Mike Bernhardt

Editor • Poet • Travel Writer

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Voices of the
Grieving Heart

"At the edge of the mystery of death, we offer the poetry of our truth."
— Ram Dass

Grieving the death of someone we loved is the
darkest road many of us will ever travel.

Each of us must find our own path as we navigate the uncharted territory of our new lives. Voices of the Grieving Heart isn’t a map; it’s a companion on that difficult journey. On these pages are the voices of 83 people who traveled their own roads through grief after their loved ones died. Along the way, they wrote poems about what they felt, experienced, and learned.

Voices of the Grieving Heart doesn’t tell readers what to do or how they should feel. Instead, the contributors to this book generously offer their own truths, in hopes that they might help someone else.

“This beautiful book speaks directly to the heart.”

“If you are grieving the loss of someone you love, it will help to validate your experience and feelings. It is as personal as it is universal.”
—Debbie Augenthaler, LMHC, NCC, Author of You Are Not Alone

 

Voices of the Grieving Heart edited by Mike Bernhardt - Grief Poetry
"Voices of the Grieving Heart is a profoundly compassionate friend of a book—listening, gently responding, sharing the heavy load of sorrow, letting anyone of any age living through any sorrow know, they are not alone. We will never be alone."
Naomi Shihab NyeYoung People's Poet Laureate, Poetry Foundation
“Grief shatters our hearts. These poems vividly convey the compassion and the courage that can bear this brokenness. Let their tender strength heal you.”
Dale BorglumExecutive Director, Living/Dying Project
“In forty-five years of providing support and intervention to grieving individuals and families, I have found that poetry more accurately describes the nuance and depth of the grief journey than volumes of text. Voices of the Grieving Heart will heal and open your poetic voice to the true gift.”
Janet ChildsFounder and former Director, Centre for Living with Dying
"Poetry is the song of the soul. Voices of the Grieving Heart captures these soul songs and collects them into a poignant, comforting, and healing volume for those suffering from the loss of a loved one. I was immediately drawn in and am richer for the reading. You will be too."
Gary Roe, Award-winning author, speaker, and grief specialistAuthor of the Comfort for the Grieving series of books
"I would have loved to find this gem during my early months of grieving. These poems realize, poignantly, the form of witnessing that poems take on, and help to connect us to others like us as we navigate our deep grieving.”
Prageeta Sharma, Henry G. Lee Professor of English at Pomona CollegeAuthor of Grief Sequence
“The voices in Voices of the Grieving Heart are healing voices, voices that reflect the deep sorrow and trajectory of mourning from trying to let go, to holding on, to letting go, again and again. This is an essential book that I plan on gifting time after time to friends and family who have lost loved ones.”
Georgia HeardPoet, Writer, Teacher, and Inventor of Heart Maps®
“This beautiful book speaks directly to the heart with moving and powerful poetry from people who generously share their journeys of love, loss, healing, and hope. With a section devoted to grieving in the time of pandemic, and an invitation to experience the healing power of writing, it is as personal as it is universal.”
Debbie Augenthaler, LMHC, NCCAuthor of You Are Not Alone
“In an age where grief is made more complex by pandemic isolation, Voices of the Grieving Heart embraces readers within a healing community, where one hears their own voice emerging from the words of others.”
Joe DeSantis, ChaplainSamaritan Life-Enhancing Care
“Within the lovely pages of Voices of the Grieving Heart, you will find profoundly poignant expressions of unimaginable sorrow. However, companioning the sorrow, you will find hope for healing and a new tomorrow.”
Vicki Smith, LMFTGrief Counselor, Hospice of the East Bay
“Here are voices that tell us not what to feel, but how they feel, speaking from the deep places touched by grief and love. Anyone who has lost a loved one will benefit from the honest, courageous, and generous sharing found in these pages.”
Elizabeth Bremer, MA, LMFT and bereaved spouse
“The grieving process following the death of a loved one often defies words to describe our inner feelings. The writings in Voices of the Grieving Heart capture what many of us have felt but have not been able to put into words. Reading this book was a deep, moving and important healing experience for me.”
Jerry JampolskyAuthor of Love is Letting Go of Fear
“These are the articulations of the grieving heart. Each poem is a perfect mirror, an encouragement to heal. This is the poetry of our joy and exhaustion, living and dying with the consequences of love. This is our voice when our heart is broken.”
Stephen LevineAuthor of Who Dies and Meetings at the Edge
"Voices of the Grieving Heart is a work of art that speaks directly to the soul, from the real experts—those who have experienced death, grieving and healing. For us who are tired of being told what we’re supposed to feel, Voices of the Grieving Heart offers a refreshing truth about the transformative power of loss and pain.”
Stephanie EricssonAuthor of Companion Through the Darkness: Inner Dialogues on Grief
“Voices of the Grieving Heart by Mike Bernhardt is a beautiful book. It will touch you deeply, move you to tears and heal you. Read it and awaken to life.”
Bernie S. Siegel, M.D.Author of Love, Medicine and Miracles
“Voices of the Grieving Heart will be a benefit in helping counselors better understand the feelings and thoughts of those who grieve. I recommend it to other professionals and volunteers who work with the grieving.”
Mona Reeva, L.C.S.W., M.P.H.Former Director of Grief Studies, John F. Kennedy University
“Voices of the Grieving Heart repeatedly calls us to face the mystery of life and death. I strongly recommend this work for anyone who is ready to open the deepest realms within.”
Ronald Valle, PhDDirector of Awakening: A Center for Exploring Living and Dying
“At the edge of the mystery of death, we offer the poetry of our truth into the silence.”
Ram Dass, Spiritual TeacherAuthor of How Can I Help? and Walking Each Other Home
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Recent Talk for NAPT

I just spoke at the National Association for Poetry Therapy’s  monthly Author’s Corner. We discussed how Voices of the Grieving Heart can be a valuable resource for mental health professionals. Watch the talk here.

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Featured Videocast:
Open To Hope

Drs. Gloria and Heidi Horsley and I discuss the value of writing poetry after someone we love has died, and my book, Voices of the Grieving Heart.

Open to Hope Podcast, grief, poems, grieving, poetry
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