Loss and Grief

This exceptional volume on loss and grief should be required reading for all health professionals and their students. The valuable and, at times, surprising insights expressed by the authors in their efforts to make sense of loss in their own lives makes this a must read. * Jeffrey S. Akman, MD, Former Vice President for Health Affairs and Dean, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, George Washington University *
Loss and grief will affect all of us. These courageous contributors describe their own very personal experiences with loss so we can all benefit from their insight and take comfort that these journeys are a normal yet unavoidable part of the wonder of life. * Barry D. Bultz, PhD, Head, Division of Psychosocial Oncology, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary and Officer, Order of Canada *
This is a warm and empathic book about loss and grief which should be read by all health professionals and their students. It comprises reflections from health professionals about grieving in their own lives, which brings genuine reflection and depth often not seen in textbooks. * Phyllis N. Butow, PhD, Emeritus Professor, School of Psychology, University of Sydney, Australia *
Loss and Grief delivers a concentrated dose of unthinkable losses-a family suicide, deaths of young children, abusive upbringings. Reading the essays plunges me into a borrowed darkness. Did writing the essays expose fresh light or meaning for the authors? Does learning of their shipwrecks deepen our attention to the losses of our patients and ourselves? The book is a transparency of suffering, trustworthiness, and hope-a radical experiment in the value of truth in the living of a life. * Rita Charon, MD, PhD, Columbia Narrative Medicine *
These courageous authors invite us into their deeply personal stories about loss, grief, and the struggle to find meaning and purpose in the aftermath. Honest and raw, grief emerges as the crucible in which love and loss forge our humanity, fragility, and inevitable transformation. * Harvey Max Chochinov, MD, PhD, Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry, University of Manitoba, and Senior Scientist, CancerCare Manitoba Research Institute *
Although there is no definitive end to suffering, loss, and death, pain is a universal experience. At the age of 20, I suffered for the first time when I lost my father. I am certain that reading about the power of narratives would have been extremely beneficial at the time. This one-of-a-kind book tells us that we are not alone, even though there are no universal cures for illness, agony, and death. * Dégi L. Csaba, PhD, MSW, Board Member, European Cancer Organization; Secretary, International Psycho-Oncology Society; Associate Professor, Babels-Bolyai University, Romania; and Member, ECO-ASCO Special Network on the Impact of the War in Ukraine on Cancer *
This unique publication serves as the starting point for new thinking about the meaning of loss and the care of those who experience it. Profoundly personal and reflective, this edited collection of compelling and courageous narratives by physicians and other healthcare professionals models a new world, providing the evidence base for the expert editors' call to action with a new definition of loss, an expanded research agenda, and a challenge to healthcare systems to create supportive programs for professionals experiencing personal loss. * Kathleen M. Foley, MD, Emeritus Member, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and Emeritus Professor of Neurology, Weill Cornell Medical College *
This book catalogues instances in which healthcare professionals confront the death of someone dear. It describes how caring for others who have lost someone close turns into caring for themselves, and offers the insights that medical professionals may offer when they mourn. * Holly G. Prigerson, PhD, Irving Sherwood Wright Professor in Geriatrics, Professor of Sociology in Medicine, and Co-Director for the Cornell Center for Research on End-of-Life Care, Weill Cornell Medicine *
We all walk through the valley of the shadow of loss and grief. This exquisite compilation of heartfelt, thoughtful narratives, by and about healers searching for meaning through personal loss-experiences, gives language and courage for all who enter the unmarked trek from loss and confusion towards clarity and restoration. * Andrew J. Roth, MD, Attending Psychiatrist, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and Professor, Clinical Psychiatry, Weill Cornell Medical College *
Loss and Grief is a heartfelt and moving book by outstanding leaders in health care who display their strength by revealing their vulnerabilities. Healing is not a battle but a journey, and when you read this book, you will travel in excellent company. * David Spiegel, MD, Director, Center on Stress and Health, Stanford University School of Medicine *
A challenge for those of us working in oncology is how to face personal loss. This excellent book shares in a most candid way the authors' own experiences and struggles when faced with death and illness. Each of us can profit by learning from these poignant stories of shared vulnerability. * J. William Worden, PhD, ABPP, Psychologist, Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital *