Grief raises deep spiritual questions. This collection offers comfort and healing to support widowers on their path to renewal. We honor the stories we carry and the bonds that live on in our hearts.

Resources for Spirituality and Reflection in Grief

A collection of blog posts, books, films and poems offering insight and comfort for widowers.

Blog Posts
Faith, Spirit
Books
Grace, Compassion
Filmography
Hope, Humanity
Poetry
Solace, Peace

Blog Posts on Spirituality and Grief

Reflections that explore faith, meaning and the deep questions awakened through the spiritual journey of grief.

Spirituality and Grief: Asking the right questions

By Kei Okada, MDiv, BCC

An invitation to explore grief through spiritual questions—honoring love, loss and connection by listening deeply to the silence within and the presence that remains.

Spiritual Aspect of Our Grief

By Kei Okada, MDiv, BCC

Grief reshapes the soul. This reflection explores how storytelling, spiritual practices and shared wisdom help us honor our loved ones and deepen the meaning of our journey through loss.

Books for Navigating Grief and Loss

Sharing wisdom from a spiritual perspective to offer comfort, clarity and guidance through the experience of grief.

Filmography on Spirituality and Grief

A thoughtful collection of films that explore the spiritual dimensions of grief, healing and personal transformation.

“I Do”

Created by Jon Bregel

A heartfelt documentary that follows widower Jim Kuhlman as he reflects on his enduring love story with his late wife, Julie—who battled breast cancer.

A Man Called Ove

Film by Hannes Holm

When a boisterous Persian family, including a pregnant woman, moves next door to the neighborhood’s grumpy old man, unexpected love and kinship bloom.

UP

Directed by Pete Docter, Bob Peterson

By tying thousands of balloon to his home, 78-year-old Carl Fredricksen sets out to fulfill his lifelong dream to see the wilds of South America.

Shadowlands

Film by Richard Attenborough

Based on a true story, C.S. Lewis (Anthony Hopkins) is a world renowned writer and professor. Unmarried, he leads a gentleman’s life filled by intellectual pursuits, remaining untouched by any great passion until he meets Joy Gresham (Debra Winger).

My Life as a Dog

Film by Lasse Hallström

The story of Ingemar, a twelve-year-old from a working-class family sent to live with his uncle in a country village when his mother falls ill.

TED Talk: The Power of Vulnerability

Talk by Brené Brown

“My moment to dare greatly, this talk stemmed from my faith in my research and what emerged from the data—that vulnerability is the core, the heart, the center of meaningful human experiences.”

Poetry on Spirituality and Grief

Expressions offering solace, spiritual depth and shared understanding through the beauty of poetic language.

  • Grief/Rebirth

    Sometimes, you crash into a concrete slab.
    Going 200 m.p.h.
    Facing a hellfire with no exit.
    That’s the nature of grief.

    Sometimes, an imaginary rat
    gnaws your leg.
    Constantly, every day.
    Till y continue Reading…

    A Poem by Robert J. Mack

  • For Everyone

    I can’t just suddenly tell you
    what I should be telling you,
    friend, forgive me; you know
    that although you don’t hear my words,
    I wasn’t asleep or i continue Reading…

    A Poem by Pablo Neruda

  • For Grief

    When you lose someone you love,
    Your life becomes strange,
    The ground beneath you gets fragile,
    Your thoughts make your eyes unsure;
    And some dead echo
    drags your continue Reading…

    A Poem by John O’Donohue

  • Legacy

    I leave you this space
    Which I have occupied
    Temporarily,
    Now clean as a vacuum
    To hold short sorrow
    And brief remembering.
    There are no shards,
    No continue Reading…

    A Poem by John Dobbs (Sr.)

  • Heavy

    That time
    I thought I could not
    go any closer to grief
    without dying
    I went closer,
    and I did not die.
    Surely God
    had His hand in this,
    continue Reading…

    A Poem by Mary Oliver

  • Pain Of Birth

    In still darkness; the quiet hidden place, 
    far from revealing light or probing gaze,
    the song begins again.
    “As it was in the beginning, Is now and ever shall be…”
    Y continue Reading…

    A Poem by Annie Hammond

  • Prayer

    Hold on to what is good
    Even if it’s a handful of earth.
    Hold on to what you believe
    Even if it’s a tree that stands by itself.
    Hold on to what you must do
    Even if it’s continue Reading…

    A Traditional Poem of Uncertain Origin

  • The Thing Is

    to love life, to love it even
    when you have no stomach for it
    and everything you’ve held dear
    crumbles like burnt paper in your hands
    your throat filled with the silt of it continue Reading…

    A Poem by Ellen Bass

  • Grief

    When grief comes to you as a purple gorilla
    you must count yourself lucky.
    You must offer her what’s left
    of your dinner, the book you were trying to finish
    you must put aside, continue Reading…

    A Poem by Matthew Dickman

This page was created by Kei Okada, MDiv, BCC (LinkedIn profile may require login), a Board-Certified Chaplain with a Master of Divinity degree and a member of the Board of Directors of the National Widowers’ Organization. With over 15 years of experience in hospice and palliative care, Kei brings a compassionate and holistic approach to supporting bereaved men. His work integrates spiritual care with clinical practice, helping individuals navigate grief with meaning and resilience.