The
Book
Godless Grief is currently available as a Kindle Book, or a soft cover, via Amazon. To purchase the softcover book, click here.
If you would prefer the book in Kindle, please click here.
The list price is $19.95, and Amazon often has sales.
We all die. We all have people around us who will die. We may
lose jobs, our limbs, and our relationships. We may never attain
the goals we thought we would when we were children and all seemed
possible. For these reasons, we feel grief. It has nothing to
do with religion. It has nothing to do with deities, or beliefs,
or anything else. Loss is part of the natural state of living.
And, it's really difficult to deal with at times. This book is
for anyone who is going through those times, and for Atheists
who want to understand how to deal with loss without the assistance
of non-secular, anti-humanist thinking.
Godless
not only decribes methods of overcoming, or at least learning
from sorrowful experiences, it gives information about learning
how to recognize when someone is battling unexpected, or difficult
tragic moments. There's not any ONE way to do this, and no correct
way to grieve. The book works with this as a prominent theme.
The book doesn't
stand alone. This website works as a living document, offering
a forum, which was launched in February, 2006, after
dozens of people requested a place to discuss grief without fear,
without judgment, and with the gentle guidance of other Atheists
also experiencing loss.
This work
started as a personal journey after discovering, through the loss
of a friend, that there were no definitive guides regarding loss
without those "outwardly being" offers of assistance.
On the day this site is launched, in August, 2005, Amazon listed
2024 books on grief, and 512 books regarding Atheism. The only
books that contain both in reference to each other? The count
is five. In all five cases, the discussion lasts for less than
two full paragraphs.
According
to the CUNY's posted studies, and The French Census of 2004, there
are more Atheists and Agnostics than there are those who believe
in Judaism, Buddhism, and even Muslim religions in the world.
In the United States, this has increased 110% just since 1990.
Since the events of 9/11, it's said that this will increase 18%
per year or more over the next five years.
Godless
Grief is the first written guide to grief and loss
from an and for an Atheist perspective. This book provides assistance
to my peers who are seeking to provide answers, closure, mourning,
and understanding of death, loss, and even of family changing
events, such as a job change, loss of limb, a family move, or
divorce. Contributors range from internationally renowned Oxford
Scholars, to Police Officers, to house-husbands, to artists, and
more. Some of those who have offered input:
Secular Celebrant,
and President of The Atheist Alliance International, Margaret
Downey, wrote the foreword. She offers a warm introduction to
this project. Her words help lead to the dedication, to Keith
S. Cornish and Rhys Watkins, two prominent leaders of the Australian
Atheist Founation, who died during the last few months of the
writing of the book. Rhys Watkins left a final essay which serves
as an anecdotal introduction, and certainly expresses an Atheist's
commentary on why prayers do not comfort us during our last few
moments on this planet.
But, rather
than a dry, academic study, this book serves as a guide to the
everyday reader, searching for answers when loss happens. It could
be considered as a potential guide to procedures for the American
culture in manners of mourning.
Godless
Grief contains reference information of bibliographies
and web sites for those seeking even more information. This is
a series, with the second book targeting adolescents and the third
for younger children. The Forum offers updated information, and
even resources for Secular Celebrants who provide funeral services.
You can offer
your input in upcoming editions, or in the next books in the series,
by visiting our Survey Page.
Coming Soon: Godless Grief 2: Atheist Mourning. This second of the series focuses primarily on loss that has come about through death. Unlike the first book, the second takes an indepth look at ways and methods to help recover from the pain of loss, the issues facing long-term illnesses, suicide, and frankly talks through the issues of losing a long term partner or family member.
