• How do you cope with grief?

    Where do you turn when you’re grieving? I’d also love to hear a bit about why. We’re in life together.

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  • Collective or individual, grief changes us

    This is a story about the McIlvaine family and their specific loss. And, more broadly, this is also a story about all grief.

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  • The comfort books

    Now I have a collection I refer to as my “comfort books.” They don’t all feature tragedy or loss–though those are the kinds of titles my friends have come to know me for. They’re simply the books I turn to when I need soothing.

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  • Finding company for The Year of Magical Thinking

    I moved to Colorado in January 2017 with only possessions I could fit in my car. Housing is tough on the state’s Western Slope. Even before the affordable housing crisis dominated the country, finding a place to live in a resort town on a newspaper editor’s salary was going to be a challenge. So I

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  • Welcome to The Grief Library

    I’m a reader first, a writer, a book reviewer, an enthusiastic if rebellious book club member. (I tend to read what I want rather than the agreed-upon text—even if the book was my pick.) Why am I launching The Grief Library? Because I’m also a mourner.

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The Grief Library

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Literary company for life’s darkest days

This is a living library of grief books I’ve read and recommend to other mourners. You’ll also find books that are on my radar, and I’ll update them as I read. Sort and search for books that connect to your experience, and come back for reviews. I’ll publish a new review on the first Friday of each month.