Praise for UC

Praise for Unfinished Conversation

“Unfinished Conversation chronicles a path of transformation from anger and despair to compassion and liberation. We may have lost a loved one, but with mindfulness, concentration, and insight, we have the possibility of helping ourselves and the many loved ones around us.”
—Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, Being Peace

“This compelling, raw and honest book follows one man’s emergence through the anguish of great loss—a best friend’s suicide. While accompanying him, we are given a powerful set of tools that can support us in navigating and healing from the suicide of loved ones. Beautifully written, this book is pure medicine for the grieving heart.”
—Tara Brach, PhD, Radical Acceptance and True Refuge

“With a vulnerable and generous heart, Robert Lesoine shares the mind- sets and heart-sets that contribute to healing in the aftermath of a loved one’s suicide. Written in compassionate and practical language, this book invites you into a journey of restoration, reminding you that you can still laugh, love, and come full circle with your departed loved one.”
—Reverend Michael Bernard Beckwith, Founder and Spiritual Director, Agape International Spiritual Center, author of Spiritual Liberation

“Suicide is a pain that never quite disappears. This eloquent book is a personal companion for those left behind, a friend nudging us forward with compassion and wisdom to see below, behind, and beyond the limitations of our current understanding. Highly recommended for anyone who wishes to keep the heart open after losing a loved one in this way.”
—Christopher Germer, PhD, Clinical Instructor, Harvard Medical School, author of The Mindful Path to Self-Compassion

“An extraordinary piece of work. This book is tough to read and impossible to put down. Recovering from a loved one’s suicide requires nothing less than everything we have. We need courage and real tools to approach the wounded heart unflinchingly, with love and wisdom. Marilynne Chöphel and Robert Lesoine provide those real tools, abundantly. It is possible to start again. Reading Unfinished Conversation will prove that over and over.”
—Richard Heckler PhD, author of Waking Up, Alive

“Thank you for the courage to look into this well of darkness and despair plaguing modernity and the world as a whole. More importantly, thank you for your courage to excavate the tragic and for making it yield the healing gems hidden within. May this gift serve as a map and a guide to numberless people trapped in this dark landscape of sorrow, and longing to come home.”
—Malidoma Patrice Somé, author of Ritual and The Healing Wisdom of Africa

“A welcome interdisciplinary resource for addressing the devastating impacts of suicide that facilitates the all-important healing process of grieving.”
—Joseph Bobrow, PhD, Founder, The Coming Home Project, providing support for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, service members, and their families

“A wise, deep, and powerful book… pulsing with honesty… it offers a path through suffering to some resolution and understanding. The authors handle a difficult topic with Grace.”
—Fred Luskin PhD, Director, Stanford Forgiveness Project, author of The Nine Steps to Forgiveness

Unfinished Conversation is a wonderful and heartfelt book. You have put together an invaluable resource for people who have gone through similar painful healing journeys. With gratitude and admiration for all of your incredible work in the world.
—Angeles Arrien Ph.D., Cultural Anthropologist and Educator, author of The Four-Fold Way and The Second Half of Life.

“A comprehensive toolbox for managing the sudden, violent loss that is suicide. We need all the help we can get to stay sane in the face of suffering.”
—Marilyn Pittman, actor, radio host. Creator of the award-winning 2011 Off-Broadway production “It’s All The Rage”

“This is exactly the kind of book I was looking for when I experienced the heart-wrenching loss of my daughter to suicide fifteen years ago. Robert shares his personal journey through grief with a profound and anguished honesty. Unfinished Conversation offers hope for healing and the possibility that great suffering can be transformed. I recommend this thoughtful and heartfelt book to other survivors searching for a way through the dark valley of grief.”
—Nancy Coughlan, Bereaved Parents Support Group Facilitator

“Suicide strikes our hearts unlike any other loss, often leaving us feel- ing a unique incompleteness. Unfinished Conversation guides the reader through a structured journaling process that may help on the path from tragedy to transformation. The authors have combined their own learning with classical grief work to provide a very accessible tool kit to sup- port healing.”
—Frank Ostaseski, Founder, The Metta Institute and The Zen Hospice Project, author of Being a Compassionate Companion

