Maryalicia Post
ISBN 9780285637993 (0285637991)
Souvenir Press, 2007
£4.99

Category: Death & Bereavement

Grief is a deeply personal thing, affecting each of us in unique ways as we grapple with the loss of loved ones. Yet — almost perversely — it is also a universal thing, bereavement a common journey that every one of us must tread at some time in our lives. It is a lonely journey, perhaps the loneliest journey of them all, the ache something that we never get over but must, somehow, learn to live with.

In this remarkable little book, Maryalicia Post opens the door to her heart, allowing us to walk alongside her on that journey after the loss of her husband of thirty years. Speaking about the book, she explains:

The realisation came to me, as my husband was dying, that my life would never be the same again. I felt that I was setting out alone on a journey to a strange country with an unfamiliar landscape. To keep myself together, like whistling in the dark, I decided to keep a log of that journey.

That log is presented to us very simply, just a few lines for each month of the year, from February, when her husband died, through to January of the following year. Here is May:

May

Anxious for morning
I run towards it in the dark
And fall heavily
When dawn comes in its own time
I'll have bruises to show
For my haste

This is a book that touches the essence of grief, that descends into its depths, yet, by the end, rises to hope of new life. Whether you are grieving yourself or struggling to support someone else who is, I commend it to you wholeheartedly as a companion for that journey.

Phil Groom, October 2007

Phil Groom is this site's Webmaster and Reviews Editor. He's a freelance blogger, writer and web developer who spent ten years managing the bookshop at London School of Theology alongside eight years writing web reviews for Christian Marketplace magazine before he came to his senses and went independent. You can find him on facebook or follow him on twitter @notbovvered.

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