I wanted to read this not only as someone who is struggling with a loss, but also to help me as a bookseller, as I often get asked for books to buy a friend/relative/coworker etc who is going through grief. And this was exactly what I was looking for. It’s really quite lovely, and will definitely be something I order for my store as it would make a thoughtful gift. It also has great advice on the what to do/say and what not to do/say to those grieving, how to be a good friend, support and be there for others.

I absolutely need this book. I really needed this book. For years. And just thinking about how this guidebook comforts me is beyond words. And I just cried thinking about it. There's absolute no way on how to grief and what to do about it but this book is just the perfect companion for such difficult times.

This guidebook has all the basic responses and thoughts we feel as well as what we can say at these moments. The book gives the different possible scenarios and what we can do about them.

The guidebook isn't any way trying to make anyone do anything or say anything just like that but somehow guides us on what to say or do in awkward and weird situations.
I really appreciate the inclusion of basic colourful illustrations and basic dialogues to illustrate these scenarios.

I definitely need the hardcover.

Thank you, Workman Publishing Company, for the advance reading copy.

Recently losing my mother, who was my best friend as well, I've felt lost lately. Go through life feeling like no one understands what I feel except for my lost loved one. Welcome to the Grief Club helped reinforce that I'm not alone in my grief and there are people who understand what I'm feeling.

This is a lovely, sensitive, and -- dare I say -- humorous take on what it is like to be a person who has lost someone very dear to you. Many of us can say this but not felt like we had anywhere to go or anyone to turn to who really understood how we felt. Well, if you feel that way, the Grief Club can help! From reminders of what you can do after losing someone and permission to do anything you want to after losing someone to experiencing the common eye roll when others say stupid or insensitive things to those who have lost someone, this book has something for everyone who has ever lost someone. I hope it brings you some love and light in the midst of your loss.

A great read. I almost bookmarked every page of it--need to get a print copy of this one as well. "The grief club" really validates your feelings--through love and support, with a good pinch of humor. I needed this book 10 years ago and will be grateful when it's with me when life goes its inevitable course.

“Welcome to the Grief Club- we’re so sorry that you’re here” This is definitely a club I wouldn’t wish on anyone. I’ve been a member for a long time and it blows. This book was so enlightening for me. There’s been things I’ve been doing for 20+ years that I never attributed to my grief before this book.

Whether you are new to the club (I’m so sorry) or you’ve been here a while (still sorry) you will find this book immensely helpful. The illustrations are very cute and take the weight off some of the topic without being glib.

It's obvious that the author has known grief and worked through it. She does not use the normal "stages of grief" scenario but talks about all the inbetween feelings. There is no right way to grieve, except the way you are doing it at the time. I think she is saying don't try to follow someone else's path; your path through grief will be your own. This was a good month to read this book. My father died in January and I always feel sad this month even after many years have passed. Grief doesn't go away; it just fits in with the rest of your life. Loss/grief is a result of loving.
This is almost a graphic book with lots of drawings and charts to show the complications of grief.

This book does a really excellent job of allowing people to grieve their own way. The book addresses a lot of the issues that people who are grieving face. It hits the right tone and while some people might not like some of the language, most folks have felt these things when they face the death of a loved one.

I found Welcome to the Grief Club: Because You Don't Have to Go Through It Alone to be a useful book to read. Five stars.

As someone who recently lost a sibling I found this this book to be helpful. It affirms and recognizes many of the feelings one has. it is especially good at recognizing how processing loss can take years and follows an up and down course. It has a format that is light and easy to jump into at any point.
This is a review of a digital review copy provided by NetGalley.

Overall the tone was a bit too generic for my taste but I did enjoy the reminder that there's no right or wrong way to grief and that being here today is a great victory on its own.

A must-read for anyone going through difficult times. Can't wait to see the hard copy with the actual illustrations.

The Grief Club is open to all is how the book opens and as someone who has lost a dearly loved one, this was a book I didn't know I needed. It is an easy to understand read, the illustrations are really beautiful and make the book that much easier to work through. This could be a helpful book for anyone working through grief or wanting to help someone with their own grief.

