It was just one day after Lindsay Collier's wife of forty years, Jan, lost her battle with ovarian cancer that a beautiful rainbow surrounded their home in upstate New York where family members were gathered to celebrate her life. Since that time there have been many amazing experiences that have provided some very compelling proof that Jan is not very far away. And Lindsay, a former engineer (engineers always need proof), is not one who is prone to fantasy which makes these occurrences all the more believable. He also tells about some other rather amazing experiences that he and his family have had following losses of other loved ones. These stories alone will make a believer out of you. But there is much more! Lindsay also found that, as he related these stories to friends and associates, he would often find that they would frequently offer their own stories about how lost loved ones had made contact with them. The stories were amazing and revolved around everything from dragonflies to birds to lights and clocks changing to things appearing out of nowhere. There are more than twenty-five of these included in the book, all of which will leave you feeling very good - and a little less lonely for those you have lost. Lindsay made a commitment to learn as much as he could from his loss and to help others to find ways to survive their loss. He has spoken to a number of bereavement groups about how to survive loss and shares these insights in Jan's Rainbow. His suggestions and ideas on dealing with loss come from true experience. Before taking early retirement, Lindsay was the Creative Thinking Guru for Kodak so his ideas tend to be different. As he says, "Losing a loved one is a life-changing experience and it requires some very creative thinking to get through it." There are some wonderful, and very different, tips for dealing with loss included that will ease the journey through the bereavement process. Included are ways to re-frame your thinking, how to use positive humor in your healing, and the use of metaphors to expand your thinking or finding innovative ways to survive, and much, much more. This book is a must for anyone who has lost a loved one or knows of someone who has. It is the ultimate "feel good" book for helping people to deal with losing a loved one. You'll cry, you'll laugh, and you'll be lifted to a new level of hope. A substantial portion of the proceeds of this book will be donated to Gilda's Club of Rochester (New York), an organization built in memory of Gilda Radner which provides help to women with cancer.

It was just one day after Lindsay Collier's wife of forty years, Jan, lost her battle with ovarian cancer that a beautiful rainbow surrounded their home in upstate New York where family members were gathered to celebrate her life. Since that time there have been many amazing experiences that have provided some very compelling proof that Jan is not very far away. And Lindsay, a former engineer (engineers always need proof), is not one who is prone to fantasy which makes these occurrences all the more believable. He also tells about some other rather amazing experiences that he and his family have had following losses of other loved ones. These stories alone will make a believer out of you. But there is much more! Lindsay also found that, as he related these stories to friends and associates, he would often find that they would frequently offer their own stories about how lost loved ones had made contact with them. The stories were amazing and revolved around everything from dragonflies to birds to lights and clocks changing to things appearing out of nowhere. There are more than twenty-five of these included in the book, all of which will leave you feeling very good - and a little less lonely for those you have lost. Lindsay made a commitment to learn as much as he could from his loss and to help others to find ways to survive their loss. He has spoken to a number of bereavement groups about how to survive loss and shares these insights in Jan's Rainbow. His suggestions and ideas on dealing with loss come from true experience. Before taking early retirement, Lindsay was the Creative Thinking Guru for Kodak so his ideas tend to be different. As he says, "Losing a loved one is a life-changing experience and it requires some very creative thinking to get through it." There are some wonderful, and very different, tips for dealing with loss included that will ease the journey through the bereavement process. Included are ways to re-frame your thinking, how to use positive humor in your healing, and the use of metaphors to expand your thinking or finding innovative ways to survive, and much, much more. This book is a must for anyone who has lost a loved one or knows of someone who has. It is the ultimate "feel good" book for helping people to deal with losing a loved one. You'll cry, you'll laugh, and you'll be lifted to a new level of hope. A substantial portion of the proceeds of this book will be donated to Gilda's Club of Rochester (New York), an organization built in memory of Gilda Radner which provides help to women with cancer.

Deborah Heneghan was fifteen when her seventeen-year-old sister died of cancer. A few weeks later, she woke in the middle of the night to a faint whisper summoning her. That was the beginning of Heneghan’s communication with her dead sister, one that continues to this day. In Closer Than You Think, Heneghan shows how she began to recognize the signs and messages from her sister. She shows readers how to get back in touch with deceased loved ones and find guidance and a helping hand from their big-picture perspective in the beyond. Filled with tips, tools, strategies, and stories to help the reader make contact, Closer Than You Think will give you hope, comfort and peace that your loved ones do ‘live on’ and are engaging you in a very real way. Readers learn how to connect and communicate with their deceased loved ones and remain close to them in a natural, healing way. Closer Than You Think shows how to: Recognize the signs, dreams, or other messages from your loved onesOpen the dialogue with your loved one for a lifetime of continued communicationTransform your anger and grief into hope and actionTune-in to healing guidance For anyone who has lost a loved one and is trying to develop a clearer connection with them, Closer Than You Think provides hope, comfort and peace that loved ones do live on and are engaging us in a very real way.

