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.

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.