Grief Works: Self Care & Love 12+

Matthew ..

Since my son’s death … in 2019 …I have felt empty .. inert … lacking purpose .. I think I first heard Julia Samuels talk when I signed up for a Good Grief event … I bought her books … then downloaded them on audible … she made sense … her words … and her voice .. calmed me … she gave me a scaffold which enabled me to unravel and then hang the confusion of feelings I was experiencing on …in order for me to make some sense of them … she made me feel safe facing up to the worst of my thoughts … I have signed up for her Eight Pillars talks … and it seemed a natural progression to also sign up for the app. I am so grateful that this resource is there .. I start my day with her very empathetic … encouraging … consoling words … I use the exercises to help manage my day and I have started to sleep a little better … I always knew that the way to deal with my grief was to acknowledge it …bear hunt avoidance tactics would not work … I “ had to go through it” .. it is painful … it is hard … This app supports and motivates me to keeping “working” on my grief … Matthew’s death will be devastating …for ever … his loss has left the biggest hole … that hole will be there forever … I will never stop loving him … or missing him … I am hoping that with the help of this app … the books … the tools and coping strategies … I might make my grief more manageable .. the app has become my friend … my confidante … my “go to” when I hit a brick wall or just feel life has no meaning anymore …

Developer Response ,

Thank you for your kind words about the app. We are really glad to hear that it has been so helpful during such a difficult time and really hope you continue to find it helpful as you progress through the course and unlock the different tools.

Losing my brother

I lost my brother very fast to an extremely aggressive cancer two years ago. The shock and sheer devastation was engulfing and overwhelming and I was immersed in every negative emotion there is. After a while, I started listening to and reading ‘Grief Works’ after which I did the same with ‘This too shall pass’. I then discovered Julia on Instagram and listened to all her Instalives. Now I am following the daily app as I approach William’s second anniversary. Without Julia, I would never be where I am today and I would never have understood how deeply these negative emotions can affect everything in one’s life. However, by understanding them and realising one is ‘normal’ and not completely ‘crazy’ helps one to begin the repair process and live alongside one’s grief and work through it. Losing William also brought back the death of my father and my mother, both of which were deeply traumatic in different ways; one very slow and one very quick. This app is easy to work through, immensely comforting and actually educates one on one’s own emotions thereby enabling one to stop the panic and adjust into what is a new version of oneself. Everyone who is grieving should discover Julia as she is a ray of light during dark days and helps one bring the sunshine back from behind the clouds. I feel blessed to have her in my life as a guide and a mentor and recommend this to anyone who is going through grief; it’s a life saver.

Developer Response ,

Hi there,
Thank you so much for taking the time to share your story and for your kind words about Julia and the app. We are so glad to hear that you have found the app so helpful during such a difficult time and really hope you continue to do so.

Very good app

This app will be incredibly helpful to many people who have lost a loved one. It's beautifully presented and invites you to work at your own pace; you have the option of getting "nudges" to complete tasks if you wish. It encourages you to complete a gratitude list, these have been of immeasurable help to me already away from this app not only after two bereavements but also in recovery for alcoholism. I downloaded the app on a free trial and would buy it were it not for the fact that I am receiving weekly counselling in person for complex grief and PTSD issues and I honestly think I need to concentrate on that solely at the moment as my attention span isn't great (I'm awaiting testing for late diagnosis aspergers/ADHD) and I think mentally I need to be very careful not to get overburdened emotionally at this time; but that is personal to me and I would recommend giving this app a try. Not sure when it was developed but if it had been around three years ago (or I had found it) when my husband died, it would have been a tremendous help. I may well purchase the app at a later date as I am also dealing with the death of my Dad from Covid last year, and I think when I am ready to focus on that particular bereavement more, I will come back to it.