Many thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for gifting me a digital ARC of this wonderful book by a favorite author, Clare Mackintosh - 5 stars!

Clare and her husband lost their baby boy, Alex, at the age of 5 weeks. His twin survived but that didn't lessen the overwhelming grief they experienced and continue to experience. This book is inspired by a twitter post she wrote on the anniversary of Alex's death that went viral, stating 18 promises to those grieving.

We are all in various stages of grieving, especially as we get older. While I can only imagine the pain of losing a child, grief hurts whether it is for a parent, a spouse, a friend, a pet. This is the book that will bring you hope and give you strength. It isn't preachy and gives you permission to go through it in whatever way works best for you. But knowing that someone has walked the walk and come out on the other side is comforting. It's also a guide for knowing what to do and what not to say to others. This is a book that I will buy for myself and others. Mackintosh's first book, I Let You Go, is still one of my all time favorite books, and I've read all her others, but this book allowed me to get a glimpse of the person behind those books., and it was a privilege. Highly recommended and a must read for all of us!

This was a thoughtful reflection on grief, smartly based on the authors social media posting. It's brief and therefore not a huge lift or burden to read if you are the middle of grief

“I Promise it Won’t Always Hurt Like This - 18 Assurances on Grief” by Clare Mackintosh is a great resource for anyone going through the stages of grief. The author shares like a friend talking to you. She hits on so many universal experiences that when you’re in the throws of grieving feel like it’s going to last forever or you’re the only one in the world feeling/thinking something. I like how it’s broken up into stages so you can read just what applies at the time. It gives the reader the ability to really focus on what they are going through. I highlighted so many profound statements as I was reading it.

I don’t have fresh grief though 2017-2020 were filled with loss so I remember being in the darkness of grief that rocks you to your core & puts you in a pit that feels like will never surface from. We lost 5 aging pets (who are loved like any member of our family) & my Dad passed in late 2019. The loss of a parent really lingers with you. Even after 5 years it can sneak back up on me in random moments that i would have called or done something with Dad. He will forever be missed. All our animals are loved so much. That loss hurts so deeply. This book would have been tremendously helpful during that time.

I’ve been a fan of some of Clare Mackintosh fiction books. She really has a gift for writing nonfiction too.

Thank you NetGalley for the advance copy.
Publish date is March 1, 2024.
This book will make a thoughtful gift to a friend who has lost someone or have on hand in your own library.

#netgalley #claremackintosh #ipromiseitwontalwayshurtlikethis

This one will absolutely break you. So, come in with a box of tissues and get ready to cry it out. The author gives incredibly wonderful advice on grief. This is a book that I would give to anyone grieving. It's heartbreaking but so needed. Very well done.

Hello, yes. This was an amazing book. At this point I am not grieving, but I believe when I get to a point where I am, this book will be a reread for me. I can see myself and others coming back to this book over and over again for help. I will say, I wept a few times in the very beginning. Seeing that I did just have a baby, hearing about her loss was a lot for me. I would recommend this to ANYONE though.

An honest and straightforward story of the author's grief journey. Most of us will experience grief through different losses and each will pile upon the previous one and you can feel like you are drowning. Clare's 18 Promises is a sensitive and encouraging look at navigating loss. Highly recommend for anyone who feels "stuck" in their grief or just needs reassurance that you will be okay.

Many thanks to NetGalley and SouceBooks for this ARC!

Most of us have not made it to adulthood without suffering some type of loss of life. Sometimes it’s a grandparent that’s lived a long life, sometimes it’s a child who died before experiencing barely any life at all and sometimes it’s somewhere in between. The author tells her story and stages she went through when her son died at 5 weeks old. She reminds us that grief can look different for everyone, but whatever your grief looks like is ok and it will change over time. She also talks about ways she handled interacting with other people. This part spoke to me from being the grieving person and the person speaking with someone who is grieving. She says “We can’t control what other people are going to say, but we have total autonomy over our own words. Your choice. Your conversation. Your grief.” I think this is an inspiring read no matter where you are in your grief process and I thank Clare Mackintosh for sharing her journey. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

I have read several of Claire Mackintosh's books so when I was asked if I wanted an ARC of her latest book, I didn't hesitate to say yes. I didn't read the blurb and didn't pay that much attention to the title, nor did I see the subtitle. This book was not what I was expecting, but this was the book I didn't know I needed.

Claire Mackintosh writes about grief in this book. The grief of losing a child. I cannot recommend this book enough to anyone who is experiencing grief. I lost both parents within eight months of each other and lost a brother while reading this book. The author has 18 Assurances on Grief and writes a chapter about each one. I typically do not highlight sections of books while writing, but I highlighted numerous sections of this book. If you, or anyone you know, is suffering from grief, I urge you to get a copy of this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for the copy of this book.

Very emotional read! As someone who recently lost my grandmother to a very aggressive type of cancer, I have been struggling with how to cope with the loss and grief in the situation. This book felt like a step in the right direction. Grief is such a personal yet universally shared emotion and it can be so hard to navigate that space. I think Clare did an amazing job with handling grief in this very personal book, without being too "you should grieve like this" because as she says it's different for everyone and that will never go away, only change,

Thank you to the publisher for the copy - all opinions are my own.

This is a truly beautiful book and a piece of work that will be invaluable to anyone navigating the complicated and complex channels of grief. Clare knows this path all too well, and her shared insights and thoughts are gorgeously written and beautifully impactful.

