Leslee Tessmann

"Sacred Grief" by Leslee Tessmann ISBN 978-1932690538
Review by Chris Phillips
Tessmann has written a how-to manual for changing perspective. Although she uses grief as the focus, she is really presenting a life changing process for living in the moment. Grief is an easy emotion to work with because most persons in society do not handle grief well even if they don’t just totally ignore it.
Tessmann lived through several grieving processes but also through several other problems that have taught her what she expresses here. She relates her losses but particularly the loss of her father which prompted the writing of the book. Mostly this is how she dealt with grief and what obstacles she had to face.
Through guided meditation but mainly with simple and easy-to-do steps Tessmann shows how to apply lessons she learned in her relationship with grief to the reader’s own grief and many other emotions as well.
Acknowledgments, a Preface and an Introduction, begin the process gently but convincingly for the reader to move from an antagonistic and negative relationship with grief into a productive and actually positive relationship with grief and many other “negative” emotions. Each title to the chapters moves the reader into another step in the process of living in the moment and dealing with grief as it comes to the reader.
Tessmann writes with a clear and logical mind. She illustrates enough from her own process of real life incidents to give valid and direct methods of turning negative reactions to grief into positive, growing reactions. Then as she completes her lessons for taking life one moment at a time, she provides an appendix that is in the form of a study guide with a complete bibliography following. Finally she has established a website (www.sacredgrief.com) for forums and further discussion.
The editing and publishing of the book are superb with a good sized font used to allow reading without eye strain or other difficulties. The cover is attractive and the book the right size for library book shelves.
This book should be read by anyone and everyone. It should be a constant desktop accessory for ministers, counselors and any who want to help others with their grief and even with other life issues.
Published by Loving Healing Press, Inc. 5145 Pontiac Trail, Ann Arbor, MI 48105-9279 (http://www.LovingHealing.com) (SRP $17.95/Amazon $15.80) Review copy sent by publisher.… (mais)

After reading this short, though obvious heart-felt, volume, I couldn't help but be reminded that sometimes things that are profound, or sacred, to us may simply not be to others. The discipline of writing the book must have been a helpful catharsis for author Leslee Tessman, but I struggled to find many helpful places of convergence in my own experience.

She writes, "I shifted from relating to the grief process as something to survive, and instead began the journey of learning to relate to it as ‘sacred.’ By sacred, I mean giving reverence and respect to every precious moment and experience.” That "shifting" she speaks of is surely a positive move for anyone walking through the grief process, and yet moving it to an inner place of "sacredness" is probably the book's simultaneous greatest strength and weakness. What is sacred to one will never necessarily be sacred to another.

The book explored a variety of approaches to grief, though none very deeply, and often repeated itself. Though written simply and straightforwardly, it often hammered too hard at concepts that were either difficult to follow or too elementary to warrant the profundity that the author seemed to desire.

If the reader is "wired" like the author-- if they happen to share similar experiences or a way of thinking-- then the book may be a help.… (mais)

Sacred Grief was such a thin volume that it lay undisturbed for a week or two after it arrived by mail in what I thought was a stack of catalogs. When I finally unearthed it, I found its basic tenet -- to embrace as sacred the good, the bad and the ugly feelings that come with grief -- whenever they present themselves -- to be a very healthy approach to picking up and carrying on after a great loss. The author's insights about the gift of compassion that comes to those who have experienced a loss certainly square with my experiences. I had a bit of a love/hate relationship with the plain language in Sacred Grief. At times the book seemed to repeat itself, or try to clobber me over the head with a concept. Ultimately, however, I was won over by the simple, direct appeal.… (mais)