“A gentle, clinically grounded, and prayerful process of self-reflection that leads to a promise of perspective. It can be for the survivor, as well as for the fellow traveler and professional guide. Through its wisdom and wealth of tools of transformation, it’s an invaluable gift, a fitting self- conversation partner on the road to healing and new life.”
—David A. Lichter, DMin, Executive Director, National Association of Catholic Chaplains

“A highly recommended book for people navigating the aftermath of suicide in search of meaning, healing, and freedom. It can be immensely useful for individuals who have lost loved ones by suicide, and those of us who accompany them—their family, friends, support group members, and counselors. The book is filled with many practical suggestions and universal understandings that are adoptable to one’s particular spir- ituality and situation. A book about freedom and the spirit of L’Chaim— To Life.”
—Chaplain Bruce Feldstein MD, Founder and Director of The Jewish Chaplaincy, Stanford University Medical Center

“A much-needed tool and source of hope for the family and friends of those who die from suicide, a valuable resource that addresses each of the challenges and each stage of grieving in a very moving, mindful way.”
—Janina Fisher PhD, Assistant Director, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Institute, and leader in the treatment of trauma

“Suicide (and other traumatic events) shatters the soul of the survivor. This warm, wise, and loving book will open many a door for people who have experienced significant loss and long for deep healing to restore their feeling of wholeness. Thank you for a beautiful and understanding work.”
—Bryan Wittine, PhD, Jungian Psychoanalyst

“A roadmap from tragedy, through recovery, to eventual healing. It com- passionately tackles a tough topic in a user-friendly, highly readable way. The authors have answered the call to address one of the biggest challenges facing our society today.”
—Stephen J. Johnson, PhD, MFT, Executive Director, The Men’s Center Los Angeles, author of The Sacred Path

“The emotional storm felt by family members after suicide, bewildering and profound, must be worked with over time until gradually a sense of acceptance occurs. The authors have given us a wonderful and poignant portrayal of this process along with a map that all of us can follow when we need one, whether dealing with suicide or some other personal loss, be it our own or helping someone else.”
—Gill Cryer MD, PhD, Director, Trauma/Emergency Surgery and Critical Care Program, UCLA Medical Center

“This creative intervention takes us on a journey of healing that is practical, accessible, and offers an abundance of compassion and wisdom for survivors and professionals, as well as students of the healing arts. The healing potential offered here is priceless!”
—Dean Chambers LCSW, Special Crisis Response Coordinator, Critical Care Manager, Alameda County Behavioral Health Care Services

“Just what we survivors need: a safe, enlightening, guided path into and through our fear and grief.”
—Beverly Cobain RN, author of When Nothing Matters Anymore and co-author of Dying to Be Free. Her cousin, Kurt Cobain, lead singer of the band Nirvana, died from suicide in 1994.

“A compelling account of one man’s personal journey depicting the human capacity to search and find meaning, love, and beauty in both life and death . . . even in the midst of great sorrow.”
—Jean Larch, co-author of Dying To be Free

“This book has the potential of informing prisoners considering suicide of the immense suffering of those they leave behind, and perhaps that can help to give them the courage to continue on—I hope so.”
—Sita Lozoff, co-founder, The Prison-Ashram Project and the Human Kindness Foundation

“A tremendous resource for those who are struggling to make sense of something that just doesn’t make sense. It explains the inexplicable, and brings comfort to those who are grieving, while allowing them to begin their own journey of grief and healing.”
—BJ Ayers, Executive Director and Founder, Grace for 2 Brothers Foundation

“Every year over 200,000 Americans suddenly, unwillingly, become the survivors of the suicide of someone they love. Their experience of grief is completely different and vastly more painful than for those people who grieve for other deaths. A helpful guide for what to expect at various stages and a set of strategies for handling these phenomena is a real gift for each of these people.”
—Eve R. Meyer, Executive Director, San Francisco Suicide Prevention

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