Growing Through Grief

A compassionate guide to growing, changing, and discovering meaning around loss.

If you’ve experienced profound loss you may feel numb, disoriented, or despondent. The last thing you want to hear is that “time heals all wounds.” It sounds like an empty promise—one that negates the importance of what has passed. The truth is that you may never fully heal from loss—and that is okay. You can still go on to live a rich, meaningful, and vibrant life. This gentle guide will help you transform the overwhelming sadness of grief into validation, hope, and personal growth.

In this book, psychotherapist Alex Mammadyarov presents a step-by-step, comprehensive, and transformative process to help you cultivate present moment awareness, resilience, and self-compassion after the life-altering shock of a significant loss. You’ll learn to ride the ebbs and flows of grief that rear up in the midst of painful anniversaries and events—so you can navigate your new reality, relieve suffering, and grow. You’ll also find comfort and clarity as you face the challenges of our insensitive, “get over it” culture that prevents you from being fully seen during this difficult time.

It's time for a new way of looking at grief—one that is honest and vulnerable, and honors what’s been lost. With this guide, you’ll learn to grow through your grief—instead of moving past it—to create more meaning, purpose, and connection in your life.

Praise

Kara Hoppe, MA, MFT

“Alex Mammadyarov is the grief whisperer! In Growing Through Grief, she describes the many aspects of the grief experience, laying out a path that is not about passing through anticipated stages but embarking on an open-ended process of personal growth. Written for those still working with an earlier loss, as well as those currently deep in the process, Growing Through Grief offers wise companionship that considers all the subtle nuances readers are likely to encounter along the way.”

Psychotherapist, Doula, and author of Baby Bomb

Gina Moffa, LCSW

Grief and trauma therapist, and author of Moving On Doesn’t Mean Letting Go

“This book is a beautiful and compassionate companion for anyone navigating the terrain of loss. With heartfelt wisdom, clinical insight, and deep humanity, Alex Mammadyarov offers gentle and tender guidance without pressure. A true gift for grievers, this is a validating, supportive, and tenderly honest book. You’ll feel seen, not fixed. A necessary balm for aching hearts.”

Cyndie Spiegel

“Growing Through Grief is the book I wish I’d had close by during the quiet, disorienting moments after loss. With tenderness and clarity, Alex Mammadyarov reminds us that grief isn’t something we ‘get over,’ but something we grow through. She holds space for grief’s depth and complexity while offering supportive, grounded tools for living inside it. If you’re moving through grief or walking beside someone who is, Growing Through Grief is a generous guide that offers both comfort and unexpected hope.”

Author of Microjoys: Finding Hope (Especially) When Life Is Not Okay

Mary-Frances O’Connor, PhD

Author of The Grieving Brain and The Grieving Body

“Through her own experience of loss, and as a therapist for many grievers, Alex Mammadyarov has written an excellent and practical field guide for the griever who finds themselves in a strange land in which their own reactions—and the reactions of those around them—are surprising, mysterious, and more difficult than they ever imagined.”

Author of Motherless Daughters: The Legacy of Loss

Hope Edelman

“Alex Mammadyarov is a bright and important new presence in the bereavement field. Her mix of personal experience and professional insight is exactly the kind of combination that will help move the field forward into new arenas. Her book will be a comfort for and an inspiration to every reader.”

Rebecca Soffer

Best-selling author of The Modern Loss Handbook

“Growing Through Grief is a clear-eyed and steady companion for anyone navigating the wilderness of loss. Alex shows us that grief is not a riddle to solve, but a terrain to move through—and, with time, to grow within.”