Review
“It may take some time to find laughter after a loss…sometimes it’s only an inner chuckle. But…it is there to provide a momentary respite from our grief…to show us that indeed life goes on in spite of our loss.”
―Allen Klein, author of Embracing Life After Loss
“Serendipitously, I was asked to review Allen Klein’s book Embracing Life After Loss directly following my mother’s passing. Reading this book has been a gift to me during this difficult transition. As the sting of loss begins to wane, the words in this wonderful book continue to resonate in my heart and in my healing. This book does the impossible―it turns the dark into something beautiful. This is a moving, provocative book about life, death, and most importantly, perspective.”
―Joseph J. Luciani, author of Self-Coaching: The Powerful Program to Beat Anxiety & Depression
“If life sometimes feels like a bucket full of small dark stones, Allen Klein's insights are like bright pennies waiting to be found. This collection of brief sermons on grief and recovery can help turn fear into forgiveness, wounds into wisdom and losses into laughter.”
―Stephen Kiernan, author of Last Rights
“This book is a wonderful companion in your darkest hours. It feels like a warm, nourishing hug from a dear and loving friend. It will soothe your heart and warm your soul. It will help you to find that sacred place within you that is never lost and never changes―your spiritual heart, your soul, which can be gracefully awakened through the mystical, transformational, holy experience of laughter.”
―John E. Welshons, author of When Prayers Aren’t Answered
“Like a dear friend, this beautiful book takes us by the hand and walks us through the stages of loss and recovery. Allen Klein has inspired us all to define ourselves, not by our grief, but by our joy.”
―Susan Sparks, pastor and author of Laugh Your Way to Grace
“This is an easy-to-read, compassionate and useful book for dealing with loss and grief. Allen Klein addresses different aspects of the grieving process, all of which speak to the heart of what it is to deal with and recover from loss. This is a wonderful addition to the current literature on grief, and would make a wonderful condolence gift.”
―Judy Tatelbaum, author of The Courage to Grieve
“Raising Lazarus from the dead is less miraculous than raising ourselves from the loss of a loved one. Allen Klein, invoking his decades of experience ‘lightening the load of grief’ offers an unexpected grace, a slight levitation of the heart, into the healing process.”
―Stephen Levine, author of A Year to Live
“With great love and humor, Allen Klein shares his wisdom, wisdom which shows us the path to healing the wounds uncovered by our grief, wisdom that he has clearly earned through his own deep practice. He walks the walk. We are all grieving. Allen shows us the way, as Rumi says, to use grief as the garden of compassion.”
―Dale Borglum, executive director of the Living/Dying Project
“Klein has written a poignant and easily readable guide to the grieving process based on his personal and professional experiences. Grieving people will find some solace and professionals will gain insight from someone who has been on both sides of grieving and helping the bereaved.”
―Stephen R. Connor, author of Hospice and Palliative Care: The Essential Guide
“As a hospital chaplain I witnessed the unwelcome burden that grief added to a person’s life. In his book, Allen Klein gives a realistic and sensitive vision that will sustain the hope necessary for grief’s journey.”
―E.T. (CY) Eberhart, author of In the Presence of Humor
“Whew…what a book! Allen sings a simple song: embrace life, remember the joy, and find gratitude in knowing you have been loved.”
―Darcie D. Sims, director of American Grief Academy® and Grief Inc.
“Embracing Life After Loss is a great gift to bereaved individuals. Klein offers sound wisdom, based on experience. He speaks here from the heart...with both humor and compassion.”
―Kenneth J. Doka, consultant at The Hospice Foundation of America
“Allen Klein’s new book, Embracing Life After Loss, is touching, informative and heartwarming. Allen’s ability to find the perfect quotations over the years adds to the lovely journaling in this treasure. A must for anyone and everyone!”
―Ester Leutenberg, coauthor of GriefWork: Healing from Loss
“Allen Klein shows his readers how to find the joy and laughter that continues even after the loss of a loved one. Read this book and begin your own transformation from grief to joy.”
―Nancy Weil, director of Bereavement Support, Catholic Cemeteries
“Allen Klein has just written the handbook on how to cope with suffering. This book has all the tools you need to bounce back from loss of any kind.”
―Steve Rizzo, author of Becoming a Humor Being
“Allen Klein has such a beautiful perspective! His book is an important, authentic, and liberating look at how we can move through loss with compassion, humor, and peace. If you’re dealing with a loss of any kind, this book will support you in your journey.”
―Mike Robbins, author of Be Yourself, Everyone Else Is Already Taken
“Allen Klein is a counselor, a philosopher, a theologian. His pain, from losing his young wife, and his healing, from moving beyond her death, are evident in every word he writes. In easy-to-take doses, he offers practical advice on seeing the light in the darkest of times. He shares the secret that survivors―of everything from cancer to the Holocaust―have learned.”
―Steve Lipman, author of Laughter in Hell
“There are very few books that everyone can identify with and benefit from. This is one of those books. We’ve all experienced a loss that leaves us dispirited and adrift. Embracing Life After Loss recognizes that even on hallowed ground, we lose our footing and our bearings. Allen Klein encourages us to find our way and teaches us the five ‘stages of living’ after loss, so that we can not only survive, but thrive, enjoy, and embrace our lives.”
―Alan Gettis, author of It’s All Part of the Dance: Finding Happiness in an Upside Down World
“Klein's lucid writings make compelling connections with psychology, religion, history, philosophy, and good ole' common sense. His personal experiences, clinical examples, and delightful humor is like viewing a trapeze artist who lets go of one rope, and gracefully takes hold of another, without a misstep. This is a penetrating treasure-trove of profound insights and skillfully blended constructed tools.”
―Earl A. Grollman, author of Living When a Loved One Has Died
About the Author
Allen Klein, aka “Mr. Jollytologist”®, is no stranger to quotation books. His previous uplifting and motivational books in this genre have sold over 400,000 copies. Add to that another 200,000+ units sold domestically in non-quotation categories and the nine language translations. In addition, the author is the recipient of a number of national awards including both the Best New Book of the Year Award and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, a Communication and Leadership Award from Toastmasters, as well as being a Hunter College, The City University of New York, Hall of Fame honoree. Through his books, workshops and keynote presentations, the author has devoted over 30 years of his life to encouraging people to lighten up, to embrace a positive attitude, and to take back their power. This book will further that goal and validate what comedian Jerry Lewis said about the author: Allen Klein is “a noble and vital force watching over the human condition.”
Dr. Gloria Horsley, MFC, CNS, Ph.D., is the Founder and President of the Open to Hope Foundation, a multimedia web-based resource for the bereaved. Horsley is an internationally known grief expert, psychotherapist, and bereaved parent. She is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Clinical Nurse Specialist. With her daughter, Heidi Horsley, she co-hosts the Open to Hope podcast and cable television show. She has also authored a number of grief-related books and articles as well as being on numerous radio and television shows including “The Today Show”.
