When social worker Lisa Keefauver became a widow in 2011, she was alarmed to discover that even though 100 percent of us experience loss, we’re living in a grief illiterate world. In her work as a therapist and in her search for help in the wake of her own loss, Keefauver began to see how the misguided stories we consume about grief lead to unnecessary suffering.

Responding to the problematic narratives that grief is something to move on from after completing the five stages like some sort of to-do list, Keefauver became a grief activist. Through this book and her hit podcast of the same title, she creates a safe place to be inside the messiness of it all, to discover the full spectrum of grief, and to find the tools that help grievers move forward, not on.

Grief Is a Sneaky Bitch is a comprehensive guide—serving as both a manual full of insights and skills and more importantly, as a thoughtful companion that helps listeners feel seen and held. Keefauver shares her personal and professional wisdom alongside the lessons she’s learned from clinicians, authors, poets, and friends.

In place of rigid instructions and must-do checklists, Grief Is a Sneaky Bitch invites reflection, encourages self-compassion, and explores the therapeutic power of humor with, yes, a bit of profanity.