Life is full of ups and downs.  When something tragic happens, it can be hard to cope.  This is especially true if you are grieving the loss of a loved one.  It can be especially hard when you don’t feel understood, you just can’t find the words to express how you feel, or you’re just not ready to talk about your feelings.  Thankfully, there are books on grief out there that can help you through this difficult time.  Whether you’re looking for fiction or nonfiction books, you will find some options here.  Hopefully, these books will help you understand and process your emotions and work through your grief or at least feel seen and understood.

NONFICTION BOOKS ON GRIEF

Notes on Grief Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

From the globally acclaimed, best-selling novelist and author of We Should All Be Feminists, a timely and deeply personal account of the loss of her father.

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Paris Without Her by Gregory Curtis

In this moving, tender memoir of losing a beloved spouse, the longtime editor of Texas Monthly, newly widowed, returns alone to a city whose enchantment he’s only ever shared with his wife, in search of solace, memories, and the courage to find a way forward.

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Leave Out the Tragic Parts by Dave Kindred

Dave Kindred’s extraordinary investigation of the death of his grandson yields a powerful memoir of addiction, grief, and the stories we choose to tell our families and ourselves

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All of This by Rebecca Woolf

A beautifully written “grief-and-relief” memoir that addresses difficult truths we’re afraid to admit about death, marriage, sex, and how the loss of a partner can lead to rebirth.

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Stay True by Hua Hsu

From the New Yorker staff writer Hua Hsu, a gripping memoir on friendship, grief, the search for self, and the solace that can be found through art.

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FICTION BOOKS ON GRIEF

This Shining Life by Harriet Kline

A boy struggling to process his father’s death believes that his dad has left behind a series of clues to the biggest puzzle of all—the meaning of life—in this deeply felt debut novel about grief and healing.

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Bear Necessity by James Gould-Bourn

A heartwarming, poignant, and charming debut novel for fans of Nick Hornby and The Rosie Project, about a father and son overcoming their grief in surprisingly inventive ways.

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The Life of the Mind by Christine Smallwood

A disaffected adjunct’s life is disrupted by a miscarriage, forcing her to reckon with her body, work, relationships, and sense of self.

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The Removed by Brandon Hobson

Steeped in Cherokee myths and history, a novel about a fractured family reckoning with the tragic death of their son long ago—from National Book Award finalist Brandon Hobson.

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The Friend by Sigrid Nunez

A moving story of love, friendship, grief, healing, and the magical bond between a woman and her dog.

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Beach Read by Emily Henry

A romance writer who no longer believes in love and a literary writer stuck in a rut engage in a summer-long challenge that may just upend everything they believe about happily ever afters.

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Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi

Gifty is a sixth-year PhD candidate in neuroscience at the Stanford University School of Medicine studying reward-seeking behavior in mice and the neural circuits of depression and addiction. Her brother, Nana, was a gifted high school athlete who died of a heroin overdose after an ankle injury left him hooked on OxyContin. Her suicidal mother is living in her bed.  Gifty is determined to discover the scientific basis for the suffering she sees all around her.

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The Other Americans by Laila Lalami

Late one spring night in California, Driss Guerraoui—father, husband, business owner, Moroccan immigrant—is hit and killed by a speeding car.  The Other Americans is a family saga, a murder mystery, and a love story and of grief.   

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What do you think about these books on grief?

Have you read any books from this list?  What are your favorite books about grief?  What books would you add to the list?