Whether you’ve lost a loved one, or are anticipating the loss of a loved one, it’s likely you’re experiencing grief in some form. It’s a complex emotion that all of us cope with in different ways. But you might find that books on grief help.
Whether that’s offering comfort through characters who are facing similar feelings and life changes or providing you with a different perspective on loss that you might not have considered before.
Here, you can find a some of the best books to help with grief, from fiction to self-help. Remember, if you don’t feel up to reading yourself, or you you don’t have a time, most of these titles are also available as audiobooks.
Here, we focus on books about grief for adults, but if you’re looking for options for teens and children, you can find our recommendations for younger readers here.
Grief Memoirs
The Year of Magical Thinking – Joan Didion
The Year of Magical Thinking is one of the best-known books on grief. It’s a memoir, written by Joan Didion, an American journalist who’s well-known for her clear and to-the-point style. Of course, grief can change how someone thinks, acts and feels. So when Joan lost her husband and saw her daughter face severe illness, she switched from her usual journalistic style and created a book about the “weeks and then months that cut loose any fixed idea I ever had about death, about illness... about life itself”. It’s been described as “an act of consummate literary bravery, a writer known for her clarity allowing us to watch her mind as it becomes clouded with grief.” This isn’t just one of the best books for grief of a parent or partner. It tackles grief as a broader subject and is suitable for anyone facing any form of loss.
A Grief Observed - C.S. Lewis
A Grief Observed pulls together C S Lewis’ notes from the time of his wife’s death. While this is one of the oldest grief books on our list, a lot of its messages still feel very relatable. It reads like a journal and shows how grief becomes an inevitability when you love someone. Its pages show you a side of grief that a lot of people try to hide from others – doubting faith and belief systems, anger, fear and more.
Notes on Grief - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s memoir focuses on the loss of her father, who passed away from kidney failure during the Covid-19 pandemic. The book pays homage to her father at the same time as considering how grief is simultaneously a universal and deeply personal experience. You might find that this book puts your grief into words when you feel you can’t explain it yourself.
Grief is for People - Sloane Crosley
Sloane Crosley has two bad experiences in a row that change everything. Her apartment was burgled and just two days later, one of her close friends committed suicide. In this memoir, she shares her approach to the loss. How she attempted to resolve the burglary as if it would somehow resolve the loss of her friend too. And how she coped with her grief when she finally found herself facing it without distraction. The book is thoughtful, witty and funny, like having an honest heart-to-heart with a close friend.
A Manual for Heartache – Cathy Rentzenbrink
In A Manual for Heartache, Cathy Rentzenbrink recounts the loss of her brother during her teenage years. She describes the experience, then goes on to explore how to cope with not only loss, but any difficult period during your life. It doesn’t offer solutions, as it acknowledges that sometimes life can just be hard and unfair. But it does show you that you’re not alone and that you can reach a stage of acceptance and lead a happy life.
Grief Works - Julia Samuel
Julia Samuel is a grief psychotherapist who’s spent 25 years working with people who’ve lost a loved one. Unlike the other grief books listed here as memoirs, it doesn’t tell one person’s story. Instead, it’s a book of grief stories from several of her clients, revealing their innermost selves, different reactions to grief, different ways of coping with grief and some words of wisdom.
Grief self-help books
Good Mourning – Sally Douglas and Imogen Carn
If you listen to grief podcasts, you might be familiar with Good Mourning hosts Sally Douglas and Imogen Carn. The pair were brought together by the sudden death of their mothers, just a few months apart. This book is an extension of their podcast, opening up honest conversations about grief and loss. The book has been praised as a “comforting support group in book form” and a “compassionate survival guide for anyone dealing with grief”.
The Plain Guide to Grief – Dr John Wilson
This book by Dr John Wilson has helped hundreds of people cope with their grief. And he knows that, when you’re grieving, even simple tasks like concentrating and reading can feel impossible. So the book is written using the most simple, clear and straightforward language possible. Here, you’ll find what to expect in the days, weeks, months and years following loss.
