The list of books below has personal significance. These are the books that came to me by way of recommendations from comforters and supporters. These are the books I read on my own personal Facing Loss journey. This list is not necessarily a recommended reading list for everyone else’s journeys of loss. However, each book crossed my path during my grief experience, and each played its own part in my journey of hope. Some more than others.
I have bolded the books that were especially helpful to me. I decided I should capture and compile this list for my own sake. And I decided to share it for the sake of others, as well. Revelation 12:11 reminds us that we overcome by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of our testimony and because we do not love our own lives. Many of the books below are stories about, experiences of, and responses to brokenness in the context of faith. They are testimonies. Testimonies are contemporary illustrations of the veracity of the ancient gospel. The gospel makes claims on our lives; testimonies are the multitudes of stories of our responses to those claims. When I was hurting and in pain, I would read about other fellow journeyers who walked the path of brokenness in the light of the gospel. Also, some books I include were purely devotional and had little to do with grief. And yet, they played their part in my healing.
I do not include the Bible in this particular reading list. The Bible deserves a category all its own. All these stories are made possible by the teachings of the Bible. Therefore, do not exclude the Bible in any journey of brokenness. In fact, the Bible is God’s story of his creation of a beautiful world, the collapse or brokenness of the world, and the redemption of the world. The Bible is a book that addresses brokenness like no other book. The story reported throughout the Bible is a story of overwhelming brokenness. For example, I found that the many psalms read me when I thought I was reading them.
To summarize, read your Bible to heal, but don’t ignore the individual stories of healing shared by those who took the time to write their story down. In fact, this is one reason I agreed to repurpose my own journal into a blog. I had to invest my journey for others. In the words of Revelation 12:11, I needed to overcome. And help others overcome, too.
My Facing Loss Reading List
Albom, Mitch; Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, A Young Man, and Life’s Greatest Lesson
Alcorn, Randy; Heaven
Baillie, John; A Diary of Private Prayer
Bevan, Frances, translator; Hymns of Ter Steegan and Others
Bounds, E. M.; Purpose in Prayer
Burgess, Sherri; Bronner: A Journey to Understand
Burroughs, Jeremiah; The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment
Challies, Tim; Seasons of Sorrow
Chambers, Oswald; A Holy Occupation
Crossman, Eileen Fraser; Mountain Rain: A Biography of James O. Fraser
Cuyler, Theodore; God’s Light on Dark Clouds
Davis, D. Ray; Facing Loss: Lessons of Hope from My Unwanted Journey (ebook)
Duncan, Ligon; When Pain is Real and God Seems Silent: Finding Hope in the Psalms
Dunn, Bill and Leonard, Kathy; Through a Season of Grief: Devotions for Your Journey from Mourning to Joy
Easley, Ernest; Resting in God’s Sovereignty
Elliff, Tom; The Unwanted Gift
Elliot, Elizabeth; The Path of Loneliness
Flavel, John; Facing Grief
Fox, Ronnie; Beyond My Strength
Gibson, David; The LORD of Psalm 23: Jesus Our Shepherd, Companion, and Host
Greear, J. D.; Gospel
Guthrie, David and Nancy; Grief Share: Your Journey from Mourning to Joy
Guthrie, Nancy, editor; Be Still, My Soul
Guthrie, Nancy; Hearing Jesus Speak into Your Sorrow
Haugk , Kenneth C. A Time to Grieve: Journeying Through Grief, Book One
Haugk, Kenneth C.; Experiencing Grief: Journeying Through Grief, Book Two
Haugk, Kenneth C.; Finding Hope and Healing: Journeying Through Grief, Book Three
Haugk, Kenneth C.; Rebuilding and Remembering: Journeying Through Grief, Book Four
Havner, Vance; Though I Walk Through the Valley
Kellemen, Robert W.; God’s Healing for Life’s Losses
Keller, Timothy; Walking with God Through Pain and Suffering
Lewis, C. S.; A Grief Observed
Lewis, C. S.; The Screwtape Letters
Lorance, Rachel Landrith; Still Good: One Family’s Story of Loss and the Hope that Remains
Ortland, Dane; Gentle and Lowly
Martin, Robbie Steele; Learning to Live Again
Martin, Robbie Steele; Work Your Way to a New Life: The Learning to Live Again Workbook
McDaniel, Terra; Hopeful Lament
Miller, James Russell; The Ministry of Comfort
Mitsch, Raymond R. and Brookside, Lynn; Grieving the Loss of Someone You Love
Morgan, Robert J.; The Red Sea Rules
Murray, Andrew; Absolute Surrender
Murray, Andrew; The Inner Life
Murray, Andrew; Prayer Guide
Murray, Andrew; Waiting on God
Piper, John and Taylor, Justin (Editor), Ellis, Carl; Powlison, David A.; Saint, Steve; Shramek, Dustin; Talbot, Mark (Contributors); Suffering and the Sovereignty of God
Rankin, Jerry; In the Secret Place: A Pilgrimage Through the Psalms
Reed, Erik; Uncommon Trust: Learning to Trust God When Life Doesn’t Make Sense
Sittser, Jerry; A Grace Disguised: How the Soul Grows Through Loss
Sittser, Jerry; A Grace Revealed: How God Redeems the Story of Your Life
Smith, James Bryan; The Good and Beautiful God
Sproul, R. C.; The Holiness of God
Spurgeon, Charles; The Power of Prayer
Terry, Bobby S. (Bob); Struggling Toward Hope: Life After the Death of a Spouse
Tripp, Paul David; New Morning Mercies
Vanauken, Sheldon; A Severe Mercy: A Story of Faith, Tragedy, and Triumph
Vroegrop, Mark; Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy
Wainscott, Justin; Lost in Wonder, Love, and Praise: Hymns and Poems
Warfield, B. B.; The Emotional Life of Our Lord
Westberg, Granger E.; Good Grief
Wilcox, Laurie; My Worst Year, My Best Year
Willard, Dallas; Life Without Lack: Living in the Fullness of Psalm 23
Wolf, Katherine and Jay; Suffer Strong
Wolterstorff, Nicholas; Lament for a Son
Wright, H. Norman; Experiencing Grief
Yarbrough, Julie; Inside the Broken Heart
Read the E-book Facing Loss: Lessons of Hope from My Unwanted Journey