Understanding Your Grief: Ten Essential Touchstones for Finding Hope and Healing Your Heart

194 Pages·2004·0.849 MB·English

by  Alan D. Wolfelt

UnderstandingYour Grief
Also by Alan Wolfelt
Healing the Bereaved Child:
Grief Gardening, Growth Through Grief
and Other Touchstones for Caregivers
Healing Your Grieving Heart:
100 Practical Ideas
Healing A Friend’s Grieving Heart:
100 Practical Ideas for Helping
Someone You Love Through Loss
Healing a Parent’s Grieving Heart:
100 Practical Ideas After Your Child Dies
The Journey Through Grief:
Reflections On Healing
Companion Press is dedicated to the education and support of both the
bereaved and bereavement caregivers.We believe that those who
companion the bereaved by walking with them as they journey in grief
have a wondrous opportunity: to help others embrace and grow
through grief—and to lead fuller, more deeply-lived lives themselves
because of this important ministry.
For a complete catalog and ordering information,
write or call:
Companion Press
The Center for Loss and Life Transition
3735 Broken Bow Road
Fort Collins,CO 80526
[phone]
www.centerforloss.com

UnderstandingYour Grief
Ten Essential Touchstones for
Finding Hope and Healing Your Heart
Alan D. Wolfelt, Ph.D.
Fort Collins, Colorado
An imprint of the Center for Loss and Life Transition
© 2003 by Alan D. Wolfelt, Ph.D.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in
any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior
permission of the publisher.
Companion Press is an imprint of the
Center for Loss and Life Transition,
3735 Broken Bow Road, Fort Collins, Colorado 80526.
Printed in the United States of America
12 11 10 09 08 07 06 05 04 03 5 4 3 2 1
ISBN: 1-879651-35-1
To the thousands of journeyers who have
invited me to walk with them through the
wilderness of their grief. What you have
taught me I teach to others. Thank you for
entrusting me with your stories.

Contents
Foreword i
Preface iii
Introduction 1
Touchstone 1
Open to the Presence of Your Loss 11
Touchstone 2
Dispel the Misconceptions About Grief 21
Touchstone 3
Embrace the Uniqueness of Your Grief 35
Touchstone 4
Explore Your Feelings of Loss 47
Touchstone 5
Recognize You Are Not Crazy 69
Touchstone 6
Understand the Six Needs of Mourning 87
Touchstone 7
Nurture Yourself 101
Touchstone 8
Reach Out for Help 125
Touchstone 9
Seek Reconciliation, Not Resolution 145
Touchstone 10
Appreciate Your Transformation 153
Directory of Organizations and Support Groups 163
Index 165