The Book – Mary Jean Gandolfo

Book

Beyond Grief

Behind the book

From Beyond Grief, I wrote “Regrettably, in 2014, it was my own family of origin needing direction in their grief. I reached out to receive counseling while facing ambiguous loss connected to family divisions following our father’s death and the grief resulting from it.”

Author Notes

From Beyond Grief, “For my own journey through the grief of my dad, experience, counseling, and attending an accelerated recovery program for codependency led me to take a deep look at my family of origin, myself, and beyond. I gave myself permission to be okay with not being okay, allowing myself to recognize, respect, and accept my feelings. I began to say goodbye to shame and regret as I welcomed hope into my life.

Psychiatrist Dr. Garret Deckel, my cousin who recently passed away, will always hold a place in my heart. Garret played an instrumental part in my healing. She helped me gain a better understanding of the behavior and motivation of others and to learn to develop a stronger sense of confidence in my own abilities. Garret led me to do inner child work, to build a bridge between my past and present, to be able to identify when I was acting out from past hurt. Garret and her father, my dad’s first cousin, gave me insight into our generational family dynamics. Today I recognize my own struggle in finding a balance between personal independence and family responsibilities is deeply rooted.

“Writing Beyond Grief has been part of my healing practices. Journaling, a healing tool, is a practice that takes commitment to being vulnerable, and reflective; to look at the whole, and to accept you are only responsible for yourself. Through journaling you begin to understand your feelings, cope with them, and make changes.”

“My story is my story and is bigger than me. I am called to share parts of my story through grief to give others support, letting others know they are not alone. As with me, storytelling can be a way for you to find inner peace through sharing the beauty of past moments with others or individually.”

“Through my professional experience, I have been amazed how many broken families I have encountered and continue to walk alongside to help them with their grief. Family dynamics are not limited to current, living generations. Family dynamics also include previous generations that may have passed already.”

I hope Beyond Grief will help others as they go through the process of finding their true self and recreating their story.

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