Grief

It's NOT Supposed To Be OK!

Non-Fiction - Grief/Hardship
Kindle Edition
Reviewed on 04/20/2022
Buy on Amazon

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Author Biography

Ron was born and raised in the Midwest where he married his Highschool sweetheart. He and Cathy would go on to have three boys and eight grandchildren (and counting). He had a long and productive career as a Real Estate broker and investor before retiring. Ron enjoys learning new things and spends time researching alternative energy, electric vehicles, autonomy, and just about anything else he finds of interest. He has struggled with grief his entire adult life losing his father at the tender age of 19 years old. Years later, he and his wife would suffer the loss of their firstborn son only to lose their second-born less than 18 months later. Ron's mom would pass away just shortly before the publication of Grief It's NOT Supposed To Be OK! reminding him once again that we all must face grief throughout our lives. He and his wife of 40 years are passionate about their faith and deep desire to help others suffering loss.

    Book Review

Reviewed by Asher Syed for Readers' Favorite

Grief: It's NOT Supposed To Be OK! by Ron Skinner and Jeff Kirk is a non-fiction self-help guide for readers who are navigating some of life's most heartbreaking moments, those who are looking ahead in preparation for the inevitable, and those who are trying to understand what a grieving loved one might be going through. Expanding on this, the book will work incredibly well as a companion to professional counselors and others in the profession of aiding individuals through a crisis. The guide is incredibly detailed and covers a wide range of topics such as the five stages of grief, recognizing grief and reacting, helping children and loved ones, the practicalities of what to do “after”, struggles, isolation, loneliness, the types of grief, and very specific sections on the different types of loss, among many other topics. “We cannot return to life as it once was. It no longer exists. Therefore, we have one option: learning to function and even thrive in this new life without them.”

As I move into the second half of my life [if I'm lucky to have as much time left], I find myself inching closer to a time when the loss of loved ones will become more frequent but no less heart-breaking. I have lost along the way, but now the hurt has started reaching into my immediate circle, and this is why I picked up Grief: It's NOT Supposed To Be OK! Ron Skinner and Jeff Kirk write with clarity and compassion that is conversational in style, empathetic in tone, and straightforward for complete understanding. There are personal touches that make a reader feel like a friend is there with them, encouraging them to take the time to heal, accepting that everything they are going through is natural, and that as long as we do the work to try to see ourselves through, Skinner and Kirk will help to make it a little less confusing. The part for me that stood out is a section on the relief that death may bring after one has spent years as a caretaker. When my wife's grandfather passed away, one of the first things his wife did after the funeral was to take a cruise to Alaska. She was so tired and while she was desperately heartbroken by the loss of a man who had stood beside her for over 60 years, I was so glad when she got on a plane and said, “Nobody talk to me for 10 days...” We all deal with loss in different ways and it is a comfort to know that books like this are here for when it happens. Very highly recommended.

Sherri Fulmer Moorer

The hardest thing we’ll deal with as human beings is grief. The loss of a loved one to death is the most devastating and painful thing we’ll experience, and everybody will go through it multiple times throughout their life. While it’s a universal experience, it’s deeply personal and no two people experience it the same way. Even the same person can experience it in different ways depending on their relationship with the deceased. The question is, how do you handle such an elusive thing? How do you move on with the rest of the world when your paradigm has shifted, and you’re being forced to push on through the pain? You need a lot of help and support. Grief: It’s Not Supposed to be OK! by Ron Skinner and Jeff Kirk is an excellent resource to explain how grief is experienced, misunderstood, and reconciled with a life that keeps moving on.

I picked up this book for guidance in my own grief journey after my father’s passing in August 2020. Even though I’m a bit further down the road, I found the information and advice helpful and supportive in my journey. Ron Skinner and Jeff Kirk not only understand grief but present the information in a compassionate and gentle manner that helps readers understand that they aren’t going crazy and, in fact, are experiencing their life growing around their grief in an acceptable manner. I don’t say “normal” because there is no such thing as that with grief, but readers will understand themselves and their reactions to the world better after reading Grief: It’s Not Supposed to be OK! I even learned that many of my reactions that didn’t seem to make sense are still rooted in grief, even a year and a half after the loss. The authors have a gift for helping those in the midst of life’s most difficult journey understand that life can go on and that there is hope for the future and life beyond loss. I think this should be required reading for everybody when they suffer a loss and a helpful reminder for those moving along the road to new life and hope for the future.

Alma Boucher

Ron Skinner and Jeff Kirk explain in Grief: It's NOT Supposed To Be OK! that a journey with grief is long and difficult. We will be looking for understanding and hope as we travel this path. We are not alone and our grief is unique because of the unique relationship and love we shared with the person we have lost. We have changed forever and the life the person was part of has also changed. We can experience grief so intense that it can damage our mental and physical health. Grief will last a lifetime, and the struggles of our loss will always be with us. We have to heal and rebuild ourselves around the loss we have suffered. Ron and Jeff discuss five stages we will go through during our grief. These stages are not on a timeline and are not in a specific order. We will have to go through these stages at our own pace to live through our grief and put our life back together.

The chapters in Grief: It's NOT Supposed To Be OK! is full of information and short enough for the reader not to be overwhelmed with all the details. Ron Skinner and Jeff Kirk are full of empathy and share their own experiences with grief. They talk about other emotions and situations a person may experience and validate all the feelings you have after experiencing a great loss. The main aim of this book is to help readers with their journey through grief and to give them hope that there will be a time when they will be able to move forward with their life. I recommend this book if you are experiencing grief or have a friend or family member suffering.