The Toolbox For Grief And Loss

The Toolbox for Grief and Loss is an insightful and practical guide for anyone who is suffering, whether from a loss that is recent or long past. Grief does not have a timeline; however, prolonged pain and suffering can be avoided or healed, and the joy in living restored. From her twenty years as a registered psychologist and therapist, Valerie Umscheid brings personal and compelling true stories of how we can get stuck in grief, and effective tools to help us journey through to the other side of traumatic loss. She identifies the many ways loss can affect our lives, even when we do not realize that we are in a state of prolonged grief. This book is a balm for anyone who has experienced: • Loss of a loved one • Relationship loss or divorce • Career loss • Suicide of a loved one • Miscarriage or stillbirth • Loss related to a change in ability • Ambiguous loss due to a chronic illness • Loss of a pet The Toolbox for Grief and Loss outlines a recovery plan for each grief story, and details a number of therapeutic processes that are easy to learn on your own such as: journaling, grief processing letters, mindfulness, and a memory box. Other processes can be explored with a wellness professional such as: Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR), and self-hypnosis. Put an end to prolonged grief and rediscover hope for the future!

When grief and trauma come barreling into life, how does one restore, renew, and rebuild a new sense of self? What does one do after hopes, dreams, assumptions, and core beliefs have been shattered? Social worker and educator Susan Hannifin-MacNab tackled these difficult questions after her husband was killed suddenly, leaving her to pick up the pieces of her young family's life. She eventually realized that grief and trauma healing do not occur by waiting for time to pass. Action and intention are the pillars needed to lay a foundation for rebirth and build a powerful roadmap for healing mind, body, and spirit. Susan's extensive professional knowledge and deeply moving personal experience combine in A to Z Healing Toolbox, an entire alphabet's worth of proven, practical techniques to accompany you along your own healing journey. This guidebook contains a plethora of life-changing suggestions, powerful daily action steps, independent writing prompts, and inspirational stories from others who have experienced grief or trauma through personal crisis, illness, or death. In times of great darkness, Susan lights a pathway to wisdom, courage, and hope. AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY: Susan Hannifin-MacNab is a social worker and educator of twenty-five years and leads classes, workshops, and trainings worldwide. She is the founder of A2Z Healing Toolbox, an organization which offers practical tools and resources to those living with grief and trauma. She lives in sunny San Diego with her son and therapy dog. To learn more, visit a2zhealingtoolbox.com. AUTHOR HOME: San Diego, CA

Shows widowers how to cope with the issues surrounding the deaths of their spouses and offers more than forty constructive activities to ease the bereavement process.

Ghosts aren’t meant to stick around forever... Shelly and her grandmother catch ghosts. In their hair. Just like all the women in their family, they can see souls who haven’t transitioned yet; it’s their job to help the ghosts along their journey. When Shelly’s mom dies suddenly, Shelly’s relationship to ghosts—and death—changes. Instead of helping spirits move on, Shelly starts hoarding them. But no matter how many ghost cats, dogs, or people she hides in her room, Shelly can’t ignore the one ghost that’s missing. Why hasn’t her mom’s ghost come home yet? Rooted in a Cree worldview and inspired by stories about the author’s great-grandmother’s life, The Ghost Collector delves into questions of grief and loss, and introduces an exciting new voice in tween fiction that will appeal to fans of Kate DiCamillo’s Louisiana’s Way Home and Patrick Ness’s A Monster Calls.

Help kids start to heal after grief and loss—for ages 5 to 7 Why Do I Feel So Sad? is an inclusive, age-appropriate, illustrated kid's book designed to help young children understand their own grief. The examples and beautiful illustrations are rooted in real life, exploring the truth of loss and change, while remaining comforting and hopeful. Broad enough to encompass many forms of grief, this book reassures kids that they are not alone in their feelings and even suggests simple things they can do to feel better, like drawing, dancing, and talking to friends and family. Why Do I Feel So Sad? is: Practical and compassionate―Written for early childhood-aged kids, this book touches on common sources of grief―everything from death to divorce or changing schools. Different for everyone―This book normalizes the confusing thoughts and physical symptoms that come with grief, so kids know there’s no one right way to feel or heal. Tips for grownups―Find expert advice and simple strategies for supporting grieving kids in your life. Children don’t have to go through grief alone; this book provides the tools to help them.

