could provide comfort, kinship and a path forward through the darkness.
For General Grief Support:
1. How to Go on Living When Someone You Love Dies by Therese A. Rando, Ph.D. - This comprehensive guide was recommended by three experts for covering both practical and emotional aspects of grieving all types of losses.
2. The Other Side of Sadness by George A. Bonanno - For a more research-based perspective, this book explores the science and psychology of bereavement through hundreds of interviews.
For Sudden/Traumatic Loss:
3. I Wasn't Ready to Say Goodbye by Brook Noel and Pamela D. Blair, Ph.D. - Focused on the particular challenges of unexpected loss, from accidents to suicide and homicide.
4. Bearing the Unbearable by Joanne Cacciatore - Aimed at those grieving traumatic deaths, with a focus on self-compassion.
For Grieving Parents:
5. A Parent's Guide to Raising Grieving Children by Phyllis R. Silverman and Madelyn Kelly - Offers strategies for supporting grieving children of all ages following a family member's death.
For Grieving Children & Teens:
6. The Invisible String by Patrice Karst - Uses the metaphor of an invisible string to explain the permanence of connection, recommended for young kids by four experts.
7. The Fall of Freddie the Leaf by Leo Buscaglia, Ph.D - An accessible allegory about the life cycle that three experts suggested for children.
8. When Dinosaurs Die: A Guide to Understanding Death by Laurie Krasny Brown and Marc Brown - Directly addresses questions kids have about death in a compassionate way.
9. Modern Loss: Candid Conversation About Grief edited by Rebecca Soffer and Gabrielle Birkner - Essays by young adults who have experienced loss, relatable for grieving teens.
10. Straight Talk About Death for Teenagers by Earl A. Grollman - Practical and validating for the questions and experiences of bereaved teens.
For Grieving Siblings:
11. Healing the Adult Sibling's Grieving Heart by Alan D. Wolfelt - 100 ideas to process "disenfranchised grief" after a sibling's death.
12. The Empty Room by Elizabeth DeVita-Raeburn - A blend of memoir and interviews elevating the too-often unheard voices of grieving siblings.
13. Surviving the Death of a Sibling by T.J. Wray - Guidance and coping strategies focused on this singular type of loss.
For Those Grieving a Parent's Death:
14. The Orphaned Adult by Alexander Levy - Explores grieving an elderly parent's death and the life transition this represents.
For Supporters or Those Supporting the Bereaved:
15. It's OK That You're Not OK by Megan Devine - Challenges cultural myths around grief and offers tools to care for oneself and others mourning a loss.
For Grieving a Spouse or Partner:
16. The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion - While not a how-to, Didion's memoir on losing her husband was recommended by eight experts as a powerful depiction of profound grief.
Other Recommended Reads:
17. Mindfulness & Grief by Heather Stang - Using mindfulness principles to cope.
18. Notes on Grief by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - Adichie's meditations on her father's death published in short form.
19. Option B by Sheryl Sandberg and Adam Grant - Coping with the sudden death of a spouse and becoming resilient through adversity.
20. It's OK That You're Not OK (meeting grief and loss in a culture that doesn't understand) by Megan Devine - Challenges cultural myths around grief and offers tools to care for oneself and others mourning a loss.
While books can never fully take away the pain of grief, these expert-recommended reads offer understanding, perspective, and tools to honor and carry the loss. For such a universal human experience, may we all find solace in knowing we need not grieve alone.
