I am a reader by nature. I have been devouring books ever since the age of seven and have over 600 books in my personal library at home. Holding Space: on Loving, Dying and Letting Go by Amy Wright Glenn has earned a prominent place on my shelves, a book to showcased, shared, and recommended for years to come.
I came to this book with a few years of experience as a death & end of life doula but I walked away understanding that education, wisdom, and the need for an increase in love are an ever-increasing necessity in the life of one who holds space. Amy writes with such compassion, such empathy, and with a deep and integrated commitment to sparking love in the hearts and minds of the reader.
To hold space for the thresholds of life is the art of companioning people. Of walking with souls through either birth, death, or any of the experiences in between. I am particularly grateful for the way in which this book speaks to the human condition, adding a wealth of knowledge to the human library that will hopefully last within the annuls of time. I hope that Holding Space will be read by new and old human beings 500 years in the future because the thresholds will last until this world is no more.
But too often, the journey of integrating a bereaved heart is not understood as a needed and difficult walk through a wilderness. Rather, grief is far too often approached as something to overcome, something to fix.”….”No one is going back to their previous life after losing a loved one….My intention? I pray to inspire confidence in care providers, to be present for families in their deepest darkness.
Holding Space: On Loving, Dying and Letting Go, page 162
While reading this book, I experienced the beginning of a new type of loss and grief in my life. The loss of a relationship with someone that you love dearly due to addiction carries with it a grief that is similar to the death of the body. For me, Amy held space for me to fall apart as necessary during the reading and created a safe enough environment, even through written words on a page, to feel like I could get back up again. To embrace and integrate the shadow of pain and yet still, remain hopeful that love would rule.
Without question, and without hesitation, the world has my recommendation pin reading Holding Space. Click here to purchase.
