Surviving the Holidays While Grieving: Practical Tools for Experiencing Joy When Facing Grief and Loss

The loss of a loved one can change our lives forever.

Healing from the pain of losing a loved one doesn't happen overnight. Each day can be a battle to keep unpredictable emotions under control-especially around holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas, which can bring losses into full focus. Traditions and expectations often add more stress to an already grieving heart. Even simple tasks, such as walking through a store during the holidays, can surface memories that turn on emotions like a light switch. Finding joy may seem impossible.

Janet Johnson knows. She lost a brother to murder, a son to a car accident, and a brother-in-law to suicide. She has experienced firsthand how the holidays have a peculiar way of activating emotions-and why it's important to process those emotions, not ignore them.

In Surviving the Holidays While Grieving, Janet comes alongside readers who have lost a loved one or are journeying with someone dealing with grief. With tenderness and compassion, she offers ideas for managing emotions, hands-on activities for expressing feelings in tangible ways, and tips for communicating those feelings to others. Readers will be encouraged to remember meaningful traditions and create new memories about their loved ones with others.

Through the pages of this tenderly composed book written from a Christian perspective, readers will find hope for healing and a toolkit for taking steps forward with joy.