It's OK That You're Not OK: Meeting Grief and Loss in a Culture That Doesn't Understand

It's OK That You're Not OK: Meeting Grief and Loss in a Culture That Doesn't Understand

It's OK That You're Not OK: Meeting Grief and Loss in a Culture That Doesn't Understand

It's OK That You're Not OK: Meeting Grief and Loss in a Culture That Doesn't Understand

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Overview

As seen in THE NEW YORK TIMES • READER'S DIGEST • SPIRITUALITY & HEALTH • HUFFPOST
 
Featured on NPR's RADIO TIMES and WISCONSIN PUBLIC RADIO

When a painful loss or life-shattering event upends your world, here is the first thing to know: there is nothing wrong with grief. “Grief is simply love in its most wild and painful form,” says Megan Devine. “It is a natural and sane response to loss.”
 
So, why does our culture treat grief like a disease to be cured as quickly as possible?
 
In It’s OK That You’re Not OK, Megan Devine offers a profound new approach to both the experience of grief and the way we try to help others who have endured tragedy. Having experienced grief from both sides—as both a therapist and as a woman who witnessed the accidental drowning of her beloved partner—Megan writes with deep insight about the unspoken truths of loss, love, and healing. She debunks the culturally prescribed goal of returning to a normal, “happy” life, replacing it with a far healthier middle path, one that invites us to build a life alongside grief rather than seeking to overcome it. In this compelling and heartful book, you’ll learn:
 
• Why well-meaning advice, therapy, and spiritual wisdom so often end up making it harder for people in grief
• How challenging the myths of grief—doing away with stages, timetables, and unrealistic ideals about how grief should unfold—allows us to accept grief as a mystery to be honored instead of a problem to solve
• Practical guidance for managing stress, improving sleep, and decreasing anxiety without trying to “fix” your pain
• How to help the people you love—with essays to teach us the best skills, checklists, and suggestions for supporting and comforting others through the grieving process
 
Many people who have suffered a loss feel judged, dismissed, and misunderstood by a culture that wants to “solve” grief. Megan writes, “Grief no more needs a solution than love needs a solution.” Through stories, research, life tips, and creative and mindfulness-based practices, she offers a unique guide through an experience we all must face—in our personal lives, in the lives of those we love, and in the wider world.
 
It’s OK That You’re Not OK is a book for grieving people, those who love them, and all those seeking to love themselves—and each other—better.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781622039074
Publisher: Sounds True, Incorporated
Publication date: 10/01/2017
Pages: 280
Sales rank: 4,872
Product dimensions: 5.20(w) x 7.90(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Megan Devine
Megan Devine, LPC, is an author, speaker, and grief consultant who advocates for emotional change on a cultural level. Her book, It’s OK That You’re Not OK: Meeting Grief and Loss in a Culture That Doesn’t Understand, is considered required reading by grievers and professionals alike. Together with her team, she facilitates a growing catalog of courses, events, and trainings to help grieving people, and those who wish to support them, learn the skills they need to carry pain that cannot be fixed. For more, visit refugeingrief.com.

Mark Nepo
Mark Nepo is a poet and philosopher who has taught in the fields of poetry and spirituality for over 40 years. A New York Times #1 bestselling author, he has published 21 books and recorded 14 audio projects. Mark has been interviewed several times by Oprah Winfrey as part of her Super Soul Sunday TV show, and was interviewed by Robin Roberts on Good Morning America. As a cancer survivor, Mark devotes his writing and teaching to the journey of inner transformation and the life of relationship. His work has been translated into more than 20 languages. For more, see marknepo.com.

Table of Contents

Foreword Mark Nepo xi

Acknowledgments xiii

Introduction xv

Part I This Is All Just as Crazy as You Think It Is

Chapter 1 The Reality of Loss 3

Chapter 2 The Second Half of the Sentence: Why Words of Comfort Feel So Bad 13

Chapter 3 It's Not You, it's Us: Our Models of Grief Are Broken 25

Chapter 4 Emotional Illiteracy and the Culture of Blame 39

Chapter 5 The New Model of Grief 57

Part II What to Do with Your Grief

Chapter 6 Living in the Reality of Loss 67

Chapter 7 You Can't Solve Grief, but You Don't Have to Suffer 85

Chapter 8 How (and Why) to Stay Alive 101

Chapter 9 What Happened to My Mind? Dealing with Grief's Physical Side Effects 117

Chapter 10 Grief and Anxiety: Calming Your Mind When Logic Doesn't Work 133

Chapter 11 What Does Art Have to Do with Anything? 149

Chapter 12 Find Your Own Image of "Recovery" 165

Part III When Friends and Family Don't Know What to Do

Chapter 13 Should You Educate or Ignore Them? 181

Chapter 14 Rallying Your Support Team: Helping Them Help You 197

Part IV The Way Forward

Chapter 15 The Tribe of After: Companionship, True Hope, and the Way Forward 215

Chapter 16 Love Is the Only Thing That Lasts 229

Appendix: How to Help a Grieving Friend 237

Notes 243

Resources 247

About the Author 249

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