Image of Emily
By Emily

March 23rd, 2011

I think that most of my favorite chicken soup for the soul stories are about bad situations. Sure, inspiration can be found in great situations, but when you find yourself struggling with something it’s so comforting to hear about another person who was struggling in a way that was similar to you, that made it out. When I received the Grieving and Recovery book, I was pretty sure I would love it, and I was right. Not long before this book arrived, Ryan’s dog Maggie had been hit and his mom was forced to put her to sleep. Maggie was given to Ryan when he was around 10 years old, so she was around 14 anyway, but it was particularly hard to face the death because we knew that she suffered for over an hour before Ryan’s mom got her to the vet hospital that was far away and the only one open late at night. I know that losing a family member or friend who is human is breathtakingly hard, but when a well loved pet passes, it’s hard to think ‘it could be worse’ when you’re feeling that pain. I only knew Maggie for about 3.5 years but for about a year of that time I was living with her, so it was hard for me, and obviously much harder for Ryan. This book seemed to arrive at the perfect time and I certainly found comfort in many of the stories. Although the stories are human-loss based, the messages still touch your heart and can help heal your heart because the underlying hurt and pain comes from the same place. Although I think it’s great that people can be comforted by many different things, I personally find the most hope in stories where the recovery and strength comes from within the human being. Many inspirational healing books revolve around religion, and although that’s great for those who it helps…with me personally I read the stories about the messages they receive from God and wonder what I can do for myself while I’m waiting around for a heavenly message to arrive, which leads to a hopeless or helpless feeling. Some stories in Grieving and Recovery are religious based, but many are simply about a day or time where a grieving person just seemed to ‘snap out of it’ a little, or do a special craft or behavior that feels right and begins to help them feel closure. For example, in one story a mom found a homemade lapel pin that her son had made for her as a child, after he passed. She began wearing it everyday for along time. One day she realized that although she will always be sad for the loss of her son, the pin and constant reminder of the pain was holding her back. She decided to wear the pin on days when she was down or blue, and wanted her son to feel nearer to her. However, on good days and average days, she would live the pin in her jewelry box. For her this was her symbol of beginning recovery, and although not forgetting, she was able to move on and live her life. Such stories really hit home for me. Overall it’s a great book, and would be a nice gift to anyone who has recently had a loss or who hasn’t fully grieved or recovered from a loss.

Buy it: This book sells for 9.16 on amazon.com.

Win it: I get to giveaway 3 copies of Grieving and Recovery.

To enter: MANDATORY: Tell me what you like about the chicken soup books.

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This giveaway is open to the US and Canada and will end April 6 at noon EST. Winners will be chosen via random.org and have 48 hours to reply and claim their prize before a new winner will be selected.

Disclaimer – I received a free book for the purposes of this review. No other form of compensation was offered or accepted. All opinions are my own.

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