Grief & Loss

'Dr Lucy's unpacking of the grief that comes with living losses was a lightbulb moment for me.' Ellidy Pullin 'The best work I know on positive psychology and grief is Lucy Hone's.' Martin Seligman 'Lucy's insights are practical, wise, and deeply human - they stay with you long after you read them.' Chelsea Pottenger From bestselling author and TED speaker...

The incredible first memoir from the Booker-winning radical icon Arundhati Roy, author of The God of Small Things. Arundhati Roy's first work of memoir, this is a soaring account, both intimate and inspiring, of how the author became the person and the writer she is, shaped by circumstance, but above all by her relationship to her extraordinary, singular mother Mary,...

Hone shows us how to harness the (thankfully common) power of our own resilience to work our way through a horrible loss. The New York Times A recommended new book for those who are grieving... [Hone's] metaphor for life after loss is both powerful and apt: Think of it as a scattered jigsaw puzzle, where the pieces of one's former...

Ghost Stories is Siri Hustvedt's tender memoir of the forty-three years she spent with her husband, writer, poet and filmmaker Paul Auster: from their first encounter in 1980s New York, to his death in 2024.   Featuring Paul Auster's last ever piece of writing.   'A deeply moving memoir, raw with loss, yet luminous with love' SARAH WATERS     'What a...

The incredible first memoir from the Booker-winning radical icon Arundhati Roy, author of The God of Small Things. 'Heart-smashed' by the death of the mother she ran from at age eighteen and shaken by the intensity of her response, Arundhati Roy began this remarkable memoir—a soaring account, both intimate and inspiring, of how the author became the person and the...

'Mind blowingly brilliant' - PHILIPPA PERRY 'Few other writers have such passion for granular detail, intellectual heft and boundless curiosity' - THE TIMES 'As suspenseful and pacy as an episode of peak-era ER' - GUARDIAN A near-fatal health emergency leads to this powerful reflection on death—and what might follow—by the bestselling author of Tribe and The Perfect Storm. For years...

A remarkable, defiant work of radical acceptance from acclaimed Pulitzer Prize finalist Yiyun Li as she considers the loss of her son James. 'There is no good way to say this,' Yiyun Li writes at the beginning of this book. 'There is no good way to state these facts, which must be acknowledged. My husband and I had two children...

The invigorating true story of a man and his dog who circled the globe on foot. After the death of a close friend at seventeen, Tom Turcich resolved to make the most out of life; to travel and be forced into adventure; to experience and understand the world. On April 2nd, 2015, he set out to see it all, one...

I stumble across a photo of me, aged ten. My immediate thought is: 'Who is that girl?' I remember her but I don't recognise myself in her. She was so determined. Once she knew what she wanted, she'd just head straight for it. From a childhood in rural Piopio, Jenny-May Coffin grew up to achieve international success as a Silver...

The basis for the wonderfully funny and moving TV series developed by Amy Poehler and Scout Productions. A charming approach to putting your life in order so your loved ones won't have to. There's a word for it in Swedish—dostadning, literally, 'death cleaning'. Swedish-born Margareta Magnusson is, in her words, 'aged between 80 and 100'. When her husband died, she...

Crying in H Mart 'fking destroyed me,' - Olivia Rodrigo 'Michelle Zauner explores what it means to cook your feelings... she uses the lens of food and cooking to explore her Korean identity after she loses her mother to cancer.' - Jungkook of BTS From the indie rockstar Japanese Breakfast, this is an unflinching, powerful, deeply moving memoir about growing...

Introducing the Collins Modern Classics, a series featuring some of the most significant books of recent times, books that shed light on the human experience – classics which will endure for generations to come. A single person is missing for you, and the whole world is empty. John Gregory Dunne and Joan Didion saw their daughter fall ill. At first,...

At twenty-six, Cheryl Strayed thought she had lost everything. In the wake of her mother's rapid death from cancer, her family disbanded and her marriage crumbled. With nothing to lose, she made the most impulsive decision of her life: to walk eleven-hundred miles of the west coast of America—from the Mojave Desert, through California and Oregon, and into Washington state—and...

