Rӧssler demonstrates a keen skill for breaking down concepts and exploring--and challenging--our preconceived ideas and thoughts, through analysis of the phases and types of grief, all illuminated by relatable examples and anecdotes from her own and her clients’ lives. She notes how some cultures share communal expressions of grief, and reminds readers that learning to face, acknowledge, and grow from it doesn’t just benefit the individual: “It’s also to help future generations in your family, neighborhood, community, culture to be more comfortable with grief as well.” Rӧssler writes about women’s experiences with grief, but her teachings are universal: all are welcomed to learn about grief and how to manage it.
Rӧssler helps readers retrain their current beliefs and expectations surrounding grieving “do’s” and “don’t’s” to work through grief in a healthier way. Throughout, she acknowledges that, despite the framework of those stages, there is no standard bereavement process. One pressing passage covers how to reach out to others who are facing grief and trauma, especially in the global pandemic, including what not to say and how to respond if they’re not ready to talk. Rӧssler’s contemporary definition of grief will help readers and beyond with the most common emotional process known to humanity.
Takeaway: A contemporary definition of grief that offers readers creative ways to manage and heal.
Great for fans of: Elisabeth Kübler-Ross and David Kessler’s On Grief and Grieving, David Kessler’s Finding Meaning, Megan Devine’s It’s OK That You’re Not OK.
Production grades
Cover: B+
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A
A fantastic resource for anyone dealing with grief or struggling to cope with all the changes and upheaval of the past 18 months!
Katie's book helps the reader to understand and identify where grief comes not just from losing a person, but from loss of dreams or freedoms or unmet expectations. And more importantly, provides a framework and some simple exercises to help us accept and process the grief and turn it into a positive and motivating force. Her examples from real people help to illustrate each chapter and at times provide inspiring stories of how people turned grief into something positive. It's an easy to follow and at times deeply personal resource that will help anyone struggling with any form of grief, or also will help anyone who wants to support a friend or family member in their grief.
The New Face of Grief by Katie Rossler forced me to look deeper into unresolved grief in my own life. I’ve studied the stages of grief many times, but I’ve never made the connection that grief is more than just what you experience when someone dies. Through the guidance that is given in The New Face of Grief, I have been able to begin the process of working through the grief attached to events in my own personal life that just didn’t go as I had planned. I highly recommend this book to anyone that wants to begin to “Transform Pain into Empowerment”.
