Grief Library

Grief Library Launch

We celebrated our provincial launch on September 27 with a YouTube premiere featuring information about the Grief Library. We were proud and humbled to host renowned author Sheree Fitch as she reflected on her journey with grief while marking six months since her husband’s passing. Although first known as a joy-filled children’s writer, Sheree’s poetry and works for adults offers hope while exploring themes of loss and grief.

Watch online: https://youtu.be/SqPrMVwbl24

Welcome:

Welcome to the Valley Hospice Foundation (VHF) Grief Library, a pilot project offering both physical and online resources to borrowers in Nova Scotia.

We loan books, audiobooks, and DVDs to grievers, and those who support them, across the province of Nova Scotia. With our Books-By-Mail service, all postage is provided; there is no cost to the borrower.

Our Grief Library space is open for in-person visits at PeopleWorx Coldbrook (11 Opportunity Lane) Monday & Wednesday, 11am-2pm.

We strive to be a hub of grief literacy. We are a space that allows connection and personal growth, a collection that serves grievers in the province, and services that complement the work of other agencies such as Nova Scotia Health, NSHPCA, and grief and bereavement specialists in the region.

Browse:

Grief Library Collection

Books, videos, CDs, and kits for all ages.
We invite you to borrow Grief Library resources and offer books by mail at no charge to the borrower.
Please call (902) 690-2194 or email us at library@valleyhospice.ca to arrange a loan.

Donate:

We welcome monetary donations to the Valley Hospice Foundation, which help support the Grief Library.

The Grief Library does not accept donated books. For all libraries, used book donations create a significant amount of work; ours is a volunteer-led library without the space or resources to manage book donations. Materials left unannounced at the Library office, Valley Hospice or VHF office will be disposed of at our discretion and not returned to you.

Contact:

11 Opportunity Lane, Suite 120
Coldbrook NS B4R 0A5

We welcome you to get in touch with questions and comments:
Phone: (902) 690-2194
Email: library@valleyhospice.ca

Grief Websites

Grief Podcasts

All There Is
In this nine-episode series, American broadcaster Anderson Cooper starts recording while packing up the possessions of his late mother Gloria Vanderbilt. Going through her diaries and heirlooms, as well as items left behind by his father and brother, the CNN anchor takes listeners on a personal exploration of grief. In a succession of moving conversations with experts and celebrity friends, Cooper discusses loss, the things people leave behind and how to live on.

Good Mourning
Described as a “grief support group in a podcast”, Good Mourning is two fun, slightly sweary mates – one Australian; the other a British expat – talking about loss. Hosts Sally Douglas and Imogen Carn share tips from doctors, scientists and family members on how to cope. The pair were brought together in what Carn describes as “really f— up circumstances” after losing their mothers during “that in between age” of adult life and finding they had few people to turn to. One for adulthood bereavement.

The Grief Gang
The Grief Gang is described as the gang “you never asked to be part of”. In this heart-warming podcast, host Amber Jeffrey speaks to a range of friends and experts to get to grips with their experiences of loss and how it affects them. Jeffrey created the podcast after her mother died of a sudden heart attack in 2016 when she was just 19. “Above all this show aims to provide you with hope,” she writes.

Griefcast
Host Cariad Lloyd describes this as “funny people talking about death and grief.” Expect candid, humorous and often deeply moving conversations between Lloyd, a comedian, and celebrity guests as they open up about loved ones they have lost. Lloyd set up Griefcast in 2016, drawing on the loss of her father to pancreatic cancer during her teens.
On the Marie Currie Couch
The Marie Curie charity produces its own award-nominated podcast dealing with grief that is well worth a listen. The show invites a host of well-known guests to open up and share their experiences of grief on the therapy couch with bereavement expert Jason Davidson – whose soothing tones have a way of getting people talking. Guests are also encouraged to share their end of life plans – which may be particularly useful for anyone preparing for a bereavement.

Terrible, thanks for asking
This is a podcast that breaks down taboos surrounding grief, starting with that oh so innocuous question: how are you? “It’s a question we ask (and get asked) all the time: ‘How are you?’ And normally we just respond with ‘Fine!’ even if we’re totally dying inside,” writes host Nora McInerny. In this podcast, McInerny, an American author, speaks to normal people about their experiences of loss in all its forms, be that bereavement, divorce or to do with their career. During these conversations, McInerny draws on her personal experience of miscarrying a child and losing both her father and husband to cancer within several weeks in 2014. “It’s sometimes sad, sometimes funny, and almost always both,” she writes about the show.
When You Die
The last conversation you want to have shouldn’t be the last one you do have. The When You Die Project is here to facilitate a cultural dialogue most often avoided — one that begins at the end. We believe talking about death isn’t dangerous but, conversely, can nurture happier, healthier individuals and families who approach death informed, inspired and with a sense of humor. The podcast covers a wide range of death and dying topics from diverse perspectives.