Description
Book SynopsisIn twenty-two simple yet profound reflections, seasoned minister, Mark Belletini, explores the many and varied forms of grief. His honest, poetic essays serve as a prism, revealing the distinct colours and manifestations of grief in our lives. He addresses the way we respond to the loss of people in our lives, loss of love, loss of focus and loss of the familiar - understanding that grief is as much a part of our lives as our breathing. Belletini uses specific and personal stories to open up to the universal experience. NOTHING GOLD CAN STAY is a gift of awareness, showing how the shades of grief serve our deepest needs.
Trade Review"Mark Belletini brings his tears, his passion and his deeply literate quality of beauty to these reflections on grief. He gives us permission to grieve fully and share our grief as a tribute to our Love. This book will inspire deep conversation among us. It is a gift." —Laurel Hallman, co-editor, Not for Ourselves Alone: Theological Essays on Relationship
“Reading Mark Belletini's reflection on ‘Grief and Animals,’ I thought of Maggie the border collie, who, sensing my desolation when my sister was dying, lavished her attention on me. I read on and broken friendships came to mind. As memories of family and friends and of other kinds of deaths caught me by surprise, I kept stopping to cry and remember and say ‘of course.’ Take your time reading this book. It needs to be savored. It is important for what it will remind you of, and for creating a space and moment in your life to grieve again so you can discover grief's companions, joy and gratitude." —Mark Morrison-Reed, author of The Selma Awakening: How the Civil Rights Movement Tested and Changed Unitarian Universalism
Table of ContentsPrelude: Nothing Gold Can Stay by Robert Frost
Opening Words
Grief and Sorrow
Grief and Weariness
Interlude: Redemption Songs by Kevin Young
Grief and Ritual
Grief and Theology
Grief and Music
Grief and Depression
Grief and Memory
Grief and Focus
Interlude: Celestial Music by Louise Gluck
Grief and Animals
Grief and Relief
Grief and Life
Grief and Philosophy
Grief and Moving
Grief and Anger
Grief and Astonishment
Grief and Gratitude
Grief and Guilt
Grief and Culture
Grief and Relationships
Grief and Dance
Postlude
