The Wild Edge of Sorrow

Rituals of Renewal and the Sacred Work of Grief

De: Francis Weller, Thomas Hübl - introduction, Michael Lerner - introduction

Hope and healing for a profoundly fractured world—a pathway home to the brightness, pains, and gifts of being alive

The bestselling book on grief and loss from psychotherapist Francis Weller: “One of the best books on grief I have ever read. … It helped me turn to and understand my grief in ways I never had before. It has helped me feel alive again.” —Anderson Cooper

Profoundly moving, beautifully written, The Wild Edge of Sorrow is a balm for the soul and a necessary salve for moving together through difficult times. Grounded in ritual and connection, this book welcomes each grief with care and attention, opening us to the feelings, experiences, and sacred knowledge that connect us to each other and ultimately make us whole.

Psychotherapist Francis Weller introduces the 5 gates of grief, helping us come to terms with grief and loss within a culture so fundamentally detached from the needs of the soul.

• The first gate recognizes that everything we love, we will lose. Here, we meet the pain of losing a loved one; the grief of illness; and the tender invitation to touch the depths of our losses and loves
  
  
• The second gate helps us uncover the places that have not yet known love: our secret shames, our shadow sids, and the neglected pieces of our soul that need restoration and care.
  
  
• The third gate meets us at the immense sorrows of the world
  
  
• The fourth gate, what we expected but did not receive, offers wisdom for tending our wholeness after the love, care, and validation we need are withheld
  
  
• The fifth gate opens to our ancestral grief: the traumas, pains, losses, and unrealized dreams of those who came before us.

With grief rituals, reflection prompts, and deep, ageless wisdom, The Wild Edge of Sorrow is a genre-defining invitation to healing and renewal. Weller helps us rediscover wilwhat modernity has made us forget…and reconnects us to our most profound and human yearnings. Less a self-help volume than a blessing, this book is a homecoming for the soul.

Nothing else like it

There is no other book quite like The Wild Edge of Sorrow. Rather than being another "how to" or grieve-by-numbers manual, this work explores the vast terrain of grief, loss, and sorrow as an essential part of the human experience. The crown jewel is the chapter on the Five Gates of Grief, which are not stages of grief but rather the five primary doors through which we encounter grief and sorrow in our lives, most of which are not well understood or even acknowledged in our culture. This is a work of great depth, compassion, and insight, and I suspect it will be the catalyst for much inner work among its readers. Highly recommended for anyone who has struggled with a sense of sorrow/loss (of any kind) and is seeking psychological and/or spiritual healing.

Beautiful

I'm in awe of the beauty of this book and how it helped me find the start of my apprenticeship with grief. Highly recommend it for someone experiencing or witnessing someone experiencing a loss and grief.

Wonderful resource

I found this book extremely enlightening and helpful. Will definitely go back to as I work with my sorrow. The narration was very nice in tone and tempo.

Beautiful, poetic and soothing book from start to finish!

This is my go-to book for guidance, encouragement and normalization on how to allow and express the natural occurrence of grief. Francis Weller speaks from experience and service. He does a masterful job of helping us come to welcome, accept, embrace, integrate and use grief as a means of returning to the wholeness this world so desperately needs.

A definite re-read !

It was so great to hear and read the book. I truly enjoyed and stayed attuned.

An excellent book

This book addresses grief and sorrow in a poetic and insightful way. It is an important book and well worth reading.

Grace Beyond

This is a journey book. An exquisite, complete witnessing of our souls breathe. In and out. Thank you♥️

Grief’s Beauty

The story is a must! If you’ve ever pondered the meaning of grief and its place in the cycle of healing. I was today years old when I learned that grief is necessary for a soul return.

An Essential Book of Our Time

I found this book to be both nurturing, and a diagnosis of our culture that I feel I have been chasing for decades. It comes from a place of goodness and respect. I want to share it with friends and family, though they may not be interested. In gratitude.

Helpful

I’m glad that I read this book and felt heard on my grief. Thankful to Anderson Cooper