Lisa KeefauverGrief is a Sneaky Bitch
An Uncensored Guide to Navigating Loss
Lisa Keefauver is a social worker, grief activist, and founder of Reimagining Grief. She is an adjunct professor of loss and grief at the University of Texas at Austin, an organizational consultant, and a keynote speaker (including at TEDx). In 2019, she created the popular podcast Grief is a Sneaky Bitch.
1. Preface: Life Lessons Learned at the Bottom of the Ocean
2. Inviting You to Start Here: Orienting You to the Who, What, Where, When,
and Why of Grief
* Introduction: A Guide to Reading This Book
3. Time in Grief: Discovering How and Why Time Feels So Different
* the World’s Still Spinning
* Start Close in
* the Messy Middle
* Wait. Am I Still Grieving?
4. What the Hell Is Happening to Me? Helping You See the 360-Degree Impact of
Grief (No, It’s Not Just All in Your Head)
* Everything Sucks (And Other Negative Thoughts)
* This Is Your Brain on Grief
* Your Body Knows
* Too Much Too Soon
* Emotions and Feelings and Moods, Oh My!
* Another Full-Time Job
5. Relating to Yourself and Others (Or Not): (Re)Discovering Yourself and Your
Relationship to Others in Grief
* Everyone Is Stylish in Their Own Way
* Knowing and Honoring Your Needs
* Oh, the Places You Go and the People You See (And Why It’s
Exhausting)
* People Say Stupid Shit
* Who’s Got Your Back?
* of Course It’s Complicated
* Access Denied
6. Pitfalls and Hazards: Identifying the Grief Thief and Other Speed Bumps to
Navigating Loss
* Watch Out for the Grief Thief
* There Is No Grief GPS
* Ambiguity S-U-C-K-S
* Should Is a Dirty Word (And Not the Swearing Kind)
* Holidays, Anniversaries, and Other Grief Hazards
* Secondary Losses: The Sneakiest Bitches of Them All
7. Skills and Tools That Help Grief Suck Less: Discovering Ways to Soften the
Hard Edges of Grief
* Notice Mindfully
* Improv Skills Help
* Your Turn to Buddy-Breathe
* Seek a Creative Resource
* Make Space
8. Now What? Bringing Curiosity to the Emerging Story of Your Life
* the Beautiful, Messy, Emerging You
* Memories for Safekeeping
* Meaning Making (Even Though It Didn’t Happen for a Reason)
* When Grief Becomes a Part of the Story—but Not the Whole
9. A Little Extra
* Appendix A: An Alphabet of Reminders for Your Grief Journey
* Appendix B: A Letter to the Grief Supporters
* Afterword
* QR Codes for Guided Meditations
* About the Author
