The Art of Grieving - by Sheila K Collins (Paperback)

About the Book

Part memoir, grief handbook, and guide

Book Synopsis

Sheila K. Collins is no stranger to grief. After the loss of two of her children, Sheila felt disconnected from the support she needed, living in a society that makes us feel like we can't speak openly or honestly about the one thing we will all become acquainted with: grief.

The Art of Grieving challenges conventional attitudes towards grieving. Part memoir, part grief handbook and guide, Sheila draws on a lifetime of experience as a dancer, social work professor, and therapist to illustrate the value of grieving and how the arts can become grief's collaborator. This book provides guidance and resources on how to use the arts of storytelling, music, dance, and visual arts to make grieving itself a life-long art. When we utilize the arts to honor our losses and celebrate together, as our ancestors once did, we are provided a path to insight that allows us to continuously learn from our grief rather than fear it.

Review Quotes

Collins has given us a wise, well-researched guide to grieving's winding path, revealing how communal artmaking provides catharsis and connection when loss inevitably strikes. This book is a gift."

Daniel H. Pink, #1 New York Times bestselling author of THE POWER OF REGRET

In The Art of Grieving, Sheila K. Collins shares compelling personal and professional stories of how engaging in artistic activities such as music, poetry, dance, storytelling, and visual arts can help us process grief. With deep compassion, Collins helps us understand how -- through creative expression and honoring loved ones - we can heal, enter into a transformative space, and find the courage to embrace life anew after mourning.

Susan Magsamen, with Ivy Ross, Your Brain on Art: How the Arts Transform Us

I highly recommend The Art of Grieving. Get it. Read it. I promise it will help you and those you love navigate grief every day of your lives. Sheila writes from the soul of a dancer, social worker, and grief advocate profoundly intimate with death and loss. Sheila keys us into ways grief can work its magic when we use the arts to help process our lives. I'm sending The Art of Grieving to family and friends.

Cynthia Winton-Henry, Cofounder of InterPlay, author of The Art of Ensoulment: How to Create From Body and Soul.

The Art of Grieving is a priceless gift to the human family. Dr.Collins' articulation of grief as a spiral is a revolutionary concept that she and I both recognized independently and a major step forward from stage theories of grief. Reading her book is like having a series of enlightening and comforting conversations with a wise, knowledgeable, and experienced companion. I highly recommend and wholeheartedly endorse her book for anyone who has ever experienced loss of any kind and for those who may experience loss in the future.

Grace Terry, MSW, Grief Coach, author, The Spiral Pathway of Grief.