I Wasn't Ready to Say Goodbye

Surviving, Coping, and Healing After the Sudden Death of a Loved One

By: Brook Noel, Pamela D. Blair Ph.D.

Narrated by: Ellen Archer

Length: 9 hrs and 21 mins

Publisher's summary

Each year about eight million Americans suffer the death of someone close to them. Now, for those who face the challenges of sudden death, there is a hand to hold. Written by two women who have experienced sudden loss, this updated edition of the best-selling bereavement classic will touch, comfort, uplift and console. Authors Brook Noel and Pamela D. Blair, Ph.D., offer a comforting hand to hold for those who are grieving the sudden death of a loved one.

Featured on ABC World News, Friends, and many other shows, this book acts as a touchstone of sanity through difficult times. I Wasn't Ready to Say Goodbye covers such difficult topics as the first few weeks, suicide, death of a child, children and grief, funerals and rituals, physical effects, homicide and depression. With new material covering the unique circumstances of loss, men and women's grieving styles, religion and faith, myths and misunderstandings, I Wasn't Ready to Say Goodbye reflects the shifting face of grief.

This book has offered solace to over 80,000 people, ranging from seniors to teenagers and from the newly bereaved to those who lost a loved one years ago. Individuals engulfed by the immediate aftermath will find a special chapter covering the first few weeks.

Tapping their personal histories and drawing on numerous interviews, authors Brook Noel and Pamela D. Blair, Ph.D., explore unexpected death and its role in the cycle of life. I Wasn't Ready to Say Goodbye provides survivors with a rock-steady anchor from which to weather the storm of pain and begin to rebuild their lives.

©2000 Brook Noel and Pamela D. Blair, Ph.D. (P)2012 Tantor

Critic reviews

"I highly recommend this book, not only to the bereaved, but to the friends and counselors as well." (Helen Fitzgerald, author of The Grieving Child)

2 huge losses death is ugly. Thank you for this bk

Thank you! l felt a little better relating to events in this book esp after losing Kupa my nephew 26 year old on June 1st after a road accident. My best friend Essie (50) who has been my shoulder to cry on, was reported dead just exactly 30days after my nephew. l am broken and wanted to hear somebody explain how lam expected to cope after these 2 huge blows that shattered my heart in a million pieces . l listened and felt comforted l still have to practice all the coping mechanisms you outlined, hope this big lumb sitting right on my throat will clear. Thank you again!!! and so sorry for the loss to ya'all. 💔

Good resource for people who are grieving PERIOD!!!

Earlier, this year my husband of 45 years passed away in April, 2922, after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease. Although not sudden, l found this book helpful in navigating through the most difficult year of my life. Thank you

Very uplifting and supportive

I enjoyed listening to this book. It was very difficult for me because to listen all at once because i have recently lost my youngest son to suicide. I finally found something/ someone that understood everything i was going thru and feeling. I was able to understand why so many were “insensitive” to what i was going thru. This book has been very helpful to me during the most turbulent and darkest time of my life. The narrator depicts the warmth and tenderness the authors want to present to their readers. This is an essential tool for my healing journey. I highly recommend anyone who either has lost someone in a sudden death or knows someone who’s gone thru a sudden death to read this book. This book will help you be the encouraging supporter of someone who is grieving or the book can be a source of support if you’re the one grieving and don’t have a support system.

All Mourners Should Read This

My son died two months ago, so I have been searching for books to help me get through the mourning process. This book is absolutely perfect. It covers all kinds of relationships with the deceased as well as all kinds of deaths which are unexpected. Though they all did not apply to me, reading about them all helped me understand the common threads throughout all the mourning experiences. This is a very cohesive book. The narrator was perfect with her voice and her nuances so that it was very enjoyable to "read". Every time I meet someone mourning my own son's death or someone else's death, I highly recommend this book.

never really say Goodbye to anyone who enters your

great listening to actual Authors soothing voices put comfort in your trials trying to survive this life without the one person who really knows you...

I wish I had this book when my father died

Such wise and factual account of the sudden death of a loved one and all the feelings surrounding you.

Chapter numbers are off by one

Chapter two is all about how confused you will be in the first few weeks, yet it is labeled as chapter three, which was very confusing. Maybe what is labeled as chapter 1 is really the preface?

Beyond that glitch, it was great reading a book about sudden death because everything I had read was focused on decline in health and preparing for death. We had no time to prepare.

In chapter 2 they talk about not making any decisions during their the first few weeks but we did not have that option. There was no will and the autopsy delayed the death certificate so it was very hard to get anything done.

There is so much to do that I haven’t had any time to do any of the things that are suggested. We had to fly across the country, liquidate his business property, meet with lawyers, go through, divide, and move all of his personal belongings, deal with whether to have a viewing or not, schedule and pay for the cremation, and negotiate a trust that passed down.

One month has passed and we still are waiting for the cause of death and death certificate. However, when talking to a friend I realized that I was getting caught up in the idea that this is not how the grieving process is supposed to go. How I thought it was supposed to be disappeared as fast as he did. That makes having a book about sudden death even more helpful.

grief

this book was great in helping me understand my feelings and how to cope slowly.

Great Practical Book

This book was a good read. Very practical real world grief advice. Thank you.

Life long friends

Cried but needed to. I know the feelings I feel are OK. Loneliness is still with me and as far as it's concerned I am not interested, in finding another husband. I have and still love this man. He was kind to me and we loved life together.