The Grieving Brain

The Surprising Science of How We Learn from Love and Loss

By: Mary-Frances O'Connor

Narrated by: Callie Beaulieu

Length: 8 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

NPR SciFri Book Club Pick

Next Big Idea Club's "Top 21 Psychology Books of 2022"

Behavioral Scientist Notable Books of 2022

A renowned grief expert and neuroscientist shares groundbreaking discoveries about what happens in our brain when we grieve, providing a new paradigm for understanding love, loss, and learning.

In The Grieving Brain, neuroscientist and psychologist Mary-Frances O’Connor, PhD, gives us a fascinating new window into one of the hallmark experiences of being human. O’Connor has devoted decades to researching the effects of grief on the brain, and in this book, she makes cutting-edge neuroscience accessible through her contagious enthusiasm, and guides us through how we encode love and grief. With love, our neurons help us form attachments to others; but, with loss, our brain must come to terms with where our loved ones went, or how to imagine a future without them.

The Grieving Brain addresses:

• Why it’s so hard to understand that a loved one has died and is gone forever
• Why grief causes so many emotions—sadness, anger, blame, guilt, and yearning
• Why grieving takes so long
• The distinction between grief and prolonged grief
• Why we ruminate so much after we lose a loved one
• How we go about restoring a meaningful life while grieving

Based on O’Connor’s own trailblazing neuroimaging work, research in the field, and her real-life stories, The Grieving Brain combines storytelling, accessible science, and practical knowledge that will help us better understand what happens when we grieve and how to navigate loss with more ease and grace.

©2022 by O’Connor Productions, Inc. (P)2021 HarperCollins Publishers

Complexities of Grieving Brains

As a bereaved mom and recent widowed nurse, I rather enjoyed the scientific research behind what I had been feeling with the sudden loss of our firstborn. And then now, with the recent loss of my husband, I can see the difference of why my son’s loss was so difficult for the whole family & I versus my hubby’s death from a 10.5 month battle with an aggressive brain cancer. Wow! What great information and how I can see how invaluable a wonderful grief therapist really is. Thank you, Mary-Frances O’Conner for scientifically proving I wasn’t “going crazy”!

So very insightful

I recommend this book to anyone who is faced with grieving. It really makes you think of your life differently!!!

Helpful

Grieving is not the same for all and this helped me understand that. Feeling thankful!

I liked the informative views she took

However I wish she would have delved into
More of the actual studies she did on people bereaved.

Helpful

I was looking for something g more specific rather that “find the light in your grief” type of book, as someone that has felt with depression and anxiety all her life grief was something I extremely different and incomprehensible, this book helped me to understand my brain during this process.
Had to repeat a few parts but the author makes a great job explaining complex subjects.

Helpful

I found this book very helpful in figuring out the feelings I’m having about the loss of my wife. The reading is a little robotic but that actually helps make it less emotional which is what I think the material requires. Still, there could have been a little more emotion. Also, knowing what’s happening inside of me at this time is useful. Knowing that I’m not going crazy is a huge relief.

Science as Solace

After my husband died I read CS Lewis several times and then listened to this book several times. What a great solace to understand my poor grieving wonderful brain - I found the two pieces of literature that I needed. Thank you universe …. Or maybe Jerry sent them to me???

Informative easy to follow book on grief

As a grief coach this will be a book I recommend to clients and colleagues to read when they’re ready. Lots of good academic research mentioned helps people understand their grief better.

Mary Frances should read her book

I am having a hard time even getting through the first chapter…the reader is AWFUL!! Mary Frances has such a dynamic presence…this reader does NOT!

I like the book, didn’t care for the narrator

The narrator sounded like an AI robot? I didn’t like it at all, but I loved the book. I have the physical copy and followed along while listening. As a therapist I found the book extremely insightful and helpful.