From Grief To Peace by Heather Stang 

Excerpt from the Introduction 

There is no shortage of people eager to tell you how to cope with grief and loss. However, only one person can honestly know what you need: you. Even though you may not feel like you can hear it, your inner wisdom is already speaking to you. It inspired you to open this journal. A part of you is ready to do something to reduce your suffering and start feeling like yourself again. 

I hold a Master’s Degree in Thanatology, the study of death, dying, and bereavement, and am a certified Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapist. I facilitate the Awaken Meditation For Grief Online Program through the Mindfulness & Grief Institute and work with local and national bereavement organizations. 

I am also a bereaved person who had to find a way to cope with grief. I know firsthand that this is not easy. I also know that with the right tools and the right support, you can do this.

Your grief and loss experience is very personal. There is no single right way to navigate life after loss, and I cannot tell you what to do. What I can do is offer you hope and direction, and empower you to choose the steps you take through mindfulness and journaling. 

Mindfulness is a meditation style and a mindset rooted in being present and openhearted. Journaling is a style of writing that gives a tangible form to your innermost feelings.

This guided journal has the prompts, inspirations, mindful movement exercises, and expressive art projects to help you get to know yourself better so you can learn how to do more than just cope with loss; you will learn how to live fully with your loss. 

Loss & Grief

You probably picked up this journal intending to focus on one loss in particular. Naturally, some are more painful. A loved one’s death is irreversible and is the most distressing for many. This is not true for everyone. For some, the most significant losses in life are not associated with death. 

The prompts in this journal will help you explore and integrate all types of loss. The yearning you feel when someone special dies. The anticipatory grief that follows a life-limiting diagnosis. The traumatic grief you feel when a someone dies by suicide, an overdose, or an act of violence. The ambiguous losses that leave you feeling anxious, such as a loved one with dementia, a mental health diagnosis, or estranged family member. And of course, those losses that matter to you, but are disregarded and minimized by others because they just don't understand.

We are all connected and face collective losses that impact us as a society and as individuals. To heal ourselves, we need to name what hurts and find a way to continue on.