A race against time, war, and the very fabric of the universe itself, perfect for fans of Sliding Doors and 11/22/63. Sixteen-year-old Winnie Schulde has always seen splits--the moment when two possible outcomes diverge, one in her universe and one in another. Multiverse theory, Winnie knows, is all too real, though she has never been anything but an observer of its implications--a secret she keeps hidden from just about everyone, as she knows the uses to which it might be put in the midst of a raging WWII. But her physicist father, wrapped up in his research and made cruel by his grief after the loss of Winnie's mother, believes that if he pushes her hard enough, she can choose one split over another and maybe, just maybe, change their future and their past. Winnie is certain that her father's theories are just that, so she plays along in an effort to placate him. Until one day, when her father's experiment goes wrong and Scott, the kind and handsome lab assistant Winnie loves from afar, is seriously injured. Without meaning to, Winnie chooses the split where Scott is unharmed. And in doing so, finds herself pulled into another universe, an alternate reality. One that already has a Winnie. In this darkly thrilling novel that blends science and war with love and loss, some actions just can't be undone. Praise for When You and I Collide: "A serious tale of attempting reinvention at the cost of rending reality." --Kirkus Reviews

“I am obsessed with this story!”—Erin Entrada Kelly, author of the Newbery Honor Book We Dream of Space “Boldly tells readers to take a closer look at the stories they’re told—not to mention at the wolves that might be lurking in the shadows. A clear-eyed, big-hearted fable of compassion, friendship, and love.”—Anne Ursu, author of The Real Boy “A lyrical tale of loss and survival, tradition and belief, in which tension and secrets build like a towering wave.”—Diane Magras, author of The Mad Wolf’s Daughter “A fable as polished and timeless as a fine wooden toy.”—Catherine Gilbert Murdock, author of the Newbery Honor Book The Book of Boy Shunned by his fearful village, a twelve-year-old apprentice embarks on a surprising quest to clear his name, with a mythic—and dangerous—wolf following closely at his heels. Jessica Vitalis’s debut is a gorgeous, voice-driven literary fantasy about family, fate, and long-held traditions. The Wolf’s Curse will engross readers of The Girl Who Drank the Moon and A Wish in the Dark. Gauge’s life has been cursed since the day he cried Wolf and was accused of witchcraft. The Great White Wolf brings only death, Gauge’s superstitious village believes. If Gauge can see the Wolf, then he must be in league with it. So instead of playing with friends in the streets or becoming his grandpapa’s partner in the carpentry shop, Gauge must hide and pretend he doesn’t exist. But then the Wolf comes for his grandpapa. And for the first time, Gauge is left all alone, with a bounty on his head and the Wolf at his heels. A young feather collector named Roux offers Gauge assistance, and he is eager for the help. But soon the two—both recently orphaned—are questioning everything they have ever believed about their village, about the Wolf, and about death itself. Narrated by the sly, crafty Wolf, Jessica Vitalis’s debut novel is a vivid and literary tale about family, friendship, belonging, and grief. The Wolf’s Curse will captivate readers of Laurel Snyder’s Orphan Island and Molly Knox Ostertag’s The Witch Boy.

Overcoming your pain—proven strategies for grief recovery Coping with loss is difficult, but that doesn’t mean you have to suffer alone. Based on the scientifically proven acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) approach, Moving Through Grief provides simple and effective techniques to help you get unstuck and start living a rich and fulfilling life again, even after loss. ACT is about embracing all aspects of your experience—including the painful parts—and committing to actions that will improve and enrich your life. Whether you’re dealing with the loss of a loved one, your health, home, or livelihood, this guide provides you with creative exercises that will help you work through your pain and reconnect with the things you love. Moving Through Grief includes: Rediscover your life—Learn how you can show up for your life and experience joy and satisfaction, even as you still feel the pain of your loss. Grief recovery toolbox—Discover how the six tools of ACT—values, committed action, acceptance, being present, cognitive defusion, and self-as-context—can expand your perspective and aid with the healing process. Easy-to-use advice—Make real progress toward feeling like yourself again with straightforward exercises, such as identifying your values and setting realistic goals. Find out how ACT can change the way you relate to your pain with Moving Through Grief