At a time when I thought I was losing my mind as well as the person I loved, I came across this wonderful gem of a book in it's original 209 page format. Concisely written with the grieving reader in mind, it goes straight to the heart of the matter, giving compact strategies and brief insights into why, how and when people descend into the darker side of life known as rejection, loss and grieving. A great strength of this book is that it forgoes the psychological mumbo-jumbo of other lost-love self-help books and instead gives immediate advice and strategies so that the grieving reader can, from the very first page, begin to feel better and begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Beginning with a description of what loss actually is, what other situations in life are considered loss, and what loss always feels like, the book describes the various stages and strategies of healing and ultimately, recovery. One extremely important page at the beginning of the book directs the reader to contact the suicide prevention hotline in case he or she feels that they are in danger of losing control. Interspersed throughout the book are various reflections on loss in the form of insightful poems which show the reader that he or she is definitely not alone in experiencing grief. This form of poetic expression strangely seems to be exactly what the reader is feeling. That feature alone is worth the price of the book. When I first bought it, I planned to spend about a week reading it, only to find that I just couldn't put it down. Instead, I read it all in a single day and night. Thereafter, I referred to it endlessly until finally, my crisis was over. This priceless book will now never leave my possession. Needless to say, I highly recommend this book to anyone who has suffered rejection and the loss of a loved one, a situation which I learned is an extremely painful but frequent one in today's world. This book is more than a band-aid for a psychic wound. It is a veritable transfusion of hope, insight, wisdom and self-respect.

My mom actually purchased this book for me after the father of my girls was murdered, even though I him and I had been separated for over 3 years I hurt something terrible for my girls and I suppose I also hurt for losing him...besides being extremely angry at his choices in life I had to somehow get past it, with this book I was able to understand my hurt and anger, I was able to communicate with my daughters as well as help them in dealing with the loss of their father, had it not been for this book I believe I would have handled the entire situation surround his death totally wrong, not saying this book totally made things perfect..... far from it but I will say after the reading of this book I was able to cry and feel okay with it even though I was in a great marriage, being married and losing someone you use to love dearly is quite confusing in itself, I wasn't sure if I was suppose to be hurting the way I did, but again this book helps in teaching you that it's okay to hurt cry feel angry and then get past all of it in a positive manner.

My psychologist recommended this book to me when I was going through a difficult break-up. She told me she’d checked around with colleagues, and this book was unanimously approved by all of them.

I tracked a copy down and flipped through it in the bookstore. When I saw that every other page had a poem, I immediately thought this book wasn’t for me . I thought it would be silly new age stuff that I wouldn’t find useful to me at all. I definitely felt like I needed a lot more than some stupid poems.

But I was also really grasping for anything that could help me get through the pain, and so I took the book home. And it WORKED. Even the poems. This book was the only one I read that actually helped me. It encouraged me to be gentle and kind with myself, when I was filled with such anger and sorrow. It convinced me that things were going to be okay, when I felt totally alone and hopeless. And it even got me to write a few poems of my own.

I was very doubtful of whether this book is what I need or will it only hurt me more.

Allow me to give a little background. Last month I found out that a real good friend of mine was going behind my back and saying nasty things about me. He was someone with whom I have shared secrets which I am now ashamed of. Someone I trusted with my life. It was as heartbreaking as if my love left me. I normally heal myself but this was different. Then 1 day I came across some reviews on peoplejam about this book. I was not sure if a book can help me overcome my feelings (i sometimes felt like embarassing him in public) or will it only hurt me more if it did not help. I went ahead and read all the reviews and finally decided to rent it out from my neighborhood shop.

This books helps. I will not go to the extent of saying that it helped me heal in a day or a week but the wordings were so easy to read through and sometimes quite comforting and it did provide that extra kick I need to start over and forget about the incident.

I was recommended this book by my doctor to read, four years ago, after my rabbit suddenly and unexpectedly passed away. All people grieve of course when losing a pet or a loved one, but I was extremely attached to my rabbit and the loss was sudden and shocking. At first I hesitated buying this book, as I was worried I would be "preached to"; I was pleasantly surprised that the book is not like that at all. It is kind, easy to read, contains very gentle words and rather is filled with short entries that help to soothe and relax. Some of the entries are things such as poems, or perhaps short quotations. It isn't a book that you have to feel like sitting down and taking a great deal of time to read - you can literally read a page (the entries are quite short, generally), put it down and come back later. This book really helped me to get through my loss.

This is a must have book for anyone who has ever loved and lost - whether it be through life's journeys or even unexpected death. I just recently lost my grandfather and it has helped me see the truth in losing someone you love. I had never lost someone close to me so I did not know how to help myself heal. This book truly has helped me get on the path to understanding the reality and knowing that it is acceptable to mourn but it is also okay to move forward. The book is broken into three sections: Surviving, Healing, and Growing. Each section has different motivational messages that really help you not feel alone. I know that I would definitely recommend the book to anyone who has ever experienced a loss and had a hard time moving on or to anyone who is new to loss. I know I have grown just from this experience and I will know how to handle something like this in the future because of this book.

My mother-in-law passed away very unexpectedly. The funeral home actually gave this book to me as we were making arrangements, and I shared it with the whole family. It is so gentle, kind, and easy to read. It is full of beautiful poems, proverbs, and advice. It allows you to heal, and gives you permission to grieve and feel hurt and cry and rant and scream. It lets you know you are not alone in grieving, whether you have been dumped, or whether somebody has passed on. It is a truly heartfelt book that anybody, even people who don't typically read, will be able to read quickly, easily, and assuredly. While it is not a cure for the pain of loss, it is a good place to start.

Many years ago a young man who broke my heart kindly gave me a copy of this wonderful, inspirational book. Since then I have re-read it countless times, lent it out, purchased it for friends, and recommended it to anyone who is facing seemingly insurmountable loss and grief. Not just loss of romantic love or marriage, or loss by death, but of any kind of loss, literal or perceived, of something the reader feels he or she can't live without.

Not your traditional, clinical treatment of grief, this book is full of wise advice, presented both traditionally and in creative, whimsical, comical, and poetic styles. This is the kind of book you cant put down...it will arouse your anger, bring you to tears, and leave you nodding and smiling, even if it hurts to smile. The book guides you through the stages of grief, and helps you avoid the pitfalls of repeating negative behaviors (even if you want to), obsessing over "what if" and "if only", and leads you gently to positive behaviors that will hasten your recovery. In short, the book helps you get back to living. It can literally be lifesaver.

This is a dear, sweet, charming book that I highly recommend--it should be part of every household library.