You're So Strong: On Grief and Letting Go of My Favorite Compliment

by Leslie Harter-Berg

How do you continue on with life while grieving something you were never prepared for?

One moment, Leslie Harter-Berg had it pretty darn good, and the next, she was a thirty-year-old widow and single mom to two rowdy boys under the age of three. Thrust into the arms of grief, her new life consisted of strange tasks, like notifying AT&T that her husband no longer needed unlimited data and deciding what to do with his grown-man Lego collection while she also planned a memorial and parented solo.

This is Leslie Harter-Berg's story, but it could be anyone's. Anyone who has lost a spouse or experienced another kind of grief—when life doesn't go as planned, but it keeps right on truckin' without waiting for you to catch your breath.

But Leslie's learned a thing or two since her husband's sudden death in 2019. Throughout her poignant and funny attempts to "do grief right," she came to accept that no one was grading her on her grief and that surviving is often a lot more profound and beautiful than thriving.

In this poignant, humorous, slightly irreverent yet totally relatable memoir-meets-grief-guide, Leslie will help

Let go of the need to find a silver lining or a greater purpose in your grief Validate the odd, mundane, and very real things that happen after the death of a loved one or another traumatic life event Redefine the stages of grief—and do the best living you can muster Embrace the beautiful tension of conflicting emotions as you accept a life you never expected to live Know that life can still be amazing as you move forward and find hope again You can be simultaneously splitting your gut laughing while carrying a constant ache of sadness in that very same gut. You can look forward to a future with someone while also resenting that a future has stopped being with another. And you can move through life after loss by relinquishing the need to "be so strong" and allowing yourself to fall apart—so God can grieve with you and put you back together.

Genres: Nonfiction

256 pages, Paperback

Published March 24, 2026

Reviews

[Emily Knox · Rating 5 out of 5]

“You’re So Strong” examines the tension between the desire to “do grief right” and the slow, painful realization that there is no right way. While on vacation with her family, Leslie Harter-Berg tragically experienced the sudden death of her husband, the father of her two young children. In sharing her story, she offers something so meaningful- a glimpse into what grief can look like. This book gives permission to grieve imperfectly, to feel everything or nothing at all, and to live alongside grief as life unfolds around you, even when you don’t have it all figured out.

[Mallory · Rating 5 out of 5]

Leslie's book on grief is beautifully written - honest, witty, and deeply moving.
I laughed, reflected, and cried all within a few pages (emotional whiplash, but in a good way). HIGHLY recommend... Whether you’re grieving or just human.

[Kimberly Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would never had chosen this, but got a copy ahead of release. It was sad without being depressing. It was full of grace without being preachy. The author recognizes her own shortcomings, and that we all grieve differently. I am glad I read it.

[Tori Beal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just a wonderfully written, deeply beautiful story. Greater up to have gotten to read it and celebrate life; the lows and the high with this author.

[Solomon Berg · Rating 5 out of 5]

She’s funny, she’s witty, she’s a little irreverent—and she’s writing about death. It feels like that shouldn’t work, but somehow it really does. That’s what makes Leslie Harter-Berg so good. She has this way of putting words to the weird, tangled thoughts you actually have in real life—the ones that don’t always make sense, especially around loss. And she does it in a way that’s honest, sharp, and somehow still hopeful. You walk away feeling more human, more able to sit in the confusing parts of grief without needing to clean them up. You SHOULD READ THIS BOOK. It will make you cry and laught at the same time. It will make you a better human.

[Tabitha Phillips · Rating 5 out of 5]

I devoured this book. A beautiful, funny and tear inducing message that proves as a great reminder that while God is not the source of our “awful”, He is always gracious in his redemption.

[Bridget · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such an amazing book! Truly an inspiring read.

[Cait Wade · Rating 5 out of 5]

My friend wrote a book! It's really good and I'm not just saying that. Leslie is insightful, wise, candid, WITTY, genuine, and generous in her offering of grief nuggets.