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Sep 14

Books on Grief, Trauma, and Suicide

Posted on September 14, 2023 at 12:35 PM by Robyn Benda

Healing from Grief, Trauma, and Suicide

On September 10, 2023 the East Grand Forks Campbell Library spent the afternoon at Altu's TEARS (Together We Educate About the Realities of Suicide) annual Talk & Walk Event. We were able to bring many resources and partner with Lotus, Inc. Lotus, Inc. offers one-to-one individual support by a certified peer recovery specialist at the East Grand Forks Campbell Library and provides aid to members of our community facing struggles with substance use disorders. 

Here is a list of books we have at the library that can help you further understand and process the realities of suicide, grief, and trauma. 

Grief & Loss | Suicide | Trauma & Mental Illness | Books for Children


Books on Grief & Loss


57032570 Notes on Grief

by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

 Call Number: 155.9 ADICHIE 2021

 An exquisite work of meditation, remembrance, and hope, written in the wake of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's beloved father’s death in the summer of 2020


56912326It's Your Loss: Living with Grief is Hard, We Hope This Book Will Help

by Emma Hopkinson

Call Number: 155.9 DONALDSON 2021

Written by two women who experienced loss at a young age, this incredible grieving book will help you navigate any kind of loss, whether it’s the death of a loved one, the end of a relationship, or the loss of your job.


50891548Grieving is Loving: Compassionate Words for Bearing the Unbearable

by Joanne Cacciatore, PhD

Call Number: 155.937 CACCIATORE

In the style of a quote-a-day collection, this book from Wisdom’s bestselling author Joanne Cacciatore distills down the award-winning book Bearing the Unbearable into easy-to-access small chunks and includes much brand-new material, including new prose and poems from Dr. Jo and other sources as well.


34261775It's OK that You're Not OK: Meeting Grief and Loss in a Culture that Doesn't Understand

by Megan Devine

Call Number: 155.9 DEVINE

Megan Devine offers a profound new approach to both the experience of grief and the way we help others who have endured tragedy. Having experienced grief from both sides--as both a therapist and as a woman who witnessed the accidental drowning of her beloved partner—Megan writes with deep insight about the unspoken truths of loss, love, and healing.


59568630 A Hole in the World: Finding Hope in Rituals of Grief and Healing

by Amanda Held Opelt

Call Number: 204.42 OPELT 2022

In a raw and inspiring reflection on grief—selected by Publishers Weekly as one of the best books of the year—a mourning sister processes her personal story of loss by exploring the history of bereavement customs.


174015955 Hope and Healing During the Holidays After the Loss of a Loved One

by Jayne Flaagan

Call Number: 155.937 FLAAGAN 2014

Written for anyone grieving the loss of a loved one. Your loss may have been recent or many years ago. You may have lost someone to death, a separation or divorce. Whatever the time frame or reason for your grieving, this book will help you along the road to recovery.


Books on Suicide


9781640600638Reclaiming Life: Faith, Hope and Suicide Loss

Call Number: DVD 248.866 RECLAIMING

Each year, over one million people end their lives by suicide. All death unsettles us, but suicide causes a very distinct set of emotional, moral, and religious scars. It brings with it an ache, a chaos, darkness, a stigma that only one who has survived it can understand. Through powerful first-hand experience, this video offers hope to those who have experienced suicide loss.


55025421 Certain and Impossible Events 

by Candace Jane Opper

Call Number: 362.28 OPPER

Orbits the death of a fourteen-year-old boy who shot and killed himself a week after Kurt Cobain’s suicide had become international news. Haunted by the hazy circumstances around her classmate’s death, Candace Jane Opper takes a kaleidoscopic lens to the cultural history of suicide in America, unearthing an invisible network and revealing the ways that no individual suicide—well-known or hardly documented—exists in a vacuum.


36082755 Teens Talk about Suicide, Death, and Grieving

 edited by Jennifer Landau

 Call Number: 155.937 LANDAU

Losing a loved one is devastating at any age, but it can be especially trying for those going through the changes that adolescence brings. These engrossing stories offer first-person narratives of young adults coping with the death of someone close to them.