I’m Not a Mourning Person – Kris Carr
This is one of the best books on grief if you’re interested in hearing about all the different elements of grief you might face. It shares everything you need to know about “braving loss, grief, and the big messy emotions that happen when life falls apart”. Kris Carr draws on her personal experiences of loss to share how important she thinks it is to face and even embrace the feelings that come with loss. In sharing her experiences – good, bad, embarrassing, painful and funny – she shares what to expect, where to find comfort, and how to let go of the fear that so often comes with grief.
Grief is Love - Marisa Renee Lee
This is a book about grief that fully acknowledges that “healing” doesn’t necessarily mean “moving on”. Instead, Marisa Renee Lee shares ways to make space for your grief in your day-to-day life. She also shares how you can learn to love the person you’ve lost just as deeply as when they were alive. In short, she shows you how to honour the person, and yourself, in your own unique way.
The Comfort Book - Matt Haig
The Comfort Book isn’t specifically about losing a loved one. But it’s still a good option for anyone looking for books about coping with grief. It offers up the written equivalent of a warm hug when you’re coping with loss. The book is filled with quotes, notes, lists and stories sharing the comfort, wisdom and hope that we tend to seek out during hard times.
Fiction books on grief
Grief Is the Thing with Feathers – Max Porter
Grief Is the Thing With Feathers takes the form of a novel but can also be seen as an essay on grief. It tells the story of a family dealing with the loss of a mother. The family is visited by a crow who won’t leave until the pain of loss gives way to memories. It places emphasis on the way that everyone experiences grief differently.
Before the Coffee Gets Cold - Toshikazu Kawaguchi
This fiction book by Toshikazu Kawaguchi tells the story of a café that can transport you back in time. The one rule is that you must return to the present before your cup of coffee gets cold. It tackles subjects like what you would do if you could see someone who’s passed one last time.
Poetry books on grief
A Scattering and Anniversary – Christopher Reid
This book of poetry has two volumes and explores the author’s experiences with grief. The first volume - A Scattering - was written shortly after his wife’s death. The second volume - Anniversary - was published ten years after she’d passed. Together, these writings offer an exploration of living with grief over time.
Undying: A Love Story – Michael Faber
Michael Faber wrote Undying when his wife was diagnosed as terminally ill with cancer. This poetry book on grief focuses on his experiences during her six years of illness and after her death. It shares the experience of finding the love of your life – and then having to say goodbye to them.
Obit – Victoria Chang
Obit is another of the best grief poetry books. In its pages, Victoria Chang shares a string of obituaries and elegies she wrote following her mother’s death. They focus on all that the poet has lost in her life, including details of her father going into care with dementia. The poems deal with the more difficult aspects of grief - such as anger - in an unflinching way.
Graphic novels on grief
Hello Grief – Alessandra Olanow
In this book, Alessandra Olanow draws on her experiences of loss, her training as a death doula and her talent as an illustrator to chronicle her journey through loss and the pain that can come with it. There aren’t all too many words in this book. Instead, there are beautifully drawn images with short, complementary sentences that offer solace, advice and guidance.
Psychology books on grief
On Grief and Grieving: Finding the Meaning of Grief Through the Five Stages of Loss - Elisabeth Kübler-Ross
Elisabeth Kübler-Ross was a psychiatrist who specialised in death studies. She’s best known for observing the 5 stages of grief - denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. On Grief and Grieving can help you to understand these different reactions to loss. It also lets you know that it’s completely normal to experience some and not others, and that you don’t necessarily experience them in a specific order either.
The Grieving Brain: The Surprising Science of How We Learn from Love and Loss - Mary-Frances O'Connor
Mary-Frances O’Connor is a renowned grief expert and neuroscientist. In this book on grief, she shares her discoveries around how grief impacts the brain, giving a scientific perspective to a universal experience. The Grieving Brain combines neuroimaging work, research in the field and real-life stories to make a scientific approach to grief more accessible.
