How to Carry What Can't Be Fixed: A Journal for Grief Paperback – 20 July 2020

Don't treat this book the way you usually treat books.Scribble in the margins. Make notes and comments. Use a highlighter or put circles around passages that speak to you. Draw your emotions. Colour your feelings. Let your tears drip onto the page. Throw it across the room if you need to. This book is not intended to be read: it's intended to be USED. It's a compassionate guide and understanding companion as you work through your grief.I have read a number of books on grief since I lost the love of my life, but this journal/workbook is by far the most useful purchase I've made. Even if the author did not tell you that she too lost someone precious to her, it would be obvious on every page. Her understanding and compassion make it obvious that she is more than just an academic who has studied grief. She has LIVED grief.This is excellent as a stand-alone workbook, or as a companion to It's Ok That You're Not Ok by the same author.I buy almost everything on Kindle, but I decided to buy the hard copy of this book, and I'm really glad I did. On almost every page, there are things to do, whether they are writing prompts, drawing or colouring. If you're like me, you'll put notes in the margins, or circle things that really resonate with you.The book itself is printed in just two colours, grey and a soft orange. These colour choices are interesting, as grey is what our worlds often look like when we lose someone dear to us, and orange is a colour that inspires trust. That trust is not misplaced.The only "negative" is that it's not spiral bound, which would have been easier for laying the book flat for writing, drawing and colouring. However, go ahead and split that spine a bit so it lays flatter. As I said, this book is not just something you skim through and then put on a shelf. It may be the best book you ever buy to help you through the darkest time in your life.

This journal has helped me a lot during various stages of my grief. I highly recommend this journal/workbook.

It’s very important in grief processing to help you through this minefield, this book is beautiful touching and considerate of all the emotions you are trying to navigate your way through a devastating lossI highly recommend this book .and it’s essential you read Megan’s book ‘ it’s ok not to be ok’ too

I decided to get this after reading posts on Facebook and feeling like they resonated with me. Grief is so horrific, frightening, overwhelming and exhausting. Within the first couple of days I picked it up to flick through and felt like I connected to it.My husband has also found it very helpful.I like the idea of dipping in and out of it, using it how you need to and feel up to. I definitely recommend this to anyone who has been bereaved and to the people who support you.

On a first read through of the downloads I was disappointed to see the image of a heart because my partner died due to a heart condition so I will not be able to bring myself to use the stickers.

Great book, complements Megan's other book, it's ok not to be ok. Easy to pick up and use, exercises i found helpful. Would recommend to others going through grieving.

Im not really into writing bad reviews but for this I felt I must. I am a grieving person myself, having lost my wonderful person only a few months ago.Most of the first few pages seemed like waffle, then it got to annoying and pointless. It says “ whether your grief is a journey, or an adventure, or just some horrid thing you have to live with…”. Who is finding their grief a journey or adventure? No one at the point of buying a self help book for grief is finding it “a journey or adventure” surely? If they’re anything like me, they’re just trying to get through each day! What an odd statement.I then realise at this point there is actually very little text in the book, and it’s laid out strangely to look like it’s got lots of content when it hasn’t. The text on most pages covers the top 8th of the page, and there will just be patterns over the rest of the page, with blank pages between these pages too.The next page is a bunch of flowers to colour. If I wanted to do colouring, I’d have ordered an adult colouring book (I didn’t want to do colouring).Then we have another page of hardly any text, it’s asking to draw “you bring the hero in your story”? But it’s not about me, it’s about my loved one? It makes no sense to me at all.Next page is a list of symptoms of grief, but they’re all really obvious things like “insomnia”, “sadness”, “anger”, even the least obvious things in the list are things like “abandoning your shopping cart at the grocery store”. Of course grieving people feel and do these things! It would be more helpful to give more unusual symptoms surely, so people can relate and think “goodness, I do that - I had no idea that was ok!” Whereas sadness is hardly surprising and I wouldn’t think anyone would be ordering a book to find out if they should feel sad.Next page asks you to draw you and mark “where it hurts”. I’m an adult, what is this?? Is this not what the police ask children to do instead of taking a statement?It’s just such an annoying and patronising book. I was given a “grief for children” leaflet in the hospital and having read it for the purpose it was intended, I actually found there was less patronising information for adults to deal with grief in this leaflet than in this book for adults!Then at the end of the book it plugs the author’s other services (this is forming part of my book review as they are written in the book telling you to look them up). These include to pay upwards of $400 to speak to other members of the public who are also grieving online. Huh?! I thought chatting to people online was free?I’m genuinely surprising this book has had good reviews. I really don’t get it. I’m not expert on grief and I don’t claim to be but there’s got to be better out there than this.

I bought "It's ok not to be ok" and found it helpful. But I'm very disappointed with this book, it's far too patronising. I really don't want to colour in, I am an artist so can do my own. None of the exercises helped at all so maybe I'm just doomed to be this gloomy for the rest of my life. Grief is a very personal thing so I can't either recommend it or criticize it. But in my opinion it's not worth the money. Sorry.