Book
Grief Diaries: Surviving Loss by Overdose
Statisticians keep count. Politicians pass laws. Police are overwhelmed. Preachers condemn. Doctors medicate. Business looks at the bottom line. And academia is stymied. Yet the flood of heartache and sorrow continues.
Drugs are rampant in today’s world, yet nobody has answers. We only have stories. Our stories. The stories of our intelligent, kind and promising loved ones who fell victim to a villain disguised as pills, capsules, liquids, and powders that overpowered their logic, willpower, and survival instinct.
Surviving Loss by Overdose is a compilation of stories by 12 people who answered 18 questions about losing a loved one to overdose in hopes of raising awareness, educating, and inviting society to offer survivors the compassion that’s often denied in a stigmatized death.
According to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, there were over 70,237 drug overdose deaths in 2017, an average of 192 each day in the U.S. According to the National Institutes of Health, stigma related to drug use may increase overdose risk, and the effectiveness of overdose prevention may be improved by reducing discrimination against people who use drugs.
“An addict carries the stigmatized visual of someone who had no home and lived on the fringe of society. Emily always had a roof over her head, food in her stomach, clean clothes to wear, and a family who loved her,” states Kimberly Calais, whose 23-year-old daughter died from an overdose in 2016. “People from every walk of life seem to have the opinion that addicts are just dirty losers. My daughter was once just like your little girl.”
“The stigma surrounding substance abuse is killing our loved ones and preventing them from getting treatment. We view drug addicts as criminals and regard jail time as treatment,” states coauthor Whitney O’Brien, whose 23-year-old brother died from an overdose in 2016. “There needs to be change in this country. The stories shared in this book can and will serve a purpose.”
- ISBN: 978-1950712076
- RELEASED: Nov. 2019
- 6 x 9 inch | 386 pages
- MSRP $16.95
Grief Diaries: Surviving Loss by Suicide
Three-time medalist, Surviving Loss by Suicide examines the after-math of losing a loved one to suicide from the perspective of 12 different people. Candidly voicing their thoughts and emotions through the funeral and beyond, each writer gives voice to a taboo journey shared by millions. Foreword by award-winning author and suicide prevention advocate Emily Barnhardt.
- ISBN: 978-1944328030
- RELEASED: Dec. 2015
- 6 x 9 inch | 300 pages
- MSRP $15.95
Grief Diaries: Surviving Loss of a Sibling
Losing a sibling is a heartbreak that leaves a hole in the fabric of every family. Facing a challenging journey that’s often ignored yet no less tumultuous, the anguished needs of surviving siblings often get cast into the shadows behind the bereaved parents. Struggling through such emotions can be devastating lonely. Surviving Loss of a Sibling features the stories of 13 sisters and brothers as they fight to find the meaning of life without a sister or brother. Foreword by Benjamin Scott Allen.
- ISBN: 978-1944328023
- RELEASED: Dec. 2015
- 6 x 9 inch | 258 pages
- MSRP $16.95
Grief Diaries: Surviving Loss of a Spouse
Surviving Loss of a Spouse features the poignant journeys of 15 men and women as they move through the aftermath of losing a husband or wife. Each narration offers a firsthand account of how each widow and widower faced the funeral, handled his or her spousal belongings, navigated the year of firsts, and how each fought to find hope in the aftermath. Foreword by award-winning playwright Carol Scibelli, author of Poor Widow Me.
- ISBN: 978-1944328016
- RELEASED: Dec. 2015
- 6 x 9 inch | 290 pages
- MSRP $14.95
Grief Diaries: Surviving Loss of an Infant
Surviving Loss of an Infant features the journeys of 11 mothers through the aftermath of losing a baby ranging in age from newborn up to 24 months. The narrations offer a firsthand account of how each mother faced the holidays, handled her baby’s belongings, the impact on her health, relationships and more. Foreword by National Parent of the Year Linda Bateman Gomez.
- ISBN: 978-1944328047
- RELEASED: Dec. 16, 2015
- 6 x 9 inch 232 pages
- MSRP $14.95
Grief Diaries: Through the eyes of a widow
Widows in today’s world find little support to recover and adapt to a life they didn’t plan. Where do they turn for help? How do they face the future and rebuild their lives? Through the Eyes of a Widow is a collection of stories by widows across the globe. Each shares her own personal insight into the hidden and often unspoken challenges of losing a husband, including the emotional, mental and social shifts she’s forced to reckon with in the aftermath. With poignant narration, each shares the truths of her loss, and the hope she finds along the way. Foreword by Maryanne Mueller.
- ISBN: 978-1944328641
- RELEASED: March 2019
- 6 x 9 inch | 269 PAGES
- Retail: $16.95
Grief Diaries: Through the Eyes of Men
Breaking the man code and offering readers an inside look into the hidden world of male grief, Through the Eyes of Men features the stories of 14 men of different ages who tackle the tender subject of male bereavement from the very moment their lives changed with a loved one’s death. Foreword by Glen Lord, past president of the national board of directors of The Compassionate Friends.
- ISBN: 978-1944328481
- RELEASED: Dec. 2016
- 6 x 9 inch | 284 pages
- MSRP $15.95
My Grief Diary
Divided into two parts and sixteen assignments, My Grief Diary is a workbook written by two educators based upon the tools they used in their very own journeys. My Grief Diary is designed to give a safe place to vent feelings and fears, while offering tools to help navigate the intense emotions we all experience in the afterloss.
- ISBN: 978-1944328108
- RELEASED: July 2015
- 8.5 x 11 inch | 106 pages
- $15.95
