This book is about the small and large losses that happen to people, experiences that plunge them into a state of adjustment. It’s for those moving through the mourning process and for those who are struggling with depression and other symptoms of distress as they start to realize that they are grieving their loss. It is also for the families and friends of those who have suffered a loss.

Topics include deaths and divorces; injuries to oneself and others; loss of jobs, health, and security from the economy, accidents, terrorist acts, or on the battlefield. The book guides its readers through the healing process, through the hurts, through the depression, through the anger and blame, back to the hope of a fulfilling life.

When I saw the first edition of this book by Dr. Ann Kaiser Stearns over 20 years ago, I thought it was the best self-help book I had ever read. Now more than a million people agree. I recommended it to friends and patients and their families. Living Through Personal Crisis is timeless. It is not self-promoting. Get it, read it, and give it to a friend. 

J. Raymond DePaulo, Jr., M.D.,
Henry Phipps Professor & Chair
Johns Hopkins University
Department of Psychiatry

A compassionate guide for triumphantly surviving
difficult events and for helping loved ones and friends