The Grieving Body: A Paperback Book Launch and Discussion
Thu. August 13
9:00am - 10:00am
This is a digital event. You should receive information in your ticket or from the host about how to join online.
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The Grieving Body is a follow-up to celebrated grief expert, neuroscientist, and psychologist Dr. Mary-Frances O’Connor’s The Grieving Brain, and its focuses on the impact of grief—and life’s other major stressors—on the human body. Coping with death and grief is one of the most painful human experiences. While we can speak to the psychological and emotional ramifications of loss and sorrow, we often overlook its impact on our physical bodies. Dr. Mary-Frances O’Connor specializes in the study of grief, and in The Grieving Body she shares vital scientific research, revealing imperative new insights on its profound physiological impact. As she did in The Grieving Brain, O’Connor combines illuminating studies and personal stories to explore the toll loss takes on our cardiovascular, endocrine, and immune systems and the larger implications for our long-term well-being.
The Grieving Body addresses questions about how bereavement affects us, such as:
- Can we die of a broken heart?
- What happens in our bodies when we’re grieving?
- How do our coping behaviors affect our physical health?
- What is the cognitive impact of grief?
- Why are we more prone to illness during times of enormous stress?
Research-backed, warm, and empathetic, The Grieving Body is an essential, hopeful read for those experiencing loss as well as their supportive friends and family.
Mary-Frances O’Connor, PhD is a professor of psychology at the University of Arizona, where she directs the Grief, Loss and Social Stress (GLASS) Lab, investigating the effects of grief on the brain and the body. Her book The Grieving Brain was included on Oprah’s list of Best Books to Comfort a Grieving Friend. O’Connor holds a PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Arizona and completed a post-doctoral fellowship in psychoneuroimmunology at the UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior. Having grown up in Montana, she now lives in Tucson, Arizona.
https://maryfrancesoconnor.org/
Hope Edelman was 17 when her mother Marcia died, an event that inspired her to write the book she couldn’t find. Motherless Daughters became a #1 New York Times bestseller and has been published in 15 countries. Hope is the author of 7 additional books, including Motherless Mothers, The Possibility of Everything, and The AfterGrief: Finding Your Way Along the Long Arc of Loss.
Hope is a certified life coach with additional training in narrative therapy and trauma support services. She creates and leads online support groups, in-person retreats, professional trainings, and Mother's Day programs for thousands of women each year. In 2020 she received the prestigious Community Educator Award from the Association for Death Education and Counseling (ADEC). CBS Sunday Morning aired a special segment on her work this spring. Hope splits her time between Los Angeles and San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.
Michelle Hord is a media consultant, executive coach, published author and speaker. She has spent more than three decades in media and has worked with all of the major networks including shows like Good Morning America, The Talk, 48 Hours and The Oprah Winfrey Show. Michelle’s award winning memoir, The Other Side of Yet, was published in 2022. Her book tells of her grief journey of resilience in the face of tremendous personal loss. She lost her mother and maternal grandmother within months of each other in 1994. Her seven year old daughter, Gabrielle, was tragically murdered in 2017. She has been featured in O Magazine, The Tamron Hall Show, The Talk, GMA, Essence Magazine, MSNBC and others. Michelle founded a nonprofit, Gabrielle’s Wings, to honor the memory of her daughter. Gabrielle’s Wings serves a global community of elementary aged children through educational, recreational, and cultural engagement with partners on three continents.
Lizzie Pickering is a Grief Educator, Author and Film Producer. She offers Grief Guidance to organizations and individuals, educating people about grief and helping them back to life and work following major losses. Her clients are both UK-based and global. Since the death of her eldest son Harry 25 years ago, Lizzie has become passionate about changing the landscape for people who have to face life and work when they are living with grief. Her firm belief is that if grief is faced and worked through gradually, if people are well supported, there is a rich seam of energy to be found from not only surviving it but living well. Lizzie’s most recent book is When Grief Equals Love.
