Grieving the Death of a Friend

By Harold Ivan Smith

Book Overview

The death of a friend is one of the most significant but unrecognized experiences of grief.

Almost everyone will, at some point in their lives, suffer the death of a beloved friend. Yet though this experience is just as common as the loss of a father or mother, there are fewer resources for those who experience this devastating and sometimes confusing loss. Drawing on his own experiences losing dear friends, as well as the experiences of others, grief counselor and educator Harold Ivan Smith guides readers through this unique grief.

In this updated edition of his 1996 classic, Smith encourages readers to embrace and listen to their grief as a natural response to loss, and to give themselves time to work through sadness, ambiguous feelings, memories, and the reality of living without a valued friend. With gentle and wise words, Smith speaks to those who have gone through this loss, and those yet to face it.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0D7SP1MJK
• ISBN13: 9798889833949
• Release Date: May 2025
• Publisher: Broadleaf Books
• Length: 180 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.5" x 8.1"

Customer Reviews

This Author Has Gone Through "Friendgrief" Himself

It is quite obvious to me that author Harold Ivan Smith has grieved over the loss of friends himself. "Grieving the Death of a Friend" is not just a result of Smith's role as grief counselor, researcher, or author. He willing shares with the reader his personal grief, not just over one, but over several friends who have died.Three great strengths of Smith's book are his conversational writing style, his use of quotations from other sources, and the use of his own prose to illustrate a point. Perhaps the greatest strength of the book, however, is the structure or basic outline Smith uses in his writing: Key chapters include: The Passing, The Burying, The Mourning, The Remembering, and The Reconciling."Grieving the Death of a Friend" was primarily written with christian readers in mind, although elements of the jewish tradition are mentioned.A central theme seems to jump out at the reader in Smith's book: his belief in his own eventual reunion with friends he has lost. Smith does this without any apology whatsoever. I very much recommend this book to those who have lost friends to death. You have every right to grieve, and "Grieving the Death of a Friend" will help you through the grieving process, even if you are revisiting a loss that occurred many years ago.