The Orphaned Adult: Understanding And Coping With Grief And Change After The Death Of Our Parents

The Orphaned Adult by Alexander Levy is a deeply insightful and compassionate book that explores the profound impact of parental loss on our lives. Drawing from his own experiences and those of others, Levy delves into the complex emotions and challenges that arise when we lose our parents as adults.The book offers a unique perspective on the grieving process, highlighting the ways in which our identities and roles within our families shift after the death of a parent. Levy addresses the common misconception that we are "supposed" to accept our parents' deaths as a natural part of life, and instead emphasizes the importance of acknowledging and working through our grief.Levy's writing is both sensitive and thought-provoking, providing readers with a roadmap for navigating the difficult journey of mourning and adapting to the new reality of life without our parents. He explores the various stages of grief, from denial and anger to acceptance and growth, offering practical advice and coping strategies along the way.The Orphaned Adult is a must-read for anyone who has experienced the loss of a parent, as well as for those who wish to better understand and support their loved ones during this difficult time. Levy's empathetic and knowledgeable approach makes this book an invaluable resource for anyone seeking to navigate the complexities of grief and find a path towards healing and growth.Overall, The Orphaned Adult is a moving and enlightening read that provides a much-needed perspective on the universal experience of losing a parent. Levy's wisdom and compassion shine through on every page, making this book a valuable companion for anyone on the journey of grief and healing.

Orphan … the word conjures so many images of small, bereft children. But even as adults on the verge of old age ourselves, we're still orphaned when our parents die, as the last barrier between ourselves & mortality disappears like so much mist. And when that happens, we're often not prepared for the emotional impact, however much we always assumed that we would be … but that assumption was an intellectual one, not a visceral one. It has to actually happen before we can truly understand the impact.Using his own life experience, as well as that of others, author Alexander Levy examines the ways that we grieve (or attempt not to grieve) as middle-aged or older people when our parents die. According to popular belief, we're "supposed" to accept their deaths as a natural part of life … and of course it is. But that doesn't mean we don't feel the pain of their loss & their absence. Far from it! We're usually surprised to discover how much it's affected us, causing us to reflect on both their lives & our own.And that's actually for the good. The only way of dealing with any kind of emotional pain is to face it & go through it, in order to gain understanding of it & learn from it. This can range from quiet contemplation to raw, agonized rage & grief. The key, it seems, is coming to term with what's essentially a primal loss of foundations, one that was seemingly so secure for decades that we often didn't recognize it. Now we do.This was a lesson I had to learn when my father died some 12 years ago … and one that I'm still occasionally learning at unexpected moments. There's really no such thing as "closure" here; it's more of an ongoing adjustment to a major shift in the model of our lives that we once took for granted. There's always a little more shifting underfoot; what we do is learn to balance ourselves better as time goes on. Never fully, but better. For me, it's been a matter of my good memories coming to the fore, while the painful ones recede a little more.A compassionate & helpful book, most highly recommended!

I'm in my 30s and when both of my parents died within 8 months, I was (still am) devastated. I was looking for a book to help me understand grief a little better - and how it might be different when both parents have passed away. This book was a wonderful resource. It was easy to read, and was full of analogies that really helped me put some of my feelings into words. I was able to use some of those analogies to explain to loved ones how I was feeling. I cried just a few pages in, because the author really describes just how it feels when you are in this unfortunate position.I'm only giving it 4 stars because the last 1/4 of the book, the author sort of started to ramble and lost me. But the rest of the book is great, and if you're going through the loss of your parents, then I'd recommend this book.

My father died and i seemed to me the only family member grieving. The fact that he was very old, to me was no barrier to the grief I felt losing my last parent, and I was the primary family member for care. There are lots of good anecdotes and no drug store sympathy card platitudes. I have read it twice and ordered a copy for my brother who said he was not grieving and yet I saw such a change in his behavior that I told him, you may not recognize yourself right now, but I guarantee you, you will see yourself in the future. I have since recommended it the long term care facilities and to friends in the same position. Thank you for writing this book.

Best book about grief I've read so far. It has helped me a lot. I will read it again when I feel the need to. I highly recommend.

I found this book very helpful, particularly in the way it discusses the many aspects of grief and ways to approach them. The tone is warm and friendly and overall it was reassuring to read; I feel more able now to face the issues confronting me after the death of my mother last year. Reactions that I thought were unique to me turn out to be quite common and a bit less scary. I especially welcomed the suggestion to take things slowly -- not every death-related administrative task needs to be accomplished right away. I was exhausting myself trying to complete everything in a short period of time, which is not the best approach, and also unrealistic. I would definitely recommend to anyone who has lost a parent, and especially those who have lost both.

This book touches on many emotions, thoughts and feelings a person who has lost parents experience, so that it feels at once authentic as well as deeply empathetic. I felt the writer is directly speaking about my experience,my emotional confusion - that's the best any such book can do.

An amazing book that I am going to buy for a few friends, who over a decade on, are still struggling with the loss of either their mother or father.I bought this due to my mother being in the last stages of her life and it just being a matter of months now, however it didn't just gave me huge advice and guidance on the subject matter and why I bought the book, I found a rather unexpected and interesting twist to the book...The way it makes you look at your own life, your own mortality and how to do greatness now and not wait until tomorrow as unlike James Bond, tomorrow does die, at some point!Being an author on Longevity, I am typically focused on extending peoples lives, not on them dying and this book gives you a whole new perspective to longevity and life, of which I thank Mr Levy very much for.After reading a book I like to do a bit of research on the author and was very saddened to hear Mr Levy had died earlier this year, this makes the wisdom of this book even more poignant and really hits home the amazing wisdom contained in this book.Somebody now dead, writing about death.