As a result of her own experience with many kind of loss, Stephanie Ericsson offers an intimate, profoundly touching guide for those in grief, legitimizing the complex and often taboo emotions we all feel when loss transforms our lives.
In Companion Through the Darkness, Stephanie Ericsson defines grief as “the constant reawakening that things are now different.” Using a very simple format — which combines excerpts from her own diary writings with brief essays — she vividly speaks the language of loss and captures the contradictory, wrenching, and chaotic emotions of grief. The book can be opened at any point to chapters no more than a few pages long on such themes as:
Abandonment: The sudden state I am forced into. I no longer belong to you. I no longer belong to anyone.
Rage: The state I use to survive seemingly moments of intolerable pain.
Humor: The backside of agony.
Pity: The look on people’s faces when they haven’t a clue what to say to me.
Transition: The moments, strung out over months, when I know I am no longer the woman I was, but not quite the woman I am becoming.
The result is compelling, intimate, and heartbreakingly truthful — a book that promises to be enormously sought-after support and touchstone for all those making their own journey through grief.
Buy Companion today..
What readers say~
5.0 out of 5 starsThis author really gets it! October 20, 2011
This woman put my feelings into words. I am twenty years older than the age at which the author is writing, but she very clearly articulated my grief, my pain, my confusion, my anger and my fear of what lies ahead. In addition, her style of writing helped me to see that it is possible to survive the loss of a spouse. She talked about the growth inherent in the grief process. This is the ONLY grief book I have read that completely resonated for me.
5.0 out of 5 stars
This book helped me soo much! September 15, 2011
This book made me feel human, understood, and like a friend was with me. After losing a husband at 23 yrs old, and with a 3 yr old daughter to raise, I was a mess.. This book became a journal for me, i wrote in the margins, I cried and cried, I felt hope, and even laughed. Ten years later, I am buying it for a friend who lost her partner… An amazing book!!!
5.0 out of 5 stars#1 Most Helpful Book EVER! August 15, 2011
I lost my husband to suicide on May 8, 2008. I read book after book, looking for some solace and understanding of how I was feeling. I found nothing. Most books, about suicide in particular, are too interested in giving the facts…who does it, how they do it…how to prevent it. Someone finally recommended “Companion Through the Darkness” to me. I bought it, thinking that it would just go in the pile with the others..how wrong I was! I read it in just over an hour, cover to cover – crying, laughing, and downright sobbing as Stephanie Ericsson told MY STORY! Stephanie didn’t lose her husband to suicide, but she went through the same emotions as I did and was able to put it on paper! That was something that I was struggling to do! It has probably been a year or more since I bought that book. I pick it up about every two weeks and read parts of it over again. It makes me feel not so alone, it makes me feel like my emotions are all normal, and it shows me what a journey I truly am on. And that there IS light at the end of this long and dark tunnel. I tell everyone who will listen about this book. I can’t stress it enough, this helped me more than just about anything over the last few years. Buy this book and tell others!!!
5.0 out of 5 starsThis Author “gets it” March 17, 2011
I adored my husband. He died 11 months ago. I then entered a deep dark place. This book helps me to know I am not alone – because the author does not “beat around the bush.” She steps out and describes what grief REALLY is. I highly recommend this book.
5.0 out of 5 starsBest book I’ve read following the loss of a fiance/spouse January 29, 2009
After I lost my fiance to a heart attack, suddenly, I was searching everywhere for answers to how to deal with the deep grief that followed; the loss of a beautiful person who I loved deeply, and who returned the same to me, and my best friend, and a future destroyed in one single day. I wanted to know if I would get better, and when, or if I would get worse. This book, Companion Through the Darkness, helped me more than anything or anyone. Stephanie Ericsson experienced this kind of loss herself, and she doesn’t sugar coat the process, letting you into the deep recesses of her own maddness and anguish. She understands deep love and the loss of it, and the way it changes a person forever. As I read the book, I found myself underlining sentences or words that expressed EXACTLY how I felt, and when I look back at the book now, I’ve underlined over half of it. All I can say is, if you know someone who has lost a lover/partner, or if you have yourself, buy this book. It will help, you won’t be “cured”, but you will start to realize we are not alone and that you will never have your old life back, but you can recover somehow. It helped me and I refer to it often for added support when I need it. Thank you Stephanie.
5.0 out of 5 stars
As good as it gets October 30, 2008
The title of the book matches perfectly the content. Stephanie is a true companion for the grieving. Like a bard she gives voice to the various dimensions of grief in such an honest and authentic way. Her gift for writing articluates the various feelings of the grieving for those less gifted. While reading the book, one person immediately recognized what he was feeling through her words. In her giving voice to something he could not describe she became a true companion in the darkness. Moreover, she puts her finger on the peculiar new status of those having to transition to a new social stage in the absence of their spouse. An excellent book for those who have lost a spouse.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best grief book I read July 13, 2008
When I lost my husband suddenly 11 yrs ago, I was given a lot of books about grief. Most of them were trite and sometimes condescending. This book cuts to the quick in a painfully comforting way, letting the grieving know that they are not alone. It is a true and honest account of the many sorrows, regrets, fears, and victories that come with grief and a must read for anyone who has lost a spouse. It is the first book I recommend to those who find themselves in these unfortunate circumstances and is particularly powerful for young widows like myself. Thank you Stephanie for being such a crucial part of my journey to healing.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Equals C.S. Lewis in honesty and depth of emotion July 12, 2006
This book saved me. I have read it twice and the heartfelt emotion of grief speaks clearly in every chapter. I gave it to a friend who had recently become widowed at a young age and it helped her with her grief enormously. Since that time, I have had several requests for the book, and I am going to order additional copies to loan out.
Although Ms. Ericson writes about her own husband’s death, the experience of grief and loss in her book transcends her own situation. This book is the only book on grief that I can compare with C.S. Lewis’s “A Grief Observed.” When one is grieving, he or she can only grab onto someone else’s experience who understands their own. I highly recommend this wonderful book to anyone who has experienced any loss of any type.
See all of the reader reviews on Amazon
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