06/09/2026
🧠This month’s “What Are We Reading?” feature comes from Emma, who chose two books exploring the neuroscience and physiology of grief.
📚The first is The Grieving Brain by Mary-Frances O’Connor.
✨This book offers a compassionate and fascinating look at what happens in the brain after loss— helping explain why grief can feel emotional, physical, confusing, exhausting, and deeply consuming all at once.
🔎Rather than viewing grief as something we simply “get over,” the book explores how the brain adapts to the absence of someone important to us.
🔑A few takeaways that stood out:
💞 Grief Reflects Connection
The pain of grief is closely tied to attachment and love. Our brains build deep expectations around the people closest to us—their presence, voice, routines, and support.
🧠 The Brain Struggles with Permanence
Even when we logically know someone has died, parts of the brain may still expect them to return. This can make grief feel disorienting and unpredictable.
🤍 There is No “Right” Timeline
Healing is not linear, and grief does not follow a universal schedule. The process of adapting to loss looks different for everyone.
🌱 Continuing Bonds Can Be Healing
The book challenges the idea that healing means “letting go.” Staying connected through memories, rituals, stories, or meaning-making can be a healthy part of grief.
🤝 Support Matters
Feeling emotionally supported and understood can help regulate the nervous system during periods of grief and loss.
💐 Emma shared that she was drawn to this book because of her background in neuroscience and her interest in understanding how the brain is impacted by grief and mental health. She also appreciated how validating the book feels for grieving individuals— emphasizing that grief affects the whole person, not just emotions.
💭How have your ideas or expectations about grief been shaped by family, culture, or society?