Though one in four pregnancies ends in loss, miscarriage is shrouded in such secrecy and stigma that the woman who experiences it often feels deeply isolated, unsure how to process her grief. Her body seems to have betrayed her. Her confidence in the goodness of God is rattled. Her loved ones don't know what to say. Her heart is broken. She may feel guilty, ashamed, angry, depressed, confused, or alone. With vulnerability and tenderness, Adriel Booker shares her own experience of three consecutive miscarriages, as well as the stories of others. She tackles complex questions about faith and suffering with sensitivity and clarity, inviting women to a place of grace, honesty, and hope in the redemptive purposes of God without offering religious clichés and pat answers. She also shares specific, practical resources, such as ways to help guide children through grief, suggestions for memorializing your baby, and advice on pregnancy after loss, as well as a special section for dads and loved ones.

When a loved one dies we mourn our loss. We take comfort in the rituals that mark the passing, and we turn to those around us for support. But what happens when there is no closure, when a family member or a friend who may be still alive is lost to us nonetheless? How, for example, does the mother whose soldier son is missing in action, or the family of an Alzheimer's patient who is suffering from severe dementia, deal with the uncertainty surrounding this kind of loss? In this sensitive and lucid account, Pauline Boss explains that, all too often, those confronted with such ambiguous loss fluctuate between hope and hopelessness. Suffered too long, these emotions can deaden feeling and make it impossible for people to move on with their lives. Yet the central message of this book is that they can move on. Drawing on her research and clinical experience, Boss suggests strategies that can cushion the pain and help families come to terms with their grief. Her work features the heartening narratives of those who cope with ambiguous loss and manage to leave their sadness behind, including those who have lost family members to divorce, immigration, adoption, chronic mental illness, and brain injury. With its message of hope, this eloquent book offers guidance and understanding to those struggling to regain their lives. Table of Contents: 1. Frozen Grief 2. Leaving without Goodbye 3. Goodbye without Leaving 4. Mixed Emotions 5. Ups and Downs 6. The Family Gamble 7. The Turning Point 8. Making Sense out of Ambiguity 9. The Benefit of a Doubt Notes Acknowledgments Reviews of this book: You will find yourself thinking about the issues discussed in this book long after you put it down and perhaps wishing you had extra copies for friends and family members who might benefit from knowing that their sorrows are not unique...This book's value lies in its giving a name to a force many of us will confront--sadly, more than once--and providing personal stories based on 20 years of interviews and research. --Pamela Gerhardt, Washington Post Reviews of this book: A compassionate exploration of the effects of ambiguous loss and how those experiencing it handle this most devastating of losses ... Boss's approach is to encourage families to talk together, to reach a consensus about how to mourn that which has been lost and how to celebrate that which remains. Her simple stories of families doing just that contain lessons for all. Insightful, practical, and refreshingly free of psychobabble. --Kirkus Review Reviews of this book: Engagingly written and richly rewarding, this title presents what Boss has learned from many years of treating individuals and families suffering from uncertain or incomplete loss...The obvious depth of the author's understanding of sufferers of ambiguous loss and the facility with which she communicates that understanding make this a book to be recommended. --R. R. Cornellius, Choice Reviews of this book: Written for a wide readership, the concepts of ambiguous loss take immediate form through the many provocative examples and stories Boss includes, All readers will find stories with which they will relate...Sensitive, grounded and practical, this book should, in my estimation, be required reading for family practitioners. --Ted Bowman, Family Forum Reviews of this book: Dr. Boss describes [the] all-too-common phenomenon [of unresolved grief] as resulting from either of two circumstances: when the lost person is still physically present but emotionally absent or when the lost person is physically absent but still emotionally present. In addition to senility, physical presence but psychological absence may result, for example, when a person is suffering from a serious mental disorder like schizophrenia or depression or debilitating neurological damage from an accident or severe stroke, when a person abuses drugs or alcohol, when a child is autistic or when a spouse is a workaholic who is not really 'there' even when he or she is at home...Cases of physical absence with continuing psychological presence typically occur when a soldier is missing in action, when a child disappears and is not found, when a former lover or spouse is still very much missed, when a child 'loses' a parent to divorce or when people are separated from their loved ones by immigration...Professionals familiar with Dr. Boss's work emphasised that people suffering from ambiguous loss were not mentally ill, but were just stuck and needed help getting past the barrier or unresolved grief so that they could get on with their lives. --Asian Age Combining her talents as a compassionate family therapist and a creative researcher, Pauline Boss eloquently shows the many and complex ways that people can cope with the inevitable losses in contemporary family life. A wise book, and certain to become a classic. --Constance R. Ahrons, author of The Good Divorce A powerful and healing book. Families experiencing ambiguous loss will find strategies for seeing what aspects of their loved ones remain, and for understanding and grieving what they have lost. Pauline Boss offers us both insight and clarity. --Kathy Weingarten, Ph.D, The Family Institute of Cambridge, Harvard Medical School

When Jesus asked us to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, and visit the imprisoned, he didn’t mean it literally, right? Kerry Weber, a modern, young, single woman in New York City sets out to see if she can practice the Corporal Works of Mercy in an authentic, personal, meaningful manner while maintaining a full, robust, regular life. Weber, a lay Catholic, explores the Works of Mercy in the real world, with a gut-level honesty and transparency that people of urban, country, and suburban locales alike can relate to. Mercy in the City is for anyone who is struggling to live in a meaningful, merciful way amid the pressures of “real life.” For those who feel they are already overscheduled and too busy, for those who assume that they are not “religious enough” to practice the Works of Mercy, for those who worry that they are alone in their efforts to live an authentic life, Mercy in the City proves that by living as people for others, we learn to connect as people of faith.