Grief is heartbreak and a mountain of paperwork, all at the same time.
No one warns you about that. The First Year Without You walks beside you through both: the ache of the loss and the endless practical tasks nobody prepared you for. One small, gentle step at a time.
Choose your companion, from $27.90
Someone you love is gone. The house is too quiet. The casseroles have stopped coming. And somewhere on the counter, a stack of envelopes keeps growing, full of bills, forms, and accounts, each one with their name on it.
You are grieving and you are exhausted and you don't know where to begin. That is exactly who this book was written for.
Most grief books pick a side. This one doesn't.
Gentle words for your heart, but they leave you alone with the probate, the benefits, the accounts, the house.
Dry checklists for the paperwork, but they forget you're a person whose world just ended.
Real grief is both, tangled together. So this companion holds both, the feeling and the doing, on every single page.
Your first year, one step at a time
Just breathe
The fog, the shock, the numbness. You handle only what truly can't wait, and nothing more. Permission to fall apart.
When the world moves on without you
The first wave of paperwork arrives, and the body pays the price of shock. We start small, one envelope at a time.
The hard tasks, made doable
Money, Social Security, benefits, the estate. Clear, plain guidance on what to handle, what to ask, and exactly when to bring in a professional.
Finding yourself again
The empty chair, the broken routine, the identity that came undone, and the guilt that lies. Gently, you begin to rebuild.
When everyone thinks you should be "over it"
The fog that won't lift, the anger you're allowed to feel, and honest, caring guidance on when to reach for more help.
The dates that hurt
Birthdays, holidays, the one-year mark. How to prepare for the days you can see coming, and make them your own.
Carrying them with you
Not "moving on" and leaving them behind, but learning to carry your love forward, into the life that continues.
And a gentle 30-day path of small daily steps, to help you find your way back to living.
A book to read, and a workbook to live in
28 chapters, 7 stages
The whole first year mapped out, so you always know that what you're feeling is normal, and that it passes.
Heart & practical, together
Comfort and clear, U.S.-focused practical guidance side by side, exactly where you need them.
A 30-day path
One small, gentle step each day to help you gently return to life: breathe, reconnect, begin again.
Fill-in organizers
Who to notify, a document locator, a financial tracker, benefits, contacts, all in one calm place.
A first-year journal
A guided page for each month, so you can look back and see how far you've truly walked.
Letters to them
Pages to write what was left unsaid, one of the most healing things you can do in grief.
This companion is for you if…
- You lost your spouse, a parent, an adult child, a sibling, or your closest friend
- You're 50 or older, facing a life you didn't plan for
- You're carrying the grief and the to-do list all at once
- You want gentle guidance, not stock phrases or toxic positivity
- You need something to hold on to on the hardest days
- Or you love someone who's grieving, and want to give real help
Begin the year with a hand to hold
The complete companion, to keep, print, and write in, for the whole first year.
- The full 200+ page book, with 28 chapters and 7 stages
- The 71-page fill-in companion workbook
- The 30-day "small steps" path back to living
- Organizers, first-year journal, and letter pages
- Instant PDF you can read on any device or print at home
Everything in the book, plus a place to not walk the year alone.
- Everything in The book, above
- Access to the private Companion Community
- A monthly gathering with others who understand
- Ongoing guidance and gentle encouragement
- A safe place to share, ask, and be heard
Your $37.90 covers the book plus your first month of the Companion Community.
The community then renews at just $9.90/month, and you can cancel any time, in one click.
For less than the cost of a bouquet of sympathy flowers, a companion for the whole first year.
A promise, heart to heart
Read it. If it doesn't bring you real comfort and clarity, write to me within 30 days and I'll refund every cent, no forms and no questions. Grief is hard enough.
Written to hold you, backed by a promise
A 30-day, no-questions promise
Read it. If it doesn't bring you real comfort and clarity, write within 30 days and I'll refund every cent. Grief is hard enough.
Be a founding reader
You're among the first to hold this companion. Your honest thoughts will help shape the community and guide others who walk this year after you.
You might be wondering…
It's been more than a year. Is this still for me?
Is it religious?
What format is it, and how do I read it?
Is it too sad to read?
Can I give it to someone who's grieving?
Will the practical chapters help me if I'm not in the U.S.?
A note of care
This book offers comfort and general guidance. It is not a substitute for medical, psychological, or legal care, and it never claims to be. The practical chapters describe how things generally work and point you toward the right professional for your situation.
And if the pain ever becomes too heavy to carry alone: in the U.S., you can call or text 988, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, free and available any time. Reaching for help is not weakness. It is care.
You don't have to figure this out alone.
Let this be the hand beside you through the heartbreak, the paperwork, and the long quiet year. One small step at a time.
Choose your companion, from $27.90