59891747Sinkhole: A Legacy of Suicide

by Juliet Patterson

Call Number: 362.280973 PATTERSON 2022

In 2009, Juliet Patterson was recovering from a serious car accident when she learned her father had died by suicide. His death was part of a disturbing pattern in her family. Her father’s father had taken his own life; so had her mother’s. Over the weeks and months that followed, grieving and in physical pain, Patterson kept returning to one Why? Why had her family lost so many men, so many fathers, and what lay beneath the silence that had taken hold?


33296283 What Made Maddy Run: The Secret Struggles and Tragic Death of an All-American Teen

by Kate Fagan

Call Number: 616.85 FAGAN

From noted ESPN commentator and journalist Kate Fagan, the heartbreaking and vital story of college athlete Madison Holleran, whose death by suicide rocked the University of Pennsylvania campus and whose life reveals with haunting detail and uncommon understanding the struggle of young people suffering from mental illness today.


54705911 The Beauty of What Remains: How Our Greatest Fear Becomes Our Greatest Gift

by Steve Leder

Call Number: 306.9 LEDER

As the senior rabbi of one of the largest synagogues in the world, Steve Leder has learned over and over again the many ways death teaches us how to live and love more deeply by showing us not only what is gone but also the beauty of what remains


Books on Trauma & Mental Illness


57927106The Healing Power of Storytelling: Using Personal Narrative to Navigate illness, Trauma, and Loss

by Annie Brewster, MD with Rachel Zimmerman

Call Number: 616.89 BREWSTER 2022

For patients, care providers, and anyone who has faced a traumatic or life-changing health event: a research-backed guide to reframing your story and reclaiming your life through narrative medicine. 


56385861Call of the Wild: How We Heal Trauma, Awaken Our Power, and Use It for Good

by Kimberly Ann Johnson

Call Number:155.9 JOHNSON

From trauma educator and somatic guide Kimberly Ann Johnson comes a cutting-edge guide for tapping into the wisdom and resilience of the body to rewire the nervous system, heal from trauma, and live fully.


58082213 Healing: Our Path from Mental Illness to Mental Heath

 by Thomas Insel, MD

 Call Number: 362.20973 INSEL 2022

As director of the National Institute of Mental Health, Dr. Thomas Insel was giving a presentation when the father of a boy with schizophrenia yelled from the back of the room, “Our house is on fire and you’re telling me about the chemistry of the paint! What are you doing to put out the fire?” Dr. Insel knew in his heart that the answer was not nearly enough. The gargantuan American mental health industry was not healing millions who were desperately in need. He left his position atop the mental health research world to investigate all that was broken—and what a better path to mental health might look like.


Books for Children


25322329 Death is Stupid

by Anastasia Higginbotham

Call Number: Easy 155.937 HIGGINBOTHAM

This forthright exploration of grief and mourning recognizes the anger, confusion, and fear that we feel about death—but refuses to succumb to banalities when talking about it. Necessary and beautiful, Death Is Stupid is an invaluable tool for talking about death, but also the possibilities for celebrating life and love.


51353321 Facing Death

by Stephanie Finne

Call Number: Easy 155.937

In this book, readers will learn about healthy ways to cope with the death of a loved one, the different stages of grieving, and ways to help others who are experiencing loss.


54720612Many Shapes of Clay: A Story of Healing

by Kenesha Sneed

Call Number: Easy SNEED

Eisha lives with her mother, a ceramic artist, who helps her make a special shape out of a piece of clay. The shape reminds Eisha of her father, of the ocean, of a lemon. As Eisha goes through her neighborhood doing errands with her mother, the piece of clay hardens and then shatters into pieces when Eisha taps it. In poignant and powerful words and pictures, Kenesha Sneed shows how Eisha learns to live with the sense of loss and of the joyful power of making something new out of what is left behind.


51955076 Mom's Sweater

 by Jayde Perkin

 Call Number: Easy PERKIN

What does it look like to live on, even when Mom is gone? In this grounded, sensitive story, a young girl looks for ways of dealing with the anger, loneliness, and jealousy that death can create. Finding comfort in her mother’s old sweater, she discovers that grief doesn’t necessarily grow smaller over time—but little by little, day by day, we can grow into grief.


24396881 The Goodbye Book

by Todd Parr

Call Number: Easy PARR

Through the lens of a pet fish who has lost his companion, Todd Parr tells a moving and wholly accessible story about saying goodbye. Touching upon the host of emotions children experience, Todd reminds readers that it's okay not to know all the answers, and that someone will always be there to support them. An invaluable resource for life's toughest moments.


