The Good Grief Devotional: 52 Weeks toward Hope

Product Description

A wise, honest companion for the journey through grief
Whether you are struggling with your own grief or walking with a friend or family member who is grieving, you know the journey is not smooth or straightforward. The Good Grief Devotional offers wise, honest companionship to those who are struggling with the death of a loved one, a divorce, the loss of a job, or another major life transition.
Pastor Brent D. Christianson’s fifty-two devotions follow the ten stages of grief outlined in Granger Westberg’s helpful book Good Grief, published in 1968. Millions of people have found in it validation for their grief, understanding of their feelings, and a way to live through grief and into a new reality.
Christianson begins each stage with a reflection on that aspect of grief and then considers what the stage means for the reader’s self-understanding and relationships with other people, creation, and God. Each devotion ends with questions to think about and talk about with another person, healing actions one might take, and a prayer.
The Good Grief Devotional provides pastoral care, faces the reality of loss, and points the way to hope. Readers will want to return to this collection year after year as they are changed by their journey.

Review

“In The Good Grief Devotional: 52 Weeks toward Hope, Christianson has crafted a delightful companion to Granger Westberg’s seminal Good Grief. Christianson writes that his wish for this book it to brings its readers hope. And it does. Through a healing recipe of Scripture, poetry, wisdom, and prayer, Christianson brings an offering that I would have been delighted to give to each grieving family in my thirty-plus years as a parish pastor. I can offer no higher praise than that.” –Rick Hoyme, retired ELCA bishop and pastor
“For years I had a supply of Granger Westberg’s classic Good Grief in my pastoral office. I gave one to people who were going through rough waters. Brent D. Christianson’s devotional book will be even more helpful for those who have been struck by divorce, death, or another form of loss. Through poetry, lyrical prose, and story, the book speaks openly about the pain of grief and points the reader in the direction of comfort and grace. If read slowly and savored, the fifty-two short chapters promise to bring healing and even joy.” –Bill White, ELCA pastor, Madison, Wisconsin
“Grief work is indeed good and holy, as Christianson notes. He is a compassionate, hopeful companion for those in the midst of that work. The poems, lyrics, stories, and prayers he has gathered will provide comfort and encouragement in the first year of grief and beyond.” –Carla Dahl, Luther Seminary
“Brent D. Christianson has written a book of devotions that is an articulate, thoughtful, and helpful response to Granger Westberg’s now classic book on the ten stages of grief, Good Grief. Drawing from his personal experience of grief and loss, Holy Scripture, and a deep well of verse written both by him and others more widely read or sung, Christianson invites us to reflect on and share our own experience of grief and loss.Christianson’s prose is concise and clear. He uses words and imagery that draw us in and help us clarify our own thoughts and feelings about loss and grief. Perhaps what I appreciate most is his faithful dialogue with the biblical texts and the short prayers that close each devotional chapter with a light touch to help heal the grieving heart. As a chaplain and director of spiritual care at a retirement community, I am moved to invite him to share this book and his experience with our residents, family, and staff.” –Kristine Braaten-Lee, chaplain, Northfield Retirement Community

About the Author

Brent D. Christianson is a retired pastor (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) who served parishes in Wisconsin and Minnesota for ten years and in campus ministry for twenty-five years. His poetry has been published in books and journals, and he has written stu