I Promise It Won’t Always Hurt Like This is both a memoir that validates the experience of grief, and a guide to walking through grief and finding that, though the loss will always be apart of you, there is still joy, still hope, and still a life to be lived.

Clare Mackintosh tragically lost her son at five weeks old. This book is a compilation of 18 promises/assurances to those who’ve experienced the death of a loved one. The promises are broken up into individual chapters, each offering personal anecdotes, insight, and reassurance that it really won’t always hurt like this. There is practical advice in the book, with the acknowledgement that grief is not a one size fits all, and thus healing isn’t either. What works for some will not work for all— but the pain of grief is universal. The aftermath of a loss— trying to find your footing in a world that still moves even when your life has stopped, is a universal experience.

This is well written and thoughtful— an ode to two things existing at once: grief and joy, loss and hope. I will definitely be adding this book to my list of recommendations to clients in my work as a psychotherapist.

Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Clare Mackintosh is one of my favourite authors.
Everyone of her books I have loved.
To share her experiences with grief is an incredibly brave thing to do & she absolutely nails it here.

I received a free copy of, I Promise It Won't Always Hurt Like This, by Clare Mackintosh, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Almost everybody has had some significant loss in their life, whether it would be loss of parent, spouse, child, friend, etc. Loss effects everybody differently. In this book Clare describes her loss of her child, how it affected her, and what helped her get through it. This was a good read on a tough subject.

One to read if you’re going through grief. Having lost a loved one last year it helped me to process a few emotions and feelings I had been dealing with. Obviously our situations are very different however it didn’t matter when reading the book.

Would recommend to anyone to read this book!

Thank you for letting me having an early copy.

4.5/5 stars

I do not read a lot of non-fiction. But I do really enjoy this author. I decided to read this on the second anniversary of losing my mom. I hoped that reading this might help.

I am so impressed with the courage that it must have taken for Clare to write this book. After having read through the 18 assurances of grief I definitely feel like the daffodils are the perfect cover for this book.

This book did give me some comfort on a hard day. And it did help to read about this topic from an author who I've read before. And someone who I already knew had experienced tragedy. Although our losses could not be more different.

This book is such a raw honest account of how she's dealt with her infant son dying 18 years ago. Her pains is not the same as my pain. But reading her story does make me hopeful that time truly does help heal us.

This is an honest, raw, emotional and personal account of Clare’s own grief journey after her son died at 5 weeks old.
Hoping to spread a little hope and positivity in the world of grief, Clare describes how her grief has changed over the years with 18 promises.
This is a must read for anyone that has grieved. However, I read this as a professional. I’m a palliative care nurse and to read accounts like this make me feel better equipped to understanding other people’s grief.
I’ve never experienced a loss like Clare has. It is unimaginable to me. Yet Clare has helped me understand and empathise with grieving people.
I’ve never highlighted a book so much. I want to buy a physical copy now so I can tab it and pass on at work.
An insightful, thought provoking read for bereaved people alike and healthcare professionals.
Thank you @claremackwrites for writing and sharing and @netgalley for my ARC. Published March 7th.

This book is both a memoir and a guide to navigating and feeling hopeful through grieving. While it mostly pertains to the loss of the author’s infant son at 5 weeks old, there are sporadic mentions of her father whom she also lost.
As someone who has also lost a child, I definitely connected and related to much of what the author describes in her book, and I found a lot of comfort in knowing I was not alone in experiencing those similar feelings and situations. There’s helpful advice offered here, as well as a promise of hope to those grieving the loss of someone. Anyone experiencing grief will find this book helpful, but I would say that someone grieving the loss of a child will benefit the most from reading it.
*Thank you to @netgalley for the “Read Now” copy of this book. This book will be out on bookshelves 3/5/24.*

Extremely tough read that I won't lie, was hard to get through. But it is beautiful and important, this book will help so many people. I love this authors mystery thrillers and am happy to report she is just as talented in this format.

Wow! Another great read by Claire Mackintosh. This was an honest, open look into a personal journey with grief. So many relatable emotions! Well written, super tender and ultimately uplifting.
Beautiful read.
Thank you NetGalley and Claire Mackintosh for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This book is powerfully beautiful and one that everyone who has ever experienced a loss should read. The author, Clare MacKintosh, shares her journey through grief after the loss of her son at 5-weeks old and a few years later, her father. I have experienced loss in my life and have a lot of anxiety around the thought of losing people close to me because of the work I have done professionally. As a mother myself, my worst nightmare became her reality, and her words are open and vulnerable in her writing to help others.

In my former professional life, I have worked in an area surrounded by death and grief. I worked with families on the worst days of their lives as a transplant coordinator. These were the worst times for some families as they were losing someone so important in their lives and the happiest days for others because the organ or tissue being donated is saving the life of someone important in their life. Her book put into words exactly what I would try to articulate when they asked me what I am supposed to do now and how I get through this. Not to mention my aversion to people judging others on the ways people grieve- grief is such a unique experience and one that is a journey that never ends and is specific to the person going through it. Clare’s words capture this struggle of trying to find footing on how to go on in the darkest times of your life. Her words are encouraging, and relatable, and so well-written. I appreciate her sharing this beautiful piece of art with the world. This book will continue to be a resource for me to offer people who might need a little light in their darkest times and for that, I am so grateful.
The grief of the people who love you is twofold. Their hearts break once at the death of a grandchild, a friend, a sibling; they break a second time when they see your pain.

Thank you Netgalley, Sourcebooks Books, and Clare MacKintosh Tintera for allowing me to have access to an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.