An utterly riveting, moving and poignant memoir of grief and loss that will speak to anyone who's ever lost someone they love. An Ocean and a Day is Hannah Richell's personal account of losing her husband, Matt, in a surfing accident on Tamarama beach in 2014. It is the story of the grief journey she travelled over the first two...

'I'm not going to tell you that everything happens for a reason. Those words are cold comfort in any traumatic moment. This is what I will say, though: I see you. I hear you. I am with you.' Growing up on the Northern Beaches of Sydney, Chloe Chapman thought her life would unfold close to home, surrounded by childhood friends...

Option B is a #1 New York Times bestseller and global phenomenon—a powerful, inspiring, and practical guide to finding resilience and moving forward after life's inevitable setbacks. In 2015, Sheryl Sandberg's husband, Dave Goldberg, died suddenly at the age of forty-eight. Sandberg and her two young children were devastated, and she was certain that their lives would never have real...

On July 1, 1975, Kelsey Grammer's younger sister, 18-year-old Karen Grammer, was raped and murdered—now, for the first time, Kelsey discusses how it has affected him and the hope and healing he has found in the decades since. Karen by Kelsey Grammer delves into the deeply personal and tragic story of the author's sister, Karen, who was brutally murdered at...

How to Live When a Loved One Dies by Thich Nhat Hanh is an essential guide for anyone navigating the tumultuous waters of grief and loss. This deeply comforting book offers a series of healing meditations designed to help you process and reconcile the intense emotions that arise in the wake of a loved one's death. Within its pages, Thich...

The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion is a profoundly moving and unflinchingly honest memoir that delves deep into the heart of grief and mourning. This poignant narrative recounts Didion's life-altering year following the sudden death of her husband, John Gregory Dunne, and the severe illness of their only daughter, Quintana Roo. In the days leading up to Christmas...

The bestselling grieving book—now updated! The most helpful grief book to read when you're ready to start healing after the loss of a loved one. The grief book that just gets it. Whether you're grieving the sudden loss of a loved one or helping someone else through their grief, I Wasn't Ready to Say Goodbye offers a comforting hand to...

A Grief Observed (Readers' Edition) by C.S. Lewis is a profound and deeply personal reflection on loss and grief. The book centres around Lewis's heart-wrenching experience following the death of his beloved wife, Joy Davidman, after only four years of marriage. Through poignant and raw journal entries, Lewis chronicles his journey through suffering and sorrow, wrestling with his faith and...

With the End in Mind by Kathryn Mannix is a profound exploration of the inevitable yet often feared aspect of life: death. Mannix, drawing on her extensive experience as a palliative care doctor, shares deeply moving and humane stories that illuminate the process of dying. Through these narratives, she demystifies the experiences of patients facing terminal diagnoses and provides readers...

The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis is an enthralling allegorical tale that explores the contrasting realms of Heaven and Hell, and the impassable gulf that lies between them. In this brilliantly imaginative narrative, Lewis embarks on a moral and philosophical journey that challenges conventional beliefs and offers a profound meditation on the nature of good and evil. The story begins...

Loved Ruth Hogan's The Keeper of Lost Things? Keep on reading... 'Warm and wise' – Guardian 'A book to really love ... makes reading a joy' – Stylist 'Will soften even the hardest of hearts' – Red 'Subtle and poignant' – Good Housekeeping 'Plenty of spirit and heart' – Daily Mail 'An adorable heartfelt story.' – Prima Masha's life has...

The story of a mother grieving the sudden loss of her twenty-one-year-old child - from the award-winning and bestselling memoirist of Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight. It's midsummer in Wyoming and Alexandra Fuller is barely hanging on. Grieving her father and pining for her home country of Zimbabwe, reeling from a midlife breakup, freshly sober and piecing her...

To save the world, we have to start somewhere. One afternoon many years ago, James Rebanks met an old woman on a remote Norwegian island. She lived and worked alone on a tiny rocky outcrop, caring for wild ducks and gathering their down. Hers was a centuries-old trade that had once made men and women rich, but had long been...

A powerful and moving exploration of the terrible illness that touches millions of lives. After her own father's death from dementia, the writer and campaigner Nicci Gerrard set out to explore the illness that now touches millions of us, yet which we still struggle to speak about. What is it to be oneself, and what is it to lose one's...

