When a Loved One Dies: Meditations for the Journey Through Grief by Philip W. Williams. Library section 8 F: Life Skills, Grief. This is a little book of meditations on the feelings a person goes through when grieving the loss of a spouse, partner, child, relative, colleague, or even a pet. Each section has a very short story about that feeling (often beginning in the modern day and proceeding into a coordinating bible story), along with a scripture meditation and a prayer. Reading through this, I recognized many feelings I have had while grieving, such as denial (It Can’t Be True), anger (I’m Mad), loneliness (Here, But Gone), and working through to acceptance (Suffering and New Life, Laughter is Good for the Soul, and Amazing Grace.)
The writing is excellent, and its shortness masks the fact that there is much food for thought here, and a lot of comfort. The book is comforting because the author is able to express the exact same feelings others go through in the grieving process. It seems to be a good idea to read one meditation per day as one progresses through the various stages of grief. Or you can go back and forth to different meditations as your feelings change, or read the whole thing at one sitting. ( )