60576116 Sitting Shiva

by Michelle Theodore

Call Number: Easy SILVER

When her friends and family arrive at her house to sit shiva, laden with cakes and stories, she refuses to come downstairs. But the laughter and memories gradually bring her into the fold, where she is comforted by her community. By the end of the book, she feels stronger and more nourished, and she understands the beautiful tradition.

Feb 24

2023 ALA Award Winners by Genesis Gaule

Posted on February 24, 2023 at 4:34 PM by Genesis Gaule

The American Library Association (ALA) recently announced their 2023 Youth Media Awards which honors books, videos, and other outstanding materials for children and teens. Here are this year's winners and honorees we have in our catalog!

Looking for past award winners? Check out our posts for the 2021 and 2022 award winners.

Jump to: Children's | Junior | Teen / YA


Children's Books


Theodor Seuss Geisel Award

Given to the author(s) and illustrator(s) of the most distinguished American book for beginning readers.

2023 Award Winner: I Did It! 

written and illustrated by Michael Emberley

Learning to ride a bike is hard. Can I do it? Yes, I can! A fun comic that kindergarteners and first graders can read on their own.
Easy Reader Blue // Ages 4 - 8

GEISEL HONOR BOOKS:

a seed grows

  • Fish and Wave written and illustrated by Sergio Ruzzier
    An I Can Read Comic // Easy Reader Blue // Ages 4 - 8
  • Gigi and Ojiji written and illustrated by Melissa Iwai
    An I Can Read Book // Easy Reader Green // Ages 4 - 8
  • A Seed Grows written and illustrated by Antoinette Portis
    * Robert F. Sibert Informational Book (2023 Honor)
    Easy Nonfiction // Ages 4 - 8

Pura Belpré Award for Illustration

Given to a Latino/Latina illustrator whose work best portrays, affirms, and celebrates the Latino cultural experience in an outstanding work of literature for children and youth.

where wonder grows

2023 Award Winner: Where Wonder Grows

written by Xelena González, illustrated by Adriana M. Garcia

A lyrical and stunning picture book about a grandmother bonding with her granddaughters as she teaches them how much they can learn from nature just by being curious.
Easy // Ages 3 - 7

PURA BELPRÉ HONOR BOOK: a seed grows

  • A Land of Books illustrated and written by Duncan Tonatiuh
    Easy Nonfiction // Ages 4 - 8

More Children's Honor Books:

  • Choosing Brave by written by Angela Joy, illustrated by Janelle Washington
    * Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal (2023 Honor)
    * Randolph Caldecott Medal (2023 Honor)
    * Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Author Award (2023 Honor)
    Easy Nonfiction // Ages 6 - 10
  • berry songBerry Song written and and illustrated by Michaela Goade
    * Randolph Caldecott Medal (2023 Honor)
    Easy // Ages 4 - 8
  • Nana, Nenek & Nina by written and illustrated by Liza Ferneyhough
    * Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature Picture Book (2023 Honor)
    Easy // Ages 4 - 8
  • Kapaemahu written by Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu, Dean Hamer and Joe Wilson, illustrated by Daniel Sousa
    * Stonewall Honor Book for Children’s Literature (2023 Honor)
    Easy Folklore // Ages 4 - 8
  • in the blueIn the Blue written and illustrated by Erin Houriganand
    * Schneider Family Young Children Honor (2023 Honor)
    Easy // Ages 4 - 8
  • The Talk illustrated and written by Duncan Tonatiuh
    * Coretta Scott King Book Award: Youth Author (2023 Honor)
    Easy // Ages 4 - 8
  • Sitting Shiva written by Erin Silver, illustrated by Michelle Theodore
    * Sydney Taylor Award from the Association of Jewish Libraries: Picture Book (2023 Honor)
    Easy // Ages 3 - 5

Junior Books


John Newbery Medal (1) & Coretta Scott King Author Award (2)

(1) For most distinguished contribution to American literature for children.
(2) Given to outstanding African American authors that demonstrate an appreciation of African American culture and universal human values.