On Suicide (1897) by Emile Durkheim is a groundbreaking book in the field of sociology. Traditionally, suicide was thought to be a matter of purely individual despair, but Durkheim recognised that the phenomenon had a social dimension. He believed that if anything can explain how individuals relate to society, then it is suicide. Why does it happen? What goes wrong?...

An extraordinary, previously unpublished work from the author of The Year of Magical Thinking and Blue Nights, Joan Didion. In November 1999, Joan Didion began seeing a psychiatrist because, as she wrote to a friend, her family had had 'a rough few years.' She described the sessions in a journal she created for her husband, John Gregory Dunne. For several...

A story of friendship, history and redemption on a remote Norwegian island. We are all in need of lights to follow. One afternoon many years ago, James Rebanks met an old woman on a remote Norwegian island. She lived and worked alone on a tiny rocky outcrop, caring for wild Eider ducks and gathering their down. Hers was a centuries-old...

Imagine being on your deathbed, consumed by secrets you've long harboured, or carrying unfulfilled wishes that weigh heavily on your mind. In these moments, what if there were someone willing to honour your final requests, someone who speaks for the dead, irrespective of society's rules? Enter Bill Edgar, the Coffin Confessor, a man whose unique and unconventional profession reveals a...

A potentially life-changing book for anyone wanting to experience grief and death in a more meaningful way. Grounded in the author's experiences with hundreds of dying people and their families, the book advocates a bold engagement with a part of the human experience that is often more endured than lived. In its own unique way, Die Wise is more about...

‘This book really, really will stay with me forever. It’s not only laced with the most incredible wisdom, but it’s also gentle and beautiful and eloquent. It brought me so much joy and so much comfort’ - FEARNE COTTON ‘Life-changing. This book is sensational. If you’re struggling, feeling a little lost, anxious or in need of a mental lift, please...

A moving, revelatory story about one of the world's great museums and art's capacity to heal, by a writer who spent a decade as a museum guard. THE SUNDAY TIMES ART BOOK OF THE YEAR A Financial Times Best Book of 2023 A revelatory portrait of a great museum and the moving story of one guard's quest to find solace...

In Being Mortal, renowned surgeon and writer Atul Gawande addresses one of the most compelling issues of our age: the human experience of mortality and the limitations of medicine in the context of aging and death. Through poignant storytelling and insightful analysis, Gawande explores how modern medicine has reshaped our approach to life's end and how this often contrasts with...

A comforting and informative guide that demystifies our end-of-life journey, from TikTok sensation and compassionate expert @hospicenursejulie. What if we didn't consider death the worst possible outcome? What if we discussed it honestly, embraced end-of-life care, and prepared for the end of our lives with hope and acceptance? In this empathetic and knowledgeable guide, TikTok star Julie McFadden—known online as...

A beautiful and immensely powerful book about love, grief and finding a way to be in a forever altered world Julia Samuel On September 24, 2021, Rachel Eliza Griffiths married her husband, the novelist Salman Rushdie. On the same day, hundreds of miles away, Griffiths' closest friend and chosen sister, the poet Kamilah Aisha Moon, who was expected to speak...

In her first non-fiction book in a decade, the no. 1 bestselling writer who taught millions of readers to live authentically (Eat Pray Love) and creatively (Big Magic) shows how to break free. In 2000, Elizabeth Gilbert met Rayya. They became friends, then best friends, then inseparable. When tragedy entered their lives, the truth was finally laid bare: the two...

A warm, moving and practical guide to grief from one of the UK's leading bereavement counsellors. Death is the last taboo in our society, and grief is still profoundly misunderstood. So many of us feel awkward and uncertain around death, and shy away from talking honestly with family and friends. Grief Works is a compassionate guide that will inform and...

The world's foremost expert on grief and co-author with Elisabeth Kübler-Ross of the iconic On Grief and Grieving explores the search for meaning in the face of life-altering grief and offers a vital guide to healing. 'A brilliant, caring, practical guide to help us understand grief' - Daniel J. Siegel, M.D. 'Finding Meaning is Kessler's poignant response to society's insensitivity,...

