GRIEF Ladies Press
GRIEF Ladies Press publishes books for people navigating loss, written by the GRIEF Ladies, Karyn Arnold and Kelly Daugherty, who bring over 50 years of combined experience to every page. Our books skip the outdated stage models and platitudes, offering instead practical, direct support for the reality of life after someone dies. Whether you're grieving yourself or supporting someone who is, our books are here to validate what you are experiencing and help you navigate your grief journey.
The GRIEF Ladies Guide: How to Grieve with Love Instead of Pain
Most grieving people want to know one thing: when will this get easier.
But under that question is usually another one, quieter, that's harder to say out loud — if I feel better, am I loving them less?
We don't think you have to choose. Feeling a little more able to get through a day isn't the same as letting go.
We've spent a combined 50+ years, and thousands and thousands of hours, sitting with grieving people. Every loss is different, and every "why" is someone's own — but that same fear shows up again and again.
Time moves us forward whether we're ready or not. We're not asking you to move on. We're here to help you navigate your days with practical steps, focusing on the energy and control you still have.
This book is intended to be a guide and follows a framework of five trail markers. Like guideposts on an unfamiliar path, they confirm where you are and point to the next step — without rushing you, and without deciding how fast or slow you go.
GROUNDING — physical well-being: sleep, nutrition, and movement, finding energy anywhere we can.
REBUILDING — routine and structure: creating new patterns to anchor daily life.
INTERACTING — understanding how relationships change after loss, and finding the language to navigate it.
EVOLVING — self-esteem and the roadblocks of grief: anger, guilt, and regret.
FINDING — meaning, purpose and what comes next: feeling useful again, and figuring out what's ahead.
You didn't get to choose your loss. But you do get to choose what comes next.
The GRIEF Ladies Guide Workbook: Guided Reflections and Practices for Grieving with Love Instead of Pain
YOU KNOW YOU CAN’T CHANGE WHAT HAPPENED.
BUT YOU CAN BEGIN TO CHANGE WHAT COMES NEXT.
Grief can make your world feel smaller. You may have less energy, less motivation, less interest in the things you used to care about—and even when you know you want something to change, figuring out where to start can feel impossible.
That’s where this workbook comes in.
The GRIEF Ladies Guide Workbook was created to help you move from understanding your grief to doing something with what you understand. Through guided exercises, reflections, and practical tools, you’ll have a place to slow down, figure out what you need, try small changes, and discover what helps you feel more grounded, connected, and engaged with your life again.
As the companion to The GRIEF Ladies Guide: How to Grieve with Love Instead of Pain, this workbook puts the GRIEF Framework into action. Each section follows one of the five trail markers and gives you opportunities to explore what may be keeping you stuck, what you want to change, and what you’re ready to try next.
This isn’t about checking boxes or doing grief “right.” It’s about small steps that can create lasting change. You can work through the exercises at your own pace, return to them when you need to, and make adjustments as you learn more about what you need.
Because moving forward doesn’t mean leaving your grief behind. It means finding ways to participate in your life again—at a pace that feels possible, with your grief beside you rather than in control of every step.
The Guide helps you understand the trail.
The Workbook helps you start walking it.
The GRIEF Ladies:
The First Year After Loss
Created by Karyn Arnold and Kelly Daugherty, The First Year After Loss is a compassionate guide for navigating the confusing, exhausting, and deeply emotional first year after someone dies.
Nobody prepares you for the brain fog, the emotional contradictions, or the way grief can make you feel unfamiliar even to yourself. This book gently explores the realities of early grief, wanting life to keep moving while also not wanting to leave your loved one behind.
As the first book in the Grief Brain Reader Series, it was intentionally written for grieving minds, with shorter, easier-to-absorb chapters designed for the way grief impacts focus, concentration, and emotional capacity.
This is not a book about “getting over” grief. It is a reassuring companion that helps readers better understand what they are experiencing while reminding them they are not alone.
Short enough to pick up when concentration is limited. Gentle enough to return to again and again. Honest enough to help grieving people feel seen, understood, and supported.
Reviews of the First Year After Loss
"This book provides grieving individuals with immediate understanding, validation, and guidance during one of the most challenging periods of their lives."
— April Hannah, LMHCD
Founder, Hannah's Healing Wellness Studio & Path 11 Productions"Kelly and Karyn have created a resource that is compassionate, clinically informed, and profoundly human."
—Erena DiGonis, LCSW-R, CCATP"It is comprehensive and not overwhelming, which makes it the perfect choice for those experiencing the mental fog of 'fried brain' that often accompanies early phases of loss."
—Cat Capowski, LCSW-R, M.Ed
Bulk Orders Available
If you work alongside grieving people, this book was made for you to share. The First Year After Loss is available for bulk purchase at a discount for organizations that want to make it available to the families and clients they serve.
Order Size Price Per Copy
10–24 copies $6.00 each
25+ copies $5.50 each
Minimum order: 10 copies. Shipping is included.
Cover price: $8.99 on Amazon
Ideal for: funeral homes, hospices, bereavement programs, counselors and therapists, faith communities, and nursing homes and senior communities.
⚠️ MINIMUM ORDER: 10 COPIES
Please enter the number of individual books you are ordering in the quantity field. For example, if you want 15 books, enter 15.
⚠️ MINIMUM ORDER: 10 COPIES
Please enter the number of individual books you are ordering in the quantity field — not the number of sets. For example, if you want 15 books, enter 15.
The Grief Experience: Tools for Acceptance, Resilience, and Connection is an award-winning collaborative book led by Kelly Daugherty, LCSW, FT, bringing together 25 authors who share personal stories, professional insight, and practical tools for navigating grief and loss. Kelly and Karyn Arnold are both contributing authors in this powerful collection.
Created to offer hope, connection, and actionable support, the book explores grief in its many forms while reminding readers that they are not alone in what they are experiencing. Through heartfelt stories and meaningful guidance, readers will discover tools for coping, resilience, remembrance, and staying connected to the people they love.
The book became an Amazon bestseller within 24 hours of release and has received multiple honors, including the 2024 International Book Award and the 2025 Coalition of Visionary Resources Award in the grief category.
Whether you are grieving yourself, supporting someone who is grieving, or working professionally in the grief space, The Grief Experience offers compassionate insight, validation, and practical support for the journey ahead.