Dealing With Grief

When of my greatest fears when we left CA was not being there for my mother.  She and I have always been close, taken care of one another and the family, and over the years as suffered two strokes and other medical problems, I realized that she wouldn't be there forever.  It's one of the hardest things to come to grips with: your parents are only human and will one day no longer be there.

After reading Claire Bidwell Smith's The Rules of Inheritance, I've come to realize that coming to grips with that, and what will happen some day, is something that everyone will go through.  And no two people will feel it in the same way.

Using the stages of grief almost like mile posts on her journey, Claire shares the way her loss affected her life and the decisions she made.  She also shows that it's okay to feel this way, that grieving is something that has to happen, and there is a way to deal with it all.

I've been lucky to have my parents still living.  I know people who haven't been as lucky, and have an old friend dealing with a parent who is slowly leaving her because of cancer.  I know she is still learning to deal with the day to day changes as she is the primary caregiver for her father, but I also plan to recommend a reading of The Rules of Inheritance.

Have you lost someone or know someone who has and wondered how to be there for them?  Please try reading the book and join the conversation here with the BlogHer Book Club's latest selection.

This is a sponsored review for the BlogHer Book Club.  While compensation will be forthcoming for taking the time to write about the book, the opinions stated are all mine and mine alone.