Review of Living Forward After Loss
Posted: 19 Jul 2021, 05:26
[Following is a volunteer review of "Living Forward After Loss" by Kathleen Ho.]
One thing I have learnt about life over time is that it goes on. It can be so devastating to think that even in our darkest moments, life never waits for us to get better. The sun still rises and sets, businesses still continue, people still move and governments are still run. I had never thought I'd ever see the positive side of this till I read Kathleen Ho's book, Living Forward After Loss. The book seeks to help people mourning those they love in a world that moves on.
Kathleen has been through hell. She lost the love of her life to stroke back in 2015. In her book, she narrates how horrific and dark those days were. She explains to us how vulnerable and weak she felt in the days leading to David's death and even those that followed. She became depressed and even thought of ending her life. I love that the story does not end with her in that dark place. She also tells the story of how she survived and overcame that grief. She gives step-by-step narrations of the kind of activities, quotes and people who helped her reset and calm her mind. It gets interesting as she delves into a little philosophy to encourage anyone that could be going through what she went through. Her story if one of possibility and hope.
This book was so refreshing. I am an optimist and absolutely love it when someone gives hope to the world through writing. The language and quotes the author used in the book speak pure optimism. I also loved how honest the author was with her experience. She writes so frankly about what she felt in the wake of her husband's death. For instance, she admits it would have been difficult to take care of her paralyzed husband had he survived that stroke attack and that she preferred to let him go. This may not be an option most people would take but Ho is comfortable expressing exactly what she feels.
I liked that the book was short and hence not exhausting to read. The last thing you need when grieving is a long and stressful read. The language the author used was simple and easy to comprehend. I also loved that Ho included important questions at the end of the chapters in the book. They can be very vital guides for people who want to overcome their grief in the same way she did. They can also be used by the readers to measure their healing progress. I have to say that the recommendations that Ho puts across in the book seem practical. They are also reassuring as she talks from her personal experience about things that already worked for her.
I also enjoyed that the author was able to make me feel what she felt. The pain cannot be equal but I shed a little tear as I pictured the scene where David dies holding her wife and smiling as he took those last gasps of air.
There was nothing I disliked about this book. I therefore gave it a perfect rating of 4 out of 4 stars. I'd recommend it to anyone going through a period of mourning or loss of any kind.
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Living Forward After Loss
View: on Bookshelves
One thing I have learnt about life over time is that it goes on. It can be so devastating to think that even in our darkest moments, life never waits for us to get better. The sun still rises and sets, businesses still continue, people still move and governments are still run. I had never thought I'd ever see the positive side of this till I read Kathleen Ho's book, Living Forward After Loss. The book seeks to help people mourning those they love in a world that moves on.
Kathleen has been through hell. She lost the love of her life to stroke back in 2015. In her book, she narrates how horrific and dark those days were. She explains to us how vulnerable and weak she felt in the days leading to David's death and even those that followed. She became depressed and even thought of ending her life. I love that the story does not end with her in that dark place. She also tells the story of how she survived and overcame that grief. She gives step-by-step narrations of the kind of activities, quotes and people who helped her reset and calm her mind. It gets interesting as she delves into a little philosophy to encourage anyone that could be going through what she went through. Her story if one of possibility and hope.
This book was so refreshing. I am an optimist and absolutely love it when someone gives hope to the world through writing. The language and quotes the author used in the book speak pure optimism. I also loved how honest the author was with her experience. She writes so frankly about what she felt in the wake of her husband's death. For instance, she admits it would have been difficult to take care of her paralyzed husband had he survived that stroke attack and that she preferred to let him go. This may not be an option most people would take but Ho is comfortable expressing exactly what she feels.
I liked that the book was short and hence not exhausting to read. The last thing you need when grieving is a long and stressful read. The language the author used was simple and easy to comprehend. I also loved that Ho included important questions at the end of the chapters in the book. They can be very vital guides for people who want to overcome their grief in the same way she did. They can also be used by the readers to measure their healing progress. I have to say that the recommendations that Ho puts across in the book seem practical. They are also reassuring as she talks from her personal experience about things that already worked for her.
I also enjoyed that the author was able to make me feel what she felt. The pain cannot be equal but I shed a little tear as I pictured the scene where David dies holding her wife and smiling as he took those last gasps of air.
There was nothing I disliked about this book. I therefore gave it a perfect rating of 4 out of 4 stars. I'd recommend it to anyone going through a period of mourning or loss of any kind.
******
Living Forward After Loss
View: on Bookshelves