About Grief

Book excerpt: About Grief is a refreshingly down-to-earth book about an issue that blindsides many people. Written in a warm and conversational way that is, at times, deeply moving, at times, surprisingly amusing, and always practical, it covers a wide range of issues facing people in grief. Originally developed as a wildly popular class, Marasco and Shuff have done the footwork for readers who wish to know more about this complex subject. Using a variety of sources, including books, films, music and many hours spent walking and talking with people in grief, the authors distill their candid insights into a series of short, single-topic-essays that can be easily digested in one sitting—a format they found grieving people preferred. This is not a book written by clinicians, so there's no cold jargon. It's not a memoir of one individual's grief, so it has something for everyone. And it's not a soft-peddling inspirational book with dew-sprinkled leaves on the cover. It's a wise, plainspoken, comforting book about an intimidating topic. As one reader recently said of About Grief: Reading this book is like having a smart, entertaining friend around—at a time when you really need one.