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Book

It's ok that you're not ok : meeting grief and loss in a culture that doesn't understand

Call Number

  • 155.93 D495 (EAS)

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Publication Information

Boulder, CO : Sounds True, 2017.

Physical Description

xix, 249 pages ; 21 cm

Summary

"In It's OK That You're Not OK, Megan Devine offers a profound new approach to both the experience of grief and the way we try to help others who have endured tragedy"--Amazon.com.

"Having experienced grief from both sides-- as a therapist and as a woman who witnessed the accidental drowning of her beloved partner-- Devine writes with deep insight about the unspoken truths of loss, love, and healing. She debunks the culturally prescribed goal of returning to a normal, 'happy' life, replacing it with a far healthier middle path, one that invites us to build a life alongside grief rather than seeking to overcome it."--Page 4 of cover.

Contents

  • Foreword / by Mark Nepo
  • Part I. This is all just as crazy as you think it is
  • The reality of loss
  • The second half of the sentence: why words of comfort feel so bad
  • It's not you, it's us: our models of grief are broken
  • Emotional illiteracy and the culture of blame
  • The new model of grief
  • Part II. What to do with your grief
  • Living in the reality of loss
  • You can't solve grief, but you don't have to suffer
  • How (and why) to stay alive
  • What happened to my mind? Dealing with grief's physical side effects
  • Grief and anxiety: calming your mind when logic doesn't work
  • What does art have to do with anything?
  • Find your own image of "recovery"
  • Part III. When friends and family don't know what to do
  • Should you educate or ignore them?
  • Rallying your support team: helping them help you
  • Part IV. The way forward
  • The tribe of after: companionship, true hope, and the way forward
  • Love is the only thing that lasts
  • Appendix. How to help a grieving friend.

Subjects