Loss and grief are universal experiences and much has been written about both. Understanding Loss and Grief: A Guide Through Life Changing Events is a comprehensive self-help book about the various types of loss we may experience over a lifetime, and the attendant grief we feel, in all its variations, related to those losses. Nanette Burton Mongelluzzo considers the variety of ways we experience loss and grief – whether through the actual death of a loved one, including a beloved pet, or losses experienced through divorce, medical problems, natural disasters (material items) – abd examines what these experiences do to us psychologically, biologically, and emotionally. She offers understanding and the we need tools for moving through the various experiences, both big and small.

Everyone is touched by loss. It begins early in our lives and continues through its various ages and stages. Through the use of real-life vignettes, and fascinating facts on loss and grief within the American cultural landscape, the author sheds light on the ways we grieve and how we can move through it and move on. She not only explains the comprehensive array of losses that can occur in a lifetime, but also helps readers garner support for different types of loss, whether it be the loss of a breast through cancer; the loss experienced through stillbirth; or the loss of a child, spouse, or entire community. She offers support, optimism, and encouragement to readers, helping them to own personal experiences, even those that involve loss and grief.