Faith Doesn’t Erase Grief

Embracing the Experience and Finding Hope

Kate J. Meyer, MDiv, LPC

Meyer demystifies grief—the greatest cost of love—and invites her readers to discover life and faith anew. 
—Rev. Jaco J. Hamman, PhD, Professor of Religion, Psychology, and Culture, Vanderbilt Divinity School

Faith and grief don’t have to cancel each other out.

The grieving process is part of being human, but far too often, Christian grievers are pushed out of grief and rushed into rejoicing that their loved one is in heaven. Alternately, Christians who allow themselves to grieve openly are shamed for doing so, often resulting in turning away from faith. It is time for a better way to acknowledge that you can struggle with grief and still love God.

Licensed professional counselor and ordained minister Kate Meyer is an experienced, warm, practical guide to walk you through the grieving process. In Faith Doesn’t Erase Grief, she encourages grievers and shows them how to find hope.

Meyer blends up-to-date grief psychology, biblical accounts, and everyday experience. She introduces easily understandable phases of Early Grief, Middle Grief, and Lasting Grief, and provides a framework for grievers to build a personalized toolkit to navigate through each phase. She offers a way to acknowledge emotions, ways to take care of yourself just after a loss, and coping skills for the long term. Meyer also discusses the healing idea about the continued but changed bond many grievers experience when their loved one is gone. Each chapter includes a prompt to record what you’re experiencing in the grief journey, and the book concludes with a collection of appendices for detailed, step-by-step directions for coping tools, such as psalm writing.

Grief is a difficult but natural part of life. For grievers, those in grief counseling, and pastors and chaplains, let Faith Doesn’t Erase Grief—one of the best Chrisitan grief books today—help you embrace the fullness of grief and discover the first steps toward hope.

Praise for Faith Doesn’t Erase Grief:

Unequivocally the best book on grief I’ve ever read. This reaches far beyond a typical textbook. It is extremely practical in addressing, with insight and compassion, what I’ve witnessed as a pastoral practitioner for over thirty years. This quote is worth the price of the book, “Death steals a person, every facet of them; grief steals living from the survivor.” I wish I had this powerful resource in my earlier years as a chaplain. Every Christian chaplain, and everyone experiencing grief, needs a copy.”

Rev. Dr. Alan T. “Blues” Baker, CEO ChaplainCare and Rear Admiral, Chaplain Corps, US Navy (Retired)

Grief literacy is such a necessity, and Kate’s intentional work brings her whole heart to the conversation with an invitation for each reader to embrace new understanding at the intersection of loss and faith.

Mandy Capehart, Restorative Grief: Embracing Our Losses Without Losing Ourselves

Grief is a long and winding road; a natural, but unpredictable journey. Meyer demystifies grief—the greatest cost of love—and invites her readers to discover life and faith anew. She is a practical guide whose clinical wisdom facilitates restored identities, awakens hopeful living, and resists death’s desire to undo the gifts of love. Be empowered to befriend your grief.

Rev. Jaco J. Hamman, PhD, Professor of Religion, Psychology, and Culture, Vanderbilt Divinity School

Kate Meyer has tackled a delicate topic with grace, giving the reader permission to feel grief that is free of guilt. Kate’s writing style is beautiful and easy to understand. As a Christian and someone that has felt much discomfort with the comment, “They are in a better place,” I appreciate Kate’s candor and know that she is speaking with a loving heart to help ease that discomfort. In addition to being comforting, Faith Doesn’t Erase Grief, is also filled with practical information about the stages of grief and healthy tools of emotional expression, just to name a few. As a therapist and executive director of a nonprofit counseling agency, I would recommend this book to anyone. Grief is a shared human experience and I think the true benefit would come from reading this book at any point in one’s life.

Sarah Lewakowski, MA, LLP, Executive Director, Mosaic Counseling

This exquisite book by Kate Meyer invites the reader into a reflective, authentic intrapersonal journey that elicits insight and healing. She provides a thoughtful approach to integrating sound theology with the inevitable aspects of understanding how the mind and body can be affected by loss and bereavement. She offers depth, breadth and substance to a topic that is often overlooked. I highly recommend this wonderful book that fosters awareness, empathy, compassion, since it is such a gift and faith offering to those who are blessed to engage with this important resource.

Dr. Catherine Mueller-Bell, LPC, PhD, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary

Kate Meyer’s compassionate, empowering new book on grief invites readers to embrace a both/and approach to the journey of healing and of finding renewed hope. In a world plagued by either/or thinking, this holistic model is deeply life-giving and will bless many with its engaging format and well-laid out, inspiring process. A true gift for believers and seekers alike.

Rev. Elizabeth Testa, Women’s Transformation and Leadership and Equity-Based Hospitality, Reformed Church of America

Kate J. Meyer, MDiv, LPC, is an ordained minister and licensed professional counselor who has worked in both private practice and hospice care. She is passionate about bringing grief into the light so that all grievers know how to move forward in a healthy, life-giving manner. Kate is also the author of The Red Couch, a novel about past mistakes and a challenge to overcome them. She is a dog mom living with her husband in Western Michigan. Visit katejmeyer.com to join her newsletter or follow her on social media.

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