A Field Guide to Grief: If you've lost your partner to suicide
Losing
a partner or spouse to suicide is shattering. This small book speaks
directly to the survivor, starting from the beginning of the grief
journey. Offering compassion and acknowledgment, survival tools and
suggestions, these are kind and wise words from someone who's been
there.
"if you have lost a partner to suicide, you will find a new friend named kate in these pages. out of the hard-won wisdom of her own loss, she offers you this field guide. a field guide, truly, as the pages feel like a field... breathable, open, + paradoxically peaceful. the rhythm of it all works beautifully between the ebb of uncluttered white space + flow of helpful words... a needed + good book for anyone walking through this heart-rending loss." --rachel awes, psychologist, author, + art playgroundist rachelawes.com
"...a lovely resource for folks who are fresh into big pain. I'll be happy to recommend this [book] to my clients." --Dr. Martha Jo Atkins honors the deeply spiritual experience of death by providing compassionate witness to the dying, and support for healing transformation to the bereaved. marthaatkins.com
***
My
note to you: This is a difficult book. A sad book. A real book informed
by love and understanding that in grief, there is no time to sift
through case studies and anecdotes. I get right down to the core. It is
about acute grief and navigating the immediate experience of loss. It is
about living with grief and living with loss and the loss of identity.
It is about self protection and permission. It is about survival. My own
experience was one of breath-by-breath choices, to keep moving forward,
to not lose myself, to choose to heal and go on, over and over and over
again. If you need this book, I am so sorry. But if you need this book,
I am so glad you have found your way here, and I hope beyond hope that
my words offer you solace.
If
you are not in grief and want to support me by buying a book, please do
(and thank you!). Please consider donating it to an organization or
individual who works with folks in acute grief. A funeral home, for
example... I could have used this book the second day if not the first.
Someone else may too.