It is coming up on my father's one year death anniversary soon. I feel pretty down and depressed, looking for something to help me get through this week in one piece without having to repress my sadness altogether. I have been considering The Road by Cormac McCarthy as it's supposed to be dark and haunting and might fit my current mood well. Misery loves company as they say. I'm also open to suggestions of particularly heartwarming stories that maybe will help remind me of the light to be found even when life is kicking the crap out of you. Thanks in advance!
by caleafornias
17 Comments
Tuesdays with Morrie may be up your alley.
I’m sorry for your loss. For grief, Option B by Sheryl Sandberg is a great read. It’s honest, practical, and full of insights on coping with loss.
If you want something more heartwarming, The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion is beautifully written and explores grief in a raw, reflective way.
First of all, hang in there, friend. Remember that grief is love.
Second, I can only add that The Road is the only book that ever made me tear up, and it’s only because I love my dad so much. So, yeah…
All the Colors Came Out by Kate Fagan helped me with the grief of losing my dad.
Sorry for your loss
Stay True by Hua Hsu is a phenomenal memoir about a specific grief inducing instance in one man’s life. It rang so true for me in dealing with grief myself
On the lighter side – A Psalm for the Wild Built is an incredible little cozy sci fi book that is full of meditative thoughts as a monk grapples with their purpose in life
The Little Prince by St. Exupery
Promise Me Sunshine is a semi-romance book that deals with grief in a really respectful way!
So sorry for your loss. I don’t if you’re too old for it. This book helped me a lot when a classmate passed away. She was 10. It was The Fall of Freddie the Leaf.
Crying in H-Mart
Travels with Charlie – Steinbeck
Oddly enough, Slaughterhouse 5 in there too
I’ve been there many times when I feel depressed and want to feel even more pain. I’ve put Hurt by Johnny Cash on repeat and chugged whiskey and pills.
I’ve come to believe that it’s not worth it so I’m recommending A Man Called Ove by Fredrick Backman. A grumpy old man dealing with the loss of his wife who finds community. Or his new book, My Friends. Backman is the best at capturing human emotion and showing us the light through the dark.
Wishing you well.
H is for Hawk, grief memoir of a person who unexpectedly loses their father and channels their grief by caring for and training a goshawk. Lots of natural history, nature and literary sidebars.
It’s OK That You’re Not OK by Megan Devine
Sigrid Nunez, The Friend
It’s about a woman who has to adopt her best friend’s dog after he takes his own life. It’s short, wry. And It helped me through the darkest days of my life.
So this isn’t fiction but it’s a book that really helped me this year as I’ve been grieving my mom. I actually had a copy shipped to my dad. It may or may not speak to you, but it’s one of the few things that has spoken to me this year. This Ordinary Stardust by Alan Townsend. https://a.co/d/j199Jbf
Not a book but a visual novel game: psychedelica of the black butterfly. On steam. Use a walkthrough. Its a fictional story but it deals with grief and survivors guilt. It’s more like an interactive anime than a game.
So sorry for your loss. Grief comes in waves. Hang in there.
The Grieving Brain by Mary-Frances O’Connor, if you are interested in the science behind grief.