Grieving the Death of a Friend

by Harold Ivan Smith

Book Overview

The death of a friend is one of the most significant but unrecognized experiences of grief in American culture. In this unique book, Harold Ivan Smith guides the reader to move with rather than against the natural grief process as he explores its many aspects, including the friending, the passing, the burying, the mourning, the remembering, and the reconciling.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0806628421
• ISBN13: 9780806628424
• Release Date: April 1996
• Publisher: Fortress Press
• Length: 176 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

This Author Has Gone Through "Friendgrief" Himself

It is quite obvious to me that author Harold Ivan Smith has grieved over the loss of friends himself. "Grieving the Death of a Friend" is not just a result of Smith's role as grief counselor, researcher, or author. He willing shares with the reader his personal grief, not just over one, but over several friends who have died.Three great strengths of Smith's book are his conversational writing style, his use of quotations from other sources, and the use of his own prose to illustrate a point. Perhaps the greatest strength of the book, however, is the structure or basic outline Smith uses in his writing: Key chapters include: The Passing, The Burying, The Mourning, The Remembering, and The Reconciling."Grieving the Death of a Friend" was primarily written with christian readers in mind, although elements of the jewish tradition are mentioned.A central theme seems to jump out at the reader in Smith's book: his belief in his own eventual reunion with friends he has lost. Smith does this without any apology whatsoever. I very much recommend this book to those who have lost friends to death. You have every right to grieve, and "Grieving the Death of a Friend" will help you through the grieving process, even if you are revisiting a loss that occurred many years ago.