Anticipatory grief books
Until I Say Goodbye: My Year of Living with Joy – Susan Spencer-Wendell
Until I Say Goodbye was written by Susan Spencer-Wendell when she learned she had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), an irreversible condition that destroys the nerves that power the muscles. It’s a book that talks honestly and openly about the difficulties that come hand in hand with knowing that loss is on its way.
Holding Tight, Letting Go: My Life, Death And All The Madness In Between by Sarah Hughes
This is a book that tackles the day-to-day impact that terminal illness can have on the life of the person experiencing it, as well as those around them. Sarah had cancer and the book shares her musings on life, as well as advice for those in a similar situation.
Books on complicated grief
Complicated Grief: How to Understand, Express, and Reconcile Your Especially Difficult Grief - Alan D. Wolfelt
Grief books can often focus on “normal” grieving processes. But grief counsellor Alan D. Wolfelt uses this book to explain how complicated grief is different to other forms of grief. After introducing complicated grief, it focuses on what you can do to soften and eventually reconcile your experience.
After Effects: A Memoir of Complicated Grief - Andrea Gilats
Andrea Gilats found herself debilitated by grief for over a decade when her husband passed away following a 5-month battle with cancer. For 2 years after his death, she wrote him daily letters, trying to maintain the conversation she was used to having with him. Excerpts from the letters show her journey through grief, tackling difficult subjects including suicidal ideation, fear of illness and challenges in the workplace.
Books on disenfranchised grief
It's OK That You're Not OK: Meeting Grief and Loss in a Culture That Doesn't Understand - Megan Devine
This is a good book for those who are experiencing disenfranchised grief, as well as anyone who is close to someone experiencing it. Megan Devine has experienced grief from both sides – as a therapist and as someone who witnessed her partner accidentally drown. It encourages you to build a life alongside your grief, rather than trying to “overcome” it.
You Are Not Alone: A New Way to Grieve – Cariad Lloyd
Best known for her podcast The Griefcast, Cariad Lloyd is also the author of You Are Not Alone. When Lloyd was 15, her father passed away and she felt that death was still a very taboo subject to talk about. She has since created a podcast where she can talk about all of the elements of grief – the laughter, the tears and everything else you might experience that others might not understand. This disenfranchised grief book is an extension of this, starting a conversation about something we’ll all face at some point or another – death and loss.
Books on baby loss
The Worst Girl Gang Ever - Bex Gunn and Laura Buckingham
The Worst Girl Gang Ever is a “survival guide for navigating miscarriage and pregnancy loss”. It’s written by podcast hosts Bex Gunn and Laura Buckingham, who’ve built a community of “kind, supportive, warrior women” through their grief podcast of the same name. Through their own personal experiences, the pair recognised how hard it can be to talk about miscarriage and child loss and feel truly understood. This book aims to give you the tools, knowledge, support and guidance to change this.
The Baby Loss Guide - Zoe Clark-Coates
Zoe Clark-Coates is a baby loss expert with extensive knowledge and personal experience in the subject. The Baby Loss Guide is a good book for anyone experiencing baby loss or trying to support someone through it. This is a supportive and practical guide with personal stories to illustrate its recommendations and points.
Beyond Grief – Pippa Vosper
Pippa Vosper lost her son when she was five months pregnant. Since then, she’s written a lot about baby loss and grief in her blog and for magazines like Vogue. Beyond Grief is the book she wishes she’d had available to her when she was going through this loss, providing support and guidance through the most difficult times.
Books on losing a son or daughter
Your Wild and Precious Life - Liz Jensen
This is a book on grief and the loss of a son. In its pages Liz Jensen recounts her son’s first experience of death – a bird in the garden – and his own death at the age of 25. She talks of her “misery that approaches madness” and how she grows to live alongside her loss, finding comfort in nature and the birds that remind her of him.
