Journeying through Grief Frequently Asked Questions

When a friend or family member loses a loved one, we want to show that we care. But we don’t always know what to say or do. Journeying through Grief is a set of four short books that provide a practical, effective, comforting way to reach out in love and support to someone during the first year after a loss.

Journeying through Grief helps grieving people understand their thoughts and feelings and provides them with a clear message of Christian hope. The author—pastor and clinical psychologist Dr. Kenneth Haugk—combines sound psychological principles and biblical truths to provide the care that grieving people need at the time when they need it most.

The books are written in a warm, personal style, with short chapters and frequent stories to illustrate key points. Encouraging Scripture passages, poems, and quotes appear throughout, connecting with what the reader is likely to be feeling at that point in grief. Issues of faith are presented in a caring, nonthreatening way, allowing room for the spiritual struggles and questions that grieving people may encounter.

Take a closer look at each of the four books—

• Book 1: A Time to Grieve

• Book 2: Experiencing Grief

• Book 3: Finding Hope and Healing

• Book 4: Rebuilding and Remembering

A person typically receives a great deal of attention and care in the first few weeks after a loss. But as weeks turn to months, that support often fades away, leaving the grieving person feeling alone and forgotten. By giving the person four separate books throughout the difficult first year, you can reach out with care at four crucial points in the grief journey, providing ongoing support and reminding the person that he or she is not alone.

We’ve heard from people who have used Journeying through Grief successfully in many different settings.

• Pastors and congregations use Journeying through Grief to care for members and nonmembers alike during times of grief.

• Hospitals, funeral homes, hospices, colleges, and other organizations use Journeying through Grief to care for the people they serve.

• Individuals use Journeying through Grief to care for family members, friends, neighbors, coworkers, colleagues, clients, and others who are grieving. Some of them have established their own personal grief ministry with these books at the heart of it.

These books can be a powerful way for you to personally offer sustained comfort and compassion to a relative, friend, neighbor, or coworker who is grieving. We receive many letters from people who set up their own personal grief ministry and give Journeying through Grief as individuals rather than for their church or other organization. One wrote, “I’ve always wanted to send more than a sympathy card and flowers. Now I have something that will embrace a grieving person with my love over and over again.”

Besides being a great resource for use by anyone in any setting—including outside Stephen Ministry congregations—the books can be used in a number of ways within Stephen Ministry. For instance:

• Volunteers from a congregation’s Stephen Ministry could help coordinate sending the books to grieving people on behalf of the pastor or congregation.

• Stephen Ministers could give the books to grieving care receivers at the appropriate times and then discuss some of the concepts during caring visits.

• The four books could be used in continuing education, helping Stephen Ministers better understand what people most often experience at different points in grief.

Read more about how Journeying through Grief can be used within the context of Stephen Ministry.

Most of the time people mail the books, so every set of Journeying through Grief includes four mailing envelopes. Delivering one or all of the books yourself can be a good way to personalize the gift and have a direct caring contact with the recipient. Whether they are delivered by mail or in person, these books will be a source of comfort.

The Journeying through Grief Giver’s Guide provides sample cover letters that you can personalize and include with each book. If you are delivering the books in person, these letters can also give you ideas for what to say to the grieving person. In any case, you don’t have to say much—simply let the person know that you care and that you believe these books will help.

Every set of Journeying through Grief comes with a Tracking Card that helps you plan the dates that you will send each book. People often tell us that the Tracking Card makes it simple to keep track of when to send the books.

For those who are sending books to more than one person, the Journeying through Grief Giver’s Guide provides a simple system for tracking multiple recipients. Whether you’re caring for family and friends or sending dozens of books through your congregation to a broad community, you’ll find that it’s easy to track when to send each book to each person.

The Journeying through Grief books are written from a Christian perspective. However, the experiences and emotions described in these four books are universal, and anyone who is grieving will likely find comfort and reassurance in them.

We regularly hear from non-Christians who appreciated receiving the books. They’ve told us how the books addressed their first-year thoughts and feelings with understanding and compassion. One noted, “I received these books from a Christian friend. It was like having her sit with me every time I read from them.”

Journeying through Grief was written with an adult reader in mind, and the examples it uses focus on the feelings and issues adults are likely to experience in their grief. However, the reading level and the essential message of the books are appropriate for people of middle-school age and older. We occasionally get letters from children as young as ten who’ve read the books and found them helpful.

Yes. Many churches and individuals report that they have given or sent Journeying through Grief to people one or more years after the loss occurred. In this situation, they typically give or send all four books at the same time. Those who received the books have appreciated the thoughtfulness of the sender and have frequently commented how these books helped them with aspects of their grief that they had dealt with only superficially or not at all.