How to Say Goodbye: Working Through Personal Grief

by Joanne Smith, Judy Biggs

Saying goodbye isn't easy. Step-by-step guide to help with personal grief.

163 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

Reviews

[Gobbo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I went into this book blindly. My first real book that involved death and grieving was Tuesdays With Morrie. Dealing with death for the first time as an adult I turned to this book seeking help, a wider scope of understanding of death and a familiarity. I hoped for coping mechanisms, tools, anything to truly help understand what it was like for someone who was dying, and for the person who was left grieving.

I believe that Smith had very good intentions when writing this book but it was painful how often the christian god was mentioned, when this book was not marketed or labeled as religious, and personally I found that she fell back on psalms and her own faith and encouraged the reader to follow in this way. Unfortunately as somebody who does not hold these same values I felt as if every few pages I was reminded how different I was and how few of her tools were useful to me because I'm not a person who goes to church, reads the bible or has any interest in those things. If you are a monotheist then great this book may do wonders for you. If you wanted a modern and reliable resource for grief I would look elsewhere unfortunately.