You thought you were prepared.

You knew it was coming someday. Nobody gets out alive, everybody leaves eventually, and that’s no surprise.

What was a surprise, though, is the hammer hit to your chest, the hole in your soul, the feeling of not knowing what to do next. You thought you were prepared, but nothing could get you ready for this.

Sometimes, it helps to hear how others have dealt with death and survived. By reading “Chicken Soup for the Soul: Grief and Recovery” by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, and Amy Newmark, you’ll see that you’re not alone.

For some, the worst part is the guilt, the words not spoken, the request never fulfilled. For others, it’s the abruptness of loss: he was just here the other day. I spoke to her last night. We had plans this summer. In a blink, sometimes less, someone important to you has died, and you ache.

But after the funeral, after the family has gone home and you’re on your own, little things can happen to bring you unexpected joy. A mother’s fur coat becomes an heirloom. Memories shared by friends are made into a legacy. A cleaned-out closet means comfort for several people who hurt, too.

Memories, you know, will help with the healing: finishing a friend’s projects can, with each stitch, remind you of the laughter you shared. Becoming a surrogate grandma for the children whose grandma is gone reminds you that life goes on.

Perhaps you look heavenward for your comfort, and find it in the most divine places: the spirituality of a child who sees angels, the miracle of a new-found family, or well-placed words from a chaplain to remind you that you weren’t the only one to lose a Son.

And then, just as you’re starting to feel whole again and the world doesn’t quite seem so broken, the oddest things happen. A missing bracelet, something your mother loved and had taken for repair, shows up in a package. A long-lost Christmas card arrives in the mail. An angel in fur, something you’d discussed but never got around to getting, presents itself and you suddenly know you’ll never really be alone again.

“Chicken Soup for the Soul: Grieving and Recovery” is one of those books you hope you never have reason to read. But since loss is an inevitable part of life, it’s nice to know there’s a book like this to have.

Much like the other books in the Chicken Soup series, this one is appropriate for anyone who can use a little support via paper. Authors Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, and Amy Newmark have ensured that the stories here lack anything offensive, which means you can rest easy giving this book to mourners ages 15 to 115.

If your grief is not fresh but it’s not going away, browsing this book may help you sort things out. For you, “Chicken Soup for the Soul: Grieving and Recovery” is a great way to prepare for this next chapter in your life.

“Chicken Soup for the Soul: Grief and Recovery” by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Amy Newmark, and various contributors

c.2011, Chicken Soup for the Soul Publishing $14.95 / $16.95 Canada 370 pages

The Bookworm is Terri Schlichenmeyer. Terri has been reading since she was 3 years old and she never goes anywhere without a book. She lives on a hill with two dogs and 12,000 books.