On Memorial Day Weekend in 1999, Kathleen O’Hara learned that her son, Aaron Land and his roommate Brian Muha, both students at Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio, had been kidnapped and murdered. In that moment, she was plunged into a world she did not want to be in, and made a member of a club she never wanted to join—the survivors of a violent death.

Six years later Kathleen wrote A Grief Like No Other to help other survivors find a way to make the journey across the dark ocean of grief.

The book retraces the first hours from the time Aaron was discovered missing through the confirmation of his death, through all of the experiences that follow in the aftermath of a violent death. She recounts her own journey through the first five years and offers step-by-step guidance to readers to navigate their own ocean of grief and create their own recovery process.

A Grief Like No Other is a classic resource that has helped thousands of people cope with the sudden or violent death of a loved one. It provides real strategies to cope with the unimaginable tragedies that have become too familiar in our society. Written with warmth and insight, this is a book that survivors can relate to. It has become the go-to resource for help with one of life’s most devastating experiences.

There are both practical tips like assigning someone to explain the tragic event to others when you are too tired or unable to talk about, (p.6.) as well as emotional how-to’s. Kathleen explains that naming the huge waves of emotion that would overtake her as “the torturers” helped her shape the grief into something she could begin to manage, (p.93). Further, she suggests readers name their own emotional waves to help them also gain a sense of control. There are also bullet point suggestions for friends of the survivors, (p.55) that clearly outline how to behave toward the bereaved in the wake of a tragedy.

While this book is directed towards the family of those affected, the unthinkable can happen at any time to anyone. Homicide, suicide, drug-overdose, mass shootings, vehicular homicide, war, or terrorism are too frequent realities of our world and there are few resources friends and family can turn to in order to understand what lies ahead and how they can go on living after such a tragedy. This book provides compassionate care for those who need help.