What an appropriate book for the year (or years) of Covid. Many people have experienced loss upon loss, not only people in their lives but careers, jobs, disruptions to schedules. Kwoh tells us early in the book - the grief club is open to all.

This book does not lay out the stages of grief that one "should" be feeling. She acknowledges and validates that grief does not follow any set pattern. Whatever you are feeling, that is okay. We all process differently, and at different rates of speed. A short book, it can be read in one sitting. I did that and then found myself going back and re-reading parts of this book.

It is written simply and in a straight-forward style that many people will find refreshing.

This is a book that would be helpful anytime, since sadly death is always a part of life. However, it feels like more now than ever, there are many people who are grieving and I think that this book would be really helpful for anyone who is going through the process. It integrates a lot of ideas that I have read or learned about from counselors or books on the topic of grief, but it is delivered in a really accessible way with cute graphics and short passages that could be easily referenced and revisited in bursts as necessary and helpful. I have had students request books on the grief process and have gotten some that have good reviews and solid content but I will definitely add this one once it is out since I think it could potentially be one of the most helpful for my teenagers even as it is totally appropriate and useful for adults too.

As a fellow Wister, I appreciated that author didn't mince words here. This is a good place to start for anyone newly widowed. I especially felt grateful for the fact the author included illustrations because every widow knows widow-brain and the inability to concentrate and focus on many days. Do yourself a favor and read this because statistics prove that 7 out of every 10 women will become a widow at some point in their life. Bravo Janine Kwoh!

The best book on grief that I have read. I was provided an e-copy of the book to read for Netgalley and immediately pre-ordered a hardcopy for its release date on 1st February 2022 in the UK. This book is so beautifully illustrated and written for all people of all ages. As it says in the opening- the grief club is open to all. The short passages and diagrams are full of support and advice and just validation of whatever it is you are feeling. It is a simple hug in a book telling you that everything you are feeling is okay. This is perfect for me, and for my kids, to help us all process our grief as individuals and united. I love the fact that it can be read in one sitting as well as constantly referred back to a little at a time. The multiple pictures and short spurts of text make this easily accessible at a time when your mind may not want to deal with reems of information and text. Indispensable. This book should be recommended to everyone who experiences loss. #welcometothegriefclub #janinekwoh #netgalley #Indispensablereading #grief #whenyoulosesomeone #thegriefclub

If you or someone you know is mortal or if your library serves mortals, you need this helpful, accessible book. In our darkest moments, it can be difficult to engage with the complex. Kwoh seems to know this and distills insights that the overwhelmed (or numb) reader might receive. In so many ways, Kwoh's book might help those who are grieving feel seen. With "What Grief Can Feel Like: Some Possible Metaphors" she illustrates possible sensations, offering readers opportunities to achieve some momentary remove and transcendence from the all-consuming experience of grief. With "Supremely Unhelpful Things that People Say to Grieving People," she affirms how others' well-intentioned words can hurt. The list also instructs those of us who seek to offer comfort on what not to say! Kwoh writes, "Grief is lonely but you are not alone." This simple, affirming message can't be stated enough. In offering such sincere care to its readers, the book is a beautiful tribute.

What a lovely, loving, delightful little book to reassure you that you are not alone and that everything you're feeling and experiencing during early grief (or middle or late grief, for however long those time periods turn out to be) is completely normal. The illustrations are perfect: funny and biting and heartwarming. The author says she wrote this because it was what she felt like she needed when her person died, and it didn't exist. I'm glad to know now this book does exist, and it would be top of my list to give as a gift to someone experiencing fresh, terrible grief.

This book was provided to me by Workman Publishing and Netgalley for free in exchange for my honest review. I felt fortunate to be reading it even though I am already five years in, my son having died in 2016.

***Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review***
Wow! This book really spoke to me! Having dealt with many forms of grief and receiving years of therapy, I feel more seen from this book than anything else I have experienced. My feelings and actions have been validated in a way that relieves some of the pressure to "just get over it!" Will be giving this out to friends who may be dealing with grief.