Blessing of Sorrow

…a travelogue for a journey that all of us are destined to take. Kamin is a wordsmith, so it is highly readable. No doubt, the book will be a comfort to those suddenly confronted with the death of a loved one. But I recommend not waiting until faced with such personal loss. Read the book now, so you can think with a clear head about some of the issues that Kamin skillfully raises.―Donald H. Harrision, San Diego Jewish World

The Library Journal

Kamin, Ben. The Blessing of Sorrow: Turning Grief into Healing. Rabbi Kamin―public media personality and scholar on the life and work of Martin Luther King Jr.―offers insights into his 40-plus years of counseling the dead and dying as an alternative to “sanitized death,” as well as what he calls the West’s fear of death as infection, as if it’s something we can catch. For Kamin, this work is personal―he still feels grief’s grip from his father’s death, some four decades prior. Topics here range from personal grief, incomplete grieving, and how to channel grief and move forward. These subjects are interspersed with his own experiences as a bereaved family member and as a pastoral counselor helping people with sorrow. He peppers his reflections with modern idioms, such as “leaning in” to grief, along with references to ­deathreferences.com and Facebook postings (used with permission). VERDICT A sincere attempt to move private grief into the sphere of public healing.―Sandra Collins, Byzantine Catholic Seminary Lib., ­Pittsburgh