From one of our most powerful writers, a classic work of stunning frankness about losing a daughter. Richly textured with bits of her own childhood and married life with her husband, John Gregory Dunne, and daughter, Quintana Roo, this new book by Joan Didion examines her thoughts, fears, and doubts regarding having children, illness, and growing old. Blue Nights opens...

A searing memoir about the impact of addiction on a family. For years Sigrid Rausing watched helplessly as her brother Hans and his wife Eva succumbed to drug addiction. It afflicted a terrible toll on their family, culminating in Eva's tragic early death. As this death led to an inquest and media circus, the world looked on in horror, but...

A literary memoir of what it means to have a truly special dog in your life. Published for International Dog Day, this will be a perfect gift for all dog lovers. Why do dogs speak so profoundly to our inner lives? When Mark Doty decides to adopt a dog as a companion for his dying partner, he finds himself bringing...

For those who have suffered the loss of a child, When a Child Dies offers comfort, hope, and a way forward. A caring and compassionate grief book for bereaved parents who have lost a child. Being suddenly thrust into the world of parental grief is like being transported to a foreign land where you don't speak the language. With that...

Coping with Grief 5th Edition by Dianne McKissock and Mal McKissock is an essential companion for anyone navigating the complex journey of bereavement. This thoroughly revised edition of the timeless bestseller provides a compassionate and comprehensive guide to understanding and managing grief. The book opens by exploring the myriad emotions faced right from the first moment of loss. It tenderly...

A GUARDIAN, ECONOMIST AND PROSPECT BOOK OF THE YEAR 'A superb book' Simon Sebag Montefiore 'An empowering story of human ingenuity' Economist 'Full of curious facts' The Times Causes of death have changed irrevocably across time. In the course of a few centuries, we have gone from a world where disease or violence was likely to strike anyone at any...

WINNER OF THE 2023 JAMES CROPPER WAINWRIGHT PRIZE FOR NATURE WRITING 'Unparalleled.' THE WAINWRIGHT PRIZE 'A true masterpiece.' TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT 'A tour de force.' GUY SHRUBSOLE 'Quietly courageous.' PATRICK BARKHAM 'Lyrical, wholehearted and wise.' LEE SCHOFIELD 'A knockout. I loved it.' MELISSA HARRISON 'Honest, raw and moving.' SOPHIE PAVELLE 'An extraordinary book by an extraordinary author.' CHRIS JONES 'A...

A dazzling follow-up to Life As Told by a Sapiens to a Neanderthal. 'We would love to discover that each species has a biological clock in its cells, because, if that clock existed and if we were able to find it, perhaps we could stop it and thus become eternal,' Arsuaga tells Millás in this book, in which science is...

The Worm at the Core by Jeff Greenberg, Sheldon Solomon, and Tom Pyszczynski is a compelling exploration of the hidden motives that shape human behaviour. This profound book delves into the essential, yet often unacknowledged, influence of death anxiety. The authors argue that the fear of death is a primary motivating force behind a wide range of human activities, from...

Death is a whisper in the Anglo-Saxon world. But on a remote island, off the coast of County Mayo, it has a louder voice. The local radio station runs a thrice-daily roll-call of the recently departed. The islanders keep vigil with the corpse and share in the sorrow of the bereaved. The living and the dead are bound together in...

English Pastoral offers a poetic, practical, raw, and almost miraculously detailed picture of an ancient way of life struggling to survive and to be reborn - New Statesman As a boy, James Rebanks's grandfather taught him to work the land the old way. Their family farm in the Lake District hills was part of an ancient landscape—a patchwork of crops...

Lonely Planet's Guide to Death, Grief and Rebirth offers an eye-opening tour of the varied ways cultures grapple with what lies beyond. Featuring over 30 customs, this book explores how different cultures and communities around the world approach death, grief, and rebirth, providing invaluable lessons we can all learn from them. With first-person narratives, locals share the stories of their...

Classic bestselling book on grief by a much-loved grief expert with a new way to navigate loss Grief doesn't need to be 'fixed' - here's the support you really need. When a painful loss or life-shattering event upends your world, the first thing to know is there is nothing wrong with grief. "Grief is simply love in its most wild...

