I did not think of this as a self-help book but more of an inspiration to take heart in the highs and lows of my own life. I have found the non-mandatory exercises in the back useful, especially, “freedom writing” and “backward planning.” I highly recommend this book to anyone who is questioning the path of their own life due to grief or other struggles. –Amazon Review
The Path of Grief: & the Imagined Future
How to Say Good-Bye to a Loved One Who is Dying
A father is dying of cancer. An adult daughter is searching for her identity. The reader learns new ways to live that are rich and meaningful. That grief is part of life is one of the conclusions of this book, which asks lots of questions.
The Path of Grief is a memoir of the death and dying of the author’s father, which recounts their relationship in soulful and sometimes humorous ways. She encourages the reader to do the same with their own experience. The journey is shared between the author and reader. Grief isn’t something to get over. Rather, grief becomes part of our Imagined Future. She explores the life journey of her father, and the shared borders with her own life. The impact of grief changes the daily structure of our life, and we need to talk about how we miss the loved one who has passed on.
Grief and healing are treated in very human ways. Looking back at a life, asking deep questions, and exploring the way memories help us grieve and heal, we learn what the dead can teach us about life. Death can be life altering, and a time for us to search for our own identity.
Using snippets of poetry throughout, the reader is taken through the grieving process.
For instance, an early chapter is titled: “Ranting & Raving.”
Towards the middle, a chapter is titled: “On Grief & Missing Pieces.”
Another is named: “Betwixt & Between.”
Towards the end, a chapter is called: “Fare Forward, Voyager.”
It’s a life journey.
The basic steps of the Path of Grief are:
- Revel in your Stream of Memories & share them.
- Cry
- Follow Rituals & Customs
- Consciously Initiate Traditions
- Identify Your Feelings
- Choose Companions for Your Path
- Recognize or Establish a ‘Home Base’
- Allow for Possibility
- Learn & Begin to Hope
- Be Open to Active Experience
- Imagine the Future
Included in the book (in the back) are 23 Grief Exercises that match the chapters. They include Meditation Exercises, a Grounding Worksheet, Writing a Letter, Memories, Setting & Achieving Goals, Defining a Theme, and much more.
About the Author
Piper Winifred grew up surrounded by stories and storytellers. Her earliest memories consist of long walks with a Dad who was forever reading poetry and tales of wonder, telling stories passed down through generations that always began with “Once upon a time, there was a little girl named Piper. . .” Piper’s books reflect the legacy her father left her.
Blending an active imagination and ongoing desire to reach towards identity and authenticity in order to write, her books become a bridge between the EternalPresent and the Imagined Future. She brings her fascination with the search for community to her writing.
Piper works to discover the authentic origins and elements of stories paired with a rigorous program of classical and ancient languages, archival research, exploration in dusty, musty places (like crypts, abbeys & monasteries), along with arduous translation, and exacting theoretical standards. Understanding the human condition in context has been a lifelong endeavor and academic pursuit encompassing the role of Identity Consciousness and the joy of Storytelling. Her degrees are in History (ancient and medieval), Latin, and Politics & Religion. Her emphasis has always been on the intersection of communities.
Her hope is that you will enjoy celebrating life seen through very human eyes, whether it’s through an archetypal journey, fairy tales (more are coming) or the path of grief. As you think of your own very precious life and engage in the journey together with her.
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