The Other Side of Complicated Grief

Book excerpt: Finally, real help for grievers from a medical professional who has been there. One out of every ten grievers gets stuck in complicated grief. If you have complicated grief, you remain mired in the early, acute stages of grief indefinitely. CG affects your ability to move through grief in a healthy way and hinders your ability to function in everyday life. A Registered Nurse, Rhonda O'Neill was diagnosed with complicated grief after her husband and son died within two years of each other. She shares her struggle with CG for those years and shares how she found her way back to healthy grief and was finally able to live her life with some happiness again. It is not easy to understand the symptoms and implications of complicated grief. Here, the author uses her medical background to translate some confusing information on complicated grief into clear terms for the non-medical griever. The first section of the book is a memoir of the author's blessings and losses. She describes her loving, blended family, her descent into the fog after her husband's death, the issues she faced as the single mother of a dying son, and the love and regrets that assail a grieving mother. In section two, you will find easy-to-understand information to help you determine whether you are suffering with CG. And since the Western view on death seeks to make dying and grieving invisible, you will find real help about what you can expect and how you can care for yourself in your often lonely struggle. Finally, since grieving can awaken a yearning to understand the meaning of life and death, you will need some kind of spiritual path to help you cope, whether traditional or nontraditional. You will find ideas about how to begin the search for the answers you need.