To find solace from grief, we have always turned to the written word. With poetry and prose spanning continents, religions and cultures, this moving anthology examines loss, celebrates lives well lived and offers words of consolation. Part of the Macmillan Collector's Library; a series of stunning clothbound pocket-sized classics with gilt edges and ribbon markers. These beautiful books make perfect...

Winner of the Nero Book Award for Non-Fiction, an unflinching and profoundly moving account of caring until death, from the Sunday Times bestselling author. WINNER OF THE NERO BOOK AWARD FOR NON-FICTION 2025 LONGLISTED FOR THE GORDON BURN PRIZE 2026 'Please read this book. It may very well change how you live' - Rachel Clarke 'Filled with love...I was spellbound'...

With her breakout book It's OK That You're Not OK, Megan Devine struck a chord with thousands of readers through her honest, validating approach to grief. In her same direct, no-platitudes style, she now offers How to Carry What Can't Be Fixed-a journal filled with unique, creative ways to open a dialogue with grief itself. "Being allowed to tell the...

This richly illustrated book reveals a comforting narrative told from the point of view of a loving angel dog, who wants you to know, “I’m still here . . . But I’m also there where all the animals run free, with no pain, waiting for you, watching for you, loving you, and guiding you.” Losing one’s dog is one of...

Mary Anne Schwalbe is waiting for her chemotherapy treatments when Will casually asks her what she's reading. The conversation they have grows into a tradition: soon they are reading the same books so they can have something to talk about in the hospital waiting room. Their choices range from classic (Howard's End) to popular (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo),...

A compassionate guide to navigating the complex, emotional and challenging world of care When someone you love becomes seriously ill, disabled, or starts to decline with age, knowing what to do can feel overwhelming. Next of Kin is a heartfelt and practical guide to navigating the complicated world of care. Written by journalist and health communicator Casey Beros, this book...

In Somebody is Walking on Your Grave, Mariana Enriquez blends journalistic rigour and her fascination with the macabre as we encounter famous graveyards steeped in history, such as Montparnasse in Paris, Highgate in London, and the Jewish cemetery in Prague, as well as more remote, decrepit, hidden, or secretly beautiful ones. These pages are full of the graves of famous...

I’ve worked as a doctor for over twenty years, caring for patients who are in the thick fog between life and death. I’ve met hundreds of people who have died, were resuscitated and lived. I’ve long thought that these are the people that we should be listening to, not influencers or business gurus. They know what really matters. Dr Matt...

USA TODAY BESTSELLER An intimate and uplifting story of one family’s journey from tragedy to triumph, inspiring readers to transform life’s obstacles into opportunities for growth and change. "Nicole Avant gives a raw and courageous look into how she found the light in her darkest moment. She reminds us that grief is different for everyone, and we have the power...

The story of a mother grieving the sudden loss of her twenty-one-year-old child, from the award-winning and bestselling memoirist of Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight. Fi is the profound journey of Alexandra Fuller as she navigates the devastating loss of her son. This memoir is praised by many: ‘Truly extraordinary’ - HELEN MACDONALD ‘A profound and gripping memoir...

From the bestselling author of The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning, here is a charming and humorous book about embracing life at any age. In her first book, Margareta Magnusson shared with the world the practical Swedish tradition of döstädning, or 'death cleaning' — clearing out unnecessary belongings so others don't have to do it for you. Now, unburdened...

Mortals by Rachel Menzies and Ross Menzies is a ground-breaking book that uncovers how our fear of death is the hidden driver of most of humankind's endeavours. 'Spoiler alert: if you read this book, you will die. But, as well as being fascinating, this book can also help you die a better death, and live a better life.' – JULIAN...

A Tomb With a View – The Stories & Glories of Graveyards by Peter Ross is a compelling journey through some of the world’s most fascinating graveyards. Far from being just places of death, Ross reveals them as vital and enduring repositories of stories, history, art, and even humour. He takes readers from the haunting beauty of Flanders Fields, echoing...

John Niven's little brother Gary was fearless, popular, stubborn, handsome, hilarious, and sometimes terrifying. In 2010, after years of chaotic struggle against the world, he took his own life at the age of 42. Hoping for the best while often witnessing the worst, John, his younger sister Linda, and their mother, Jeanette, saw the darkest fears they had for Gary...

