In this blog, Kate reviews ‘Black Grief and Healing’, a book recently edited by Yansie Rolston and Patrick Vernon OBE and published by JKP.
At the end of the blog, we share an exclusive discount code if you would like to purchase a copy of this brilliant book!
Title: Black Grief and Healing | Why We Need to Talk About Health Inequality, Trauma and Loss
Editors: Yansie Rolston and Patrick Vernon OBE
I recently arranged my non-fiction books on a new bookshelf by genre (my fictions are ordered by colour) and wasn’t sure where this book belonged. In the anti-racism section? With my grief books? Among memoirs and biographies? It belongs at the intersection of all these categories, with sub-sections like healthcare, politics, and spirituality. When over 20 people share their experiences of grief, you get a diverse collection highlighting Black loss, hope, and everything in between. This book is not just for those who have experienced loss but for anyone wanting to understand the human condition more deeply. It offers lessons in resilience, love, and how we can support each other through life’s hardest moments.
This book highlights distinct cultural and systemic challenges Black people face – challenges often overlooked
While the book doesn’t explicitly answer the question in the title, it’s clear why we need to talk about this: not enough people across racial and social divides are. Reading this book gave me insights into the specific challenges and cultural nuances of grief in the Black community – experiences I hadn’t encountered before. While many aspects of grief are universal, this book highlights distinct cultural and systemic challenges Black people face – challenges often overlooked. For example, I hadn’t fully realised the magnitude of systemic issues like health inequities and the disproportionate death rates in Black communities. Systemic inequalities, like disproportionately insufficient healthcare and the economic fallout that follow Black families after a loss, are rarely discussed in mainstream grief literature. This book fills that gap, offering a vital perspective.
For Black readers, I hope the book does what Toluope Olajide set out to do himself when he was widowed: cut through ‘95% of books, information, videos around bereavement and grief’ which are ‘written by people who were not from the African diaspora or other racially minoritised communities.’ In his chapter Widowed and Young, he explains how he began sharing his loss online, forming a community. It reminded me of how Let’s Talk About Loss formed, showing the importance of speaking up and finding trusted peers in grief support spaces like a meet up.
Nearly every chapter highlights the positive impact that community has for the bereaved
A key theme in the book is ‘place’ – how grief takes us to unfamiliar destinations. One author describes the death of her sister as blowing her “away to a place I didn’t recognise.” Grief can be uncomfortable, undesirable, or even nightmarish. In one of the editor’s pieces, she writes how grief takes her “to a place [she] had been shielding from.” Someone else describes the dissociation and fogginess grief can bring, making us feel not like ourselves. The different places the authors have connections to across Africa, the Caribbean and the UK also come through with nods to Wolverhampton, Nigeria, Jamaica and more, highlighting the breadth of places the authors are representing.
I think my bookshelf needs a new section: community. Nearly every chapter highlights the positive impact that community has for the bereaved. While grief is deeply personal, this book shows that healing often lies in community – finding solidarity not just within one’s own racial or cultural group but by connecting with others who also seek understanding and compassion. It reinforces that we need each other, we need to talk about loss, and we must listen to experiences across different backgrounds to foster healing in society. As Michael Hamilton concludes: “The best help came from those who were prepared to just sit with me, hold me, and love me through it.”
Kate Moreton
If you would like to purchase a copy of this book, you can use our exclusive discount code when you buy direct from the publishers: Enter the code LTAL20 at the JKP checkout for 20% off Black Grief and Healing: https://uk.jkp.com/products/black-grief-and-healing.
Alternatively, seek it out through an independent bookshop (we love bookshop.org) or ask your local library to stock a copy.
We would love to see you at a meet up, where you can find community to support you through grief. Click here to find your local group.