It's Grief: The Dance of Self-Discovery Through Trauma and Loss
Grief isn’t just something you survive—it’s a dance between who you were, who you are, and who you’re becoming.
Grief is a lifelong companion, an uninvited guest that never truly leaves. But what if, instead of resisting it, you learned to move with it? What if grief could be a catalyst for self-discovery, guiding you to a deeper understanding of yourself?
In It’s Grief: The Dance of Self-Discovery Through Trauma and Loss, Edy Nathan introduces the 11 Phases of Grief, a framework that acknowledges grief as a personal, evolving process—one that isn’t linear but fluid, unique as your own fingerprint.
This book isn’t about “getting over” grief. It’s about learning to engage with it, live alongside it, and ultimately transform through it.
Inside This Book, You'll Explore
- How your personality influences your grief—whether you’re an introvert, extrovert, or ambivert, your experience of loss is deeply personal.
- The power of calibration—Edys method for finding balance and clarity when grief feels overwhelming.
- A new relationship with grief—one that allows for curiosity, insight, and transformation rather than avoidance.
- The “Me, Myself, and I” process, designed to expand self-awareness and help you engage with your emotions instead of feeling trapped by them.
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Praise for It's Grief
"Not just grief, but healing"
Edy Nathan’s It’s Grief is a thoughtful and deeply compassionate exploration of how grief shapes us, often in ways we don’t fully understand until we’re ready to face it. She doesn’t treat grief as a problem to be solved or something to move past. Instead, she invites us to engage with it as a dance—a process of discovery, reflection, and integration that’s as individual as it is universal.
What resonates most for me is how Edy frames grief as relational and layered, not something that happens in isolation. Her acknowledgment of the anger, shame, and despair that can come with grief feels especially honest. These emotions are often dismissed or treated as something to “get over,” but she instead recognizes them as necessary parts of the process. She offers space to feel what needs to be felt without judgment, which is so important for survivors who are often told to stay silent or move on.
In my work with survivors of sexual violence—whose grief often includes the loss of trust, safety, and a sense of belonging—I’ve seen how writing and creativity can offer ways to process and reclaim what’s been lost. This book offers an important reminder: grief is valid, and it is ours to define. Edy gives us tools to name and claim it as part of our story, empowering us to take steps toward healing, even when the path feels impossible. She shows how grief, when acknowledged and expressed, can lead to moments of clarity and transformation. Her writing reinforces the power of naming what hurts, not to dwell on it but to release its hold.
For those who care for others—whether as professionals, friends, or family—this book is also a powerful resource. Edy reminds us of the importance of boundaries, self-awareness, and allowing space for our own grief while supporting others. It’s a delicate balance, but one she navigates with such wisdom and grace.
It’s Grief is a book I’ll return to again and again. It offers not only practical insights, but also a profound sense of comfort and permission—to grieve, to heal, and to find meaning in our own time. Edy Nathan’s work feels like an offering, one that gently but firmly reminds us that grief doesn’t have to break us—it can teach us how to hold ourselves together and discover ourselves anew.
-Mary Simmerling, December 19, 2024
"Shown me how to embrace and integrate my grief into the soul with love."
Not what I expected. It is far, far more. I didn’t know what I might learn from this book but I knew that I needed more than clinical explanations of grief and associated emotions to help me get out from under the feelings of being overwhelmed with what I often could not explain. Even though I thought I understood my grief. I needed some kind of guidance.
After reading this book I realize how little I really understood grief. This book has shown me how to embrace and integrate my grief into the soul with love. I used to think grief was about losing a loved one, yet I learned how much my grief comes from different areas of my life. Edy compassionately describes grieving as a personal evolution or “dance” within one’s self – honoring the loss is a way to comfort the soul. I met parts of me I never knew existed. This book has enlightened my understanding of the dimensions of grieving as well as grief as a human emotion.
Edy writes about this difficult subject in a most clear and sensitive manner. Her experience and understanding provide a higher awareness and validation of so many of the feelings and emotions that I’ve experienced. Her writing is straight forward and she offers effective tools and techniques to enhance focus and emotional stability. She writes with a clear understanding of what someone who knows the depths of loss and grief is likely experiencing. I learned to navigate the darkness of my grief and my own emotional crisis. I’m sure I will refer back to sections of this book regularly. Edy Nathan has nailed down the emotional ecosystem of grief. I highly recommend this book.
-CMK SRQ, October 23, 2018
"A beautifully written work everyone should read."
This was not what I expected.
I thought Edy Nathan’s It’s Grief would help me walk through what I believe were the most significant deaths I’ve experienced in my life. I didn’t realize how often grief is at the root of so many other losses every human being faces. It’s beautifully written and helps navigate what Nathan refers to as the big “G” losses we’ve all experienced like the death of a loved one. But Nathan also uses practical exercises to help you understand the impact of what she calls little “g” losses like jobs, careers, lifestyle, etc. as well.
I think the self-reflection of It’s Grief is a healthy exercise every one could benefit from.
-LynnMcG, October 31, 2019
"A truer, fresher way to talk about grief."
Edy Nathan has come up with a truer, fresher way to talk about grief. This book does not read like a pamphlet on grief, or a self help book on loss… it has a modern, prosaic quality that transcends typical books on self reflection. This book explains what it feels like to be human TODAY; it makes you feel less alone. It is digestible. Helpful. Beautifully written. It is a must for anyone that has grieved, is grieving, or is just ready to reach a deeper state of existing. This book does not tire you out, quite the opposite–– it energizes you!
Download a Free Chapter of It's Grief
What if grief isn’t just an ending—but a beginning?
Whether you are newly grieving, carrying an old loss, or seeking a way to make sense of your emotions, It’s Grief offers a path forward.
Instead of pushing grief away, learn to move with it—creating a life where loss is acknowledged but no longer in control.
A meaningful gift for anyone navigating loss—offering solace, understanding, and a new perspective on what it means to grieve.
Whether you’ve read It’s Grief or just need another way to process loss, It’s Grief: Notes to Self is a guided journal to help you move through the layers of grief.
With compassionate prompts and space to reflect, it offers a gentle, supportive way to explore your emotions and reconnect with yourself.
Stay Tuned for Edy's Next Book
Dare to Live: Liberate Yourself from the Grip of Sexually Traumatic Events and Thrive
Sexual grief changes you—it reshapes your emotions, your sense of self, and how you move through the world.
In Dare to Live, Edy explores what happens emotionally, developmentally, and environmentally when sexual grief takes hold.
This is not a book about healing—it’s about liberation. Through her Liberation Protocol, Edy guides you toward breaking free from the invisible grip of sexually traumatic events, helping you step into a life where self-understanding and personal revolution replace self-loathing and silence.
