for

books that help with grief

Books people return to when grieving — covering the lived experience, the long un-grand-ness of loss, and the slow rebuilding. Companion reading, not a roadmap.

Grief isn't a problem with a solution. These are books people in our index have publicly returned to as companions through it.

7 books, ranked by how many of the 4,800 notable readers in our index have publicly recommended each one.

  1. The Year of Magical Thinking
    14 people

    The Year of Magical Thinking

    Joan Didion · 2007

    14 recommenders

  2. When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times
    11 people

    When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times

    Pema Chodron · 2000

    11 recommenders

  3. H is for Hawk
    10 people

    H is for Hawk

    Helen Macdonald · 2014

    10 recommenders

  4. The Long Goodbye
    6 people

    The Long Goodbye

    Raymond Chandler · 1988

    6 recommenders

  5. Option B
    5 people

    Option B

    Sheryl Sandberg · 2017

    5 recommenders

  6. H is for Hawk (Korean Edition)
    1 person

    H is for Hawk (Korean Edition)

    Helen MacDonald · 2015

    1 recommender

  7. Wave
    1 person

    Wave

    Suzy Lee · 2008

    1 recommender

other contexts

Each context is hand-curated from the 4,800-recommender index — the books that recur most often when people who’ve been through this share what helped. methodology →