The festive season is a poignant time for those grieving lost family or friends. These books can provide some solace …
A Pocket Full of Happiness, Richard E Grant, Gallery
When actor Richard E Grant’s wife Joan was diagnosed with lung cancer, just before Christmas in 2020, he turned to writing a diary. When Joan died in 2021, after 40 years together, Richard turned the diaries into this tribute to her which also serves as his guide to navigating grief (€10.99).
Things In Nature Merely Grow, Yiyun Li, Harper Collins
“There is no good way to state these facts, which must be acknowledged. My husband and I had two children and lost them. Vincent in 2017 at sixteen, James in 2024 at nineteen. Both chose suicide, and both died not far from home.” So writes Yiyun Li at the beginning of this quietly devastating account of her life afterwards. Defiantly, she refuses to label this experience as mourning or grieving. “Facts, with their logic, meaning, and weight are what I hold on to.” Essential reading for anyone who finds themselves in this same “abyss” (€19.99).
Grief Works: Stories of Life, Death and Surviving, Julia Samuel, Penguin Life
As a grief psychotherapist with over 25 years experience working with the bereaved, Julia Samuel is fully aware that many feel awkward and uncertain around death, or shy away from talking about it honestly. This accessible guide will help anyone who’s grieving, from the ‘expected’ death of a parent to the unexpected death of a child. Samuel also has a Grief Works app – which interactively guides people through their grief (€12.75).
The Year of Magical Thinking, Joan Didion, HarperCollins
Acclaimed as one of the key books on mourning, Joan Didion wrote this raw, unflinching memoir following the death of her husband John Gregory Dunne in 2003. It serves as a companion piece to her other work, Blue Nights, which focuses on the loss of her daughter Quintana Roo from pancreatic cancer (€12.75).
A Grief Observed, CS Lewis, Faber & Faber
This book was compiled from four notebooks used by CS Lewis to vent and explore his grief following the death of his wife Joy Davidman in 1961. (He originally published it under a pseudonym – NW Clerk). In it, Lewis explores the fundamental questions of faith. The book inspired Shadowlands and a film of the same name in 1993 (€11.59).
Mindfulness and Grief, Heather Stang, CICO Books
Irish mindfulness teacher Roisín O’Hea of Mindful Wellbeing Ireland recommends this book to clients. Based on an eight-week programme developed by thanatologist and meditation teacher Heather Stang, it includes 35 meditation, yoga, journalling and expressive arts exercises. Each chapter focuses on a different aspect of grief, with exercises to calm the mind and increase clarity (€17.99).
Wild Hope: Healing Words to Find Light on Dark Days, Donna Ashworth, Black & White Publishing
Ashworth’s work is often described as a “life jacket” for difficult times. Loss is a companion piece to this accessible anthology of poetry and prose. It’s a comforting read for anyone, especially before bedtime (€15.08).
Giving Up the Ghost: A Memoir, Hilary Mantel, 4th Estate
Hilary Mantel became ill at 19 and endured years of misdiagnosis (for endometriosis), psychiatric treatment and destructive surgery (a hysterectomy) that left her without hope of children. Beset by pain and sadness, she decided to “write herself into being”- one novel after another. Those suffering from chronic pain and infertility will emphasise with her visceral struggle and writing (€14.50).
