I found this both interesting, thought provoking and useful. The case studies give a clear illustration of the impact of grief and I found the case of the mother with a terminal diagnosis discussing how to tell her teenage son of her prognosis incredibly moving but also very real. Having been bereaved, I found her advice on how to support people who are grieving was absolutely spot on. She does not attempt to give a tick box guide to grief nor to simplify or homogenise this. Excellent book.

Written for the lay person and probably aimed at those experiencing grief, GRIEF WORKS is an approachable and manageable book of grief tales with some theory woven discreetly through. I imagine that those who are in the early midst of their grief journey may not read this cover to cover but dip into it and read the elements that they want. The book is in sections looking at different types of grief experience, such as, those who have experienced the death of a partner, or a parent or a child. There is a good section on facing your own death. The style is generally appealing in my opinion and told from a first person point of view. There is an early introduction to how grief might look or be experienced and although this was a brief narrative, it was described well. This book uses stories of those grieving from the early acuteness to the later, equally acute but long-term experiences. The stories are in-depth and rather lengthy but there is no lack of detail. The highlight of this book was the concept of thinking of 'pillars of strength', I thought this was an interesting way of thinking of managing the pain and the journey. I am an academic in this field and this book is not written to inform me theoretically, however, I could see myself recommending this to those new to the subject, to people I research with and to friends and family.