Repairing the Heartbreak of Pet Loss Grief: 3 Phases of Healing after Losing Your Best Friend

This book has been such a blessing after losing my best friend and love of my life. C. Jeffrey's beautiful writing is incredibly kind, empathetic and relatable. The book provides great ideas, resources and education about the grieving process.I have read many books since the passing of my adored pet, and nothing has come close to this book.If you are struggling with the grieving process, want to understand emotions better, wondering if anyone feels the same as you or are looking for ways to move forward -- please read this book. You will not regret it.Thank you, C. Jeffrey. You have helped me so much.

My beautiful fur baby passed away at 9 years of age, much too soon. I have been devastated for months and cry daily. She was my best friend and the light of my life and I miss her soooo much. I purchased this book hoping it would help me and so far it is. I am only 3/4 through the book but I find it an easy read and like that I can feel the author’s compassion towards animal loss because they had the same experience. In addition, I appreciate that even though my loss was my dog that it implied the loss of any pet animal is devastating. I know there were a few negative reviews, as there usually is with anything, and the most common negative response was that the author lacks therapeutic credentials and the information given is basic and can be found online. I personally don’t care about the credentials because I was just looking to listen to someone who knows what I am going through. I don’t really have anyone to talk to that understands and I usually just hold everything in because I feel they won’t understand why my heart is so broken. In any case, I found this book to be very helpful and do recommend it to anyone who has lost a pet and just needs some sound advice from someone who understands without worrying about the author’s credentials.

I bought this book the day after I helped my furry son, Harley (3 months shy of 15 years old), cross the Rainbow Bridge. I'm now coming up on 3 weeks since his passing.This book reads like an understanding friend, which I needed. It has helped me understand a lot of my feelings. The negative comments about credentials and whatnot are ridiculous. If I wanted to hear the clinical terms, I'd go to therapy or buy a clinical book. In my grief, I don't want to google new terms and or focus on understanding new concepts. I wanted, and needed, a book just like this--letting me understand where and why some of the feelings were coming from, how to address them, and when to see additional help beyond the book.Harley was my first true pet. I picked him out from a picture and he came home to me at 7 weeks old and I raised him from a pup. This book has helped me tremendously in understanding why losing him is unlike any other loss in my life.

This book was referred to my by a young lady I met in a grief group on fb and I am truly grateful. I got the book and read it cover to cover in less than 24 hours. This book is filled with so much great information to help you through the grieving process of losing the furry member of your family. It details the stages of grief and explains that each person is different and even the loss of different pets can and will affect you differently. It ask questions to help you see and know where you are at in the healing process. It also shares several stories from other who have gone through the loss of a furry member of their family. This is an awesome book and tool to help you navigate through your loss.

I would recommend this book to anyone who has a pet, or is grieving with a loss of a best friend.. regardless if the pet has 4 legs or it swims. The loss of a pet is never easy. The writer has a very kind heart in this book

I am one never to write reviews . I am so THANKFUL I purchased this book. I lost my dog suddenly and the pain was so overbearing. I read this book in 3 nights as the tears flowed out of my eyes. It was so well written, touched every part of my broken heart and taught me the grieving process of my best friend. I highly recommend this book to any type of animal you lost. They all seem to capture our hearts and leave us missing them terribly when there gone.

This helped me so much. When no one was around to talk to I would pick up the book with tears pouring down my face, read a chapter, and set the book down with drying eyes. It made me feel part of a welcoming community. I’d highly recommend this. The meditation pointers gave me an entirely new and comforting perspective.

Some reviewers have complained that the author doesn't hold a degree nor is he in the mental healthcare field. Well, as someone who has all of those degrees, I can tell you that this book has been incredibly helpful through the loss of my beloved 19-year-old soulmate kitty. I did not want to read about the clinical process of grief or what studies say, etc.. I have all that knowledge already. This book did not tell me anything groundbreaking or new, but its simplicity and empathetic tone, without being trite, was comforting to read a few pages at a time as my kitty was in his last days and after his passing. In addition to my own journaling, this book helped me in ways that friends and family could not. I was also thankful that this book didn't go into kooky stuff that many other books of this ilk seem to do which is get into talking about communicating with your pet after death, etc... While I understand "life after death" makes some people feel better, I do not believe in it and in my case, I feel it would negatively interfere with the processing and acceptance of a great loss. Highly recommend this book.

I lost my little dog Coco 10 months ago at age 13. She was everything to me & although I know I did everything I could for her to improve her health issues (cancer diagnosis, congestive heart failure) when the time came to let her go, the feelings of guilt were almost as bad as the crushing grief of no longer having her by my side. I’ve read many books on pet loss grief since her passing & this is 1 of the most helpful & beautifully written books I’ve read. This compassionate, animal loving author truly understands the range of emotions we struggle with when we lose our fur babies & her insight & advice brought much needed comfort as I continue to work through my loss. Thank you for this brilliant book xox

As someone who is really struggling with grieving my beloved dog Joey, I’ve looked for anything that may help me understand these feelings. This book has helped me and validated all the things I’ve been feeling over the last 3 months since his death. I now know where I’m at with my grief and that it’s ok to be where I am. I’m also inspired by ways to heal without feeling guilt which has been the worst part of this whole experience. This book will definitely help make sense of things but doesn’t dictate to you about your grief. It simply holds your hand until you’re ready to let go. Loved it.

It's pretty much everything I was looking for. It explains The Pet Effect; why our pets are so important to us, and how the bond is so unique.They explain how grief affects people differently, and the different forms of grief. And when your grief is not healthy and you should seek professional help.Guilt comes up, too. The guilt we can feel..."if only I had done _____ sooner."They give examples of harmful "advice" people can give us, and how to respond.There are suggestions on how you can honour your pet's memory.I felt like everything was explained in a clear and non-condescending way, too - which authors don't always manage to do when they're talking about grief.

Great advice and very comforting. It helps to know your not alone and your grief is normal , the price paid for unconditional love

This book is really good when you have lost a your lovely pet and you don’t no how your manage reading this book go through the diffrent stages of how you are feeling it has helped me I would recommend