SELF-HELP

Forget Prayers, Bring Cake: A Single Woman’s Guide to Grieving

by Merissa Nathan Gerson

Mandala. Sept. 2021. 180p. ISBN 9781647224196. pap. $16.99. SELF-HELP

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Gerson (an intergenerational trauma consultant on the set of Amazon’s hit show Transparent) is no stranger to grief. Here she reflects on grieving as a single person, drawing on her training in inherited trauma and her own grief after the death of her father. Through lenses both professional and personal, she describes working her way through anguish at the loss, while living alone and moving to a new city; there’s particular attention to practicalities like paying bills, and interpersonal matters like maintaining (or not maintaining) romantic relationships. One of her most significant suggestions is to memorialize the dead via a ritual of one’s own making (writing, making photo montages—anything that bridges the past and the future).

VERDICT An excellent resource for readers dealing with grief or trauma on their own.

Reviewed by Deborah Bigelow, Director Emerita, Leonia P.L., NJ , Sep 01, 2021

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