Potent and propulsive, a lyrical meditation on loss and what comes after - TARA WESTOVER For most of her adult life, Sloane and Russell worked together and played together as they navigated the corridors of office life, the literary world, and the dramatic cultural shifts in New York City. One day, while Russell is still alive, Sloane's apartment is broken...

A stunning new memoir from national treasure Michael Rosen, exploring the role trauma—from chronic illness to the loss of a child—has played in his life, and how we can learn to live again in the aftermath of tragedy. In our lives, terrible things may happen. Michael Rosen has grieved the loss of a child, lived with debilitating chronic illness, and...

Forensic pathologist and bestselling author of Unnatural Causes, Dr Richard Shepherd, brings his unparalleled honesty and insight to a new book about life and death. Through 24 intriguing, never-before-told cases, Britain's top forensic pathologist, Dr Richard Shepherd, takes us on a journey through life in death. From old to young, murder to misadventure, and from illness to accidental death, each...

Dr Richard Shepherd is one of Britain’s foremost forensic pathologists, with a storied career that has seen him delve into the mysteries of sudden and unexplained deaths. In Unnatural Causes, Shepherd takes readers behind the scenes of his life and work, offering an unfiltered look into the world of forensic pathology. From high-profile cases that have made headlines to the...

A Very Easy Death has long been considered one of Simone de Beauvoir's masterpieces. The profoundly moving, day-by-day recounting of her mother's death shows the power of compassion when it is allied with acute intelligence (Sunday Telegraph). Powerful, touching, and sometimes shocking, this is an end-of-life account that no reader is likely to forget.

"It's an incredible read for anyone facing adversity in their life; how to cope with it, how to stay positive in really difficult situations." - Sally Nugent "A throat-catching love letter to his wife and children . . . this lovely man has reframed a universally sad story into a life-enhancing one." - The Times With a brand-new foreword from...

Find hope even when it's hardest. When we lose someone or something close to us—a loved person or animal, a relationship, our health, our dream, our idea of who we are—it hurts. A lot. Grief is both what we experience and how we heal. Faith Harper, bestselling author of books like Unfuck Your Brain and Unfuck Your Boundaries, brings us...

From the head curator of the most famous cemetery in the world, a moving and enchanting (Guardian) story about a place where joy, grief, and wild nature converge in unexpected and inspiring ways. 'Not only is this a book that answers, fact for fact, everything you ever wanted to know about Pere-Lachaise but were afraid to ask, it is also...

AN INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER SHORTLISTED FOR THE GORDON BURN PRIZE SHORTLISTED FOR SCOTLAND'S NATIONAL BOOK AWARD A GUARDIAN BEST MEMOIR OF 2023 A WATERSTONES BEST BOOK OF 2023 John Niven's little brother Gary was fearless, popular, stubborn, handsome, hilarious and sometimes terrifying. After years of chaotic struggle against the world, he took his own life at the age of...

Have you had a spiritual encounter? Do you believe in psychics? Do you want to connect with a loved one who has passed? Theresa Caputo, the Long Island Medium, host of Lifetime’s Raising Spirits and three-time New York Times bestselling author, teaches us how to ritualise and recover from the daily losses in our lives. Navigating our time on earth...

New York Times bestselling author Theresa Caputo, star of Long Island Medium and Raising Spirits, provides a guide to overcoming grief, filled with inspiring lessons from Spirit and astonishing stories from the clients who have been empowered and healed by her spiritual readings. After more than a decade of being a practicing medium, Theresa Caputo shares the powerful lessons she...

For readers of From Scratch and Marley and Me: After losing his beloved dog and nearly everything else, one man's accidental arrival in a remote Italian village leads to unexpected friendship, healing, and a new definition of home. One dog's love. One man's journey. When Matthew Sigman's beloved dog, Augie, died, his world fell apart. His boyfriend broke up with...

Can Good Things Come Out of Broken DreamsLife rarely goes according to plan. You pray for healing, for restoration, for a clear path forward, but sometimes the answer you receive isn’t the one you hoped to get. What do you do when God doesn’t seem to fix itIn this five-session video Bible study, Grammy Award-winning artist and author Laura Story...