Books to help with grief of a pet
The Loss of a Pet: A Guide to Coping with the Grieving Process When a Pet Dies - Wallace Sife
Dr. Wallace Sife is one of the pioneering authors and counsellors in the field of pet bereavement. This book covers all viewpoints of pet bereavement, offering examples and case studies to help you understand the grief you’re going through. It’s also a useful book for those who are experiencing the loss of a pet that isn’t caused by death, such as losing a pet in a separation.
Goodbye, Friend: Healing Wisdom for Anyone Who Has Ever Lost a Pet - Gary Kowalski
This book offers practical guidance and advice on how to navigate day to day life after losing a pet. It also contains poems and stories that you can read separate from the general advice and guidance. The author is a minister and tends to approach the loss of a pet from a spiritual perspective. But there are many chapters that anyone can draw useful advice from, regardless of belief systems.
Cold Noses at The Pearly Gates: A Book of Hope for Those Who Have Lost a Pet - Gary Kurz
Written by a Biblical scholar, this book contradicts the view preached by some that pets don’t go to heaven. It offers reassurance that the Bible doesn’t say that pets are separated from God and comfort that one day, you and your pets will be together again.
Christian books on grief
When God & Grief Meet: Comfort and Courage for Your Journey – Lynn Eib
When God and Grief Meet is one of the leading Christian books on grief, sharing stories of others who are experiencing grief. Lynn Eib aims for the stories to meet you in your sorrow and help you feel less alone in your difficulties. It can give you comfort in the present and hope for the future.
Faith Doesn't Erase Grief: Embracing the Experience and Finding Hope – Kate J. Meyer
If you’re looking for Christian books on complicated grief, this book by ordained minister Kate J Meyer could be a good option for you. It encourages us to accept feelings of grief rather than shame towards them or trying to hide them away. She suggests turning towards your grief, as well as your faith to support you through this difficult time. This is a God-centred book that combines faith, psychology, and anecdotes to help guide you through the grieving process.
Spiritual books on grief
Grieving Mindfully: A Compassionate and Spiritual Guide to Coping with Loss - Sameet M. Kumar
In this book, Sameet M Kumar explains grief as a spiritual journey, never being quite the same for any two people. Kumar places emphasis on the fact that loss and grief are an inevitable part of the human experience but that the way you approach it can change how you experience it. This is one of the best spiritual books on grief, offering a mindful approach to loss and focusing on healing and resilience.
Signs: The secret language of the universe – Laura Lynne Jackson
Signs was written by Laura Lynn Jackson, a psychic medium who claims an ability to communicate with loved ones who have passed. She claims that we are interconnected with the spiritual realm and that we are all able to understand the “secret language of the universe” if we know how to receive it. Many people with a spiritual background or nature find this one of the best books to help with grief, as it helps them feel more connected to those who’ve passed through small day to day experiences and encounters. From hearing a song you associate with your loved one playing at a sentimental moment to visits from wildlife that would otherwise steer clear of people.
Nature books on grief
Seasons of Grief - Claudia Coenen
Seasons of Grief is a book that helps you explore how your grief might change through the different seasons of the year. From the quiet letting go of autumn to the stillness of winter, the bright rebirth of spring and the warmth of summer. It cleverly combines elements of bereavement therapy with clinically-proven techniques that you can use to help yourself when facing grief and loss.
The Way Through the Woods: Of Mushrooms and Mourning – Long Litt Woon
The Way Through the Woods is a good grief book for those who find comfort in nature. It’s Long Litt Woon’s attempt to grieve the sudden and unexpected death of her husband. She found that grief left her feeling disoriented and lost. She found comfort in hunting for mushrooms, which are essential to nature's cycles of death and rebirth.
The Bleeding Tree: A Pathway Through Grief Guided by Forests, Folk Tales and the Ritual Year – Hollie Starling
Having lost her father to suicide, Hollie Starling found her own way of grieving. She felt that a lot of current attitudes to managing grief didn’t suit her, so decided to turn to folklore and nature. The Bleeding Tree tells the story of her relationship with her father, from childhood idealisation of him to seeing him as human with flaws once she reached adulthood. This book about grief incorporates folk stories from different cultures to complement her memories and guide us along her journey.
