Living With Bereavement, Alex James - Introduction

Human beings, regardless of cultural, religious or historical backgrounds, are united by one common bond: The need to communicate, to know that they we are not alone. The recognition that something we experience has also been experienced by another is both reassuring and a huge relief.

I spend much of my time confirming to those who grieve that they are not losing their minds and that the thoughts and feelings they are experiencing in grief are usual ( I hesitate to use the word ‘Normal’ as everyone sets their own criteria as to the true meaning of that word.) There are large, unspoken and unexplored areas of death and communication, even in today’s technical, forward thinking, fly on the wall society, and I hope that by reading my book you will find a deeper understanding and a greater ability to communicate with the bereaved.

Living With Bereavement reviews

“Dear Alex On almost every page of Living With Bereavement you express a notion,feeling or experience that I could easily recognise, I don’t think I can tell you how much that has meant to me in my darkest times and I want to thank you . Occasionally there is an almost intangible comfort to be found in expressing feelings despite it’s powerlessness to alter the circumstances in anyway. As you say there is huge comfort in knowing that others feel the same and that thoughts are shared.” Jenny

“Alex James style of writing is fluent and the text is refreshingly free from jargon. There is much discussion about shock , anger, depression etc but she makes a conscious effort to avoid labelling these as the so called stages of grief, It is probably the least expensive book about bereavement currently available “
Funeral service Journal.

“I recommend the book to practitioners and or those who work with the bereaved whether experienced or young in practise it provides a valuable insight into the diversity of the reactions of the bereaved and the concerns of those who support them. I would also recommend the book as a useful addition to the bookshelves of practitioners for loan to those who come cross their threshold having suffered bereavement a compact yet comprehensive look at bereavement with the book aiming to provide the bereaved and their helpers with an understanding that the grieving process is usual and normal. I believe it does just that , Not only does it validate feelings , thoughts and reactions no matter how obscure they may appear but also it acknowledges the bereaved are not alone in their grief ,
Private Counsellor, school counsellor and Counsellor for Cancer support, Harry Stoyles