2023 Award Winner: Freewater

by Amina Luqman-Dawson

After fleeing the plantation where they were enslaved, siblings Ada and Homer discover the secret community of Freewater, and work with freeborn Sanzi to protect their new home from the encroaching dangers of the outside world.
Junior // Ages 8 - 12

NEWBERRY HONOR BOOKS: a seed grows

  • Iveliz Explains It All written by Christina Soontornva
    Easy Nonfiction // Ages 10 - 14
  • The Last Mapmaker written by Christina Soontornvat
    Easy Nonfiction // Ages 8 - 12
    * A Walter Dean Myers Honor Book for Teen Readers

Mildred L. Batchelder Award

For outstanding children's books originally published in a foreign language in a foreign country and subsequently translated into English.

2023 Award Winner: Just a Girl: A True Story of World War II

originally published in Italian written by Lia Levi, illustrated by Jess Mason

1938, Italy. Six-year-old Jewish girl Lia grows up during a difficult time of racial discrimination and war, and discovers light in unexpected places. A classic, powerful story adapted for young readers, with beautiful black-and-white illustrations, family photo album, and author’s note.
Nonfiction // Ages 8 - 12


Asian/Pacific American Award for Children's Literature

To honor and recognize individual work about Asian/Pacific Americans and their heritage, based on literary and artistic merit.

2023 Award Winner: Maizy Chen’s Last Chance

by Lisa Yee

Eleven-year-old Maizy visits her estranged grandparents, who own and run a Chinese restaurant in Last Chance, MN; as her visit lengthens, she makes unexpected discoveries about her family's history and herself.
Junior // Ages 8 - 12

* John Newbery Medal (2023 Honor)


Pura Belpré Children’s Author Award

Given to a Latino/Latina writer whose work best portrays, affirms, and celebrates the Latino cultural experience in an outstanding work of literature for children and youth.

2023 Award Winner: Frizzy

written by Claribel A. Ortega, illustrated by Rose Bousamra

Marlene's--a young Dominican girl--greatest enemy is the hair salon! Through her struggles and triumphs, this heartwarming and gorgeous middle-grade graphic novel shows the radical power of accepting yourself as you are, frizzy curls and all.
Junior Graphic Novel // Ages 9+

PURA BELPRÉ AUTHOR HONOR BOOK: a seed grows

  • Tumble written by Celia C. Pérez
    Junior // Ages 4 - 8

Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal

For most distinguished informational book for youth.

2023 Award Winner: Seen and Unseen

written by Elizabeth Partridge and illustrated by Lauren Tamaki

This important work of nonfiction features powerful images of the Japanese American incarceration in America during World War II captured by three photographers—Dorothea Lange, Toyo Miyatake, and Ansel Adams—along with firsthand accounts of this grave moment in history.
Nonfiction // Ages 10+

* Winner of the BolognaRagazzi Award for Photography
* Named a Best Book of the Year by Booklist, Kirkus Reviews, School Library Journal, New York Public Library, Chicago Public Library, and others


More Children's Honor Books:

  • In the Key of Us by written by Mariama J. Lockington
    * Stonewall Book for Children’s Literature (2023 Honor)
    Junior // Ages 8 - 12
  • Honestly Elliott written by Gillian Dunn
    * Schneider Family Book Award: Middle Grade (2023 Honor)
    Junior // Ages 8 - 11 
  • Hummingbird by written Natalie Lloyd
    * Schneider Family Book Award: Middle Grade (2023 Honor)
    Junior // Ages 8 - 12

Teen / YA Books


Young Adult Library Services Association Excellence in Young Adult Nonfiction Award

Honors the best nonfiction book published for young adults.

2023 Award Winner: Victory. Stand!: Raising My Fist for Justice

written by Tommie Smith and Derrick Barnes, illustrated by Dawud Anyabwile

On October 16, 1968, during the medal ceremony at the Mexico City Olympics, Tommie Smith, the gold medal winner in the 200-meter sprint, and John Carlos, the bronze medal winner, stood on the podium in black socks and raised their black-gloved fists to protest racial injustice inflicted upon African Americans. In his first-ever memoir for young readers, Tommie Smith looks back on his childhood growing up in rural Texas through to his stellar athletic career, culminating in his historic victory and Olympic podium protest.
Nonfiction Graphic Novel // Ages 8+ // e-book only

* Coretta Scott King Award: Author and Illustrator (2023 Honor)
* A School Library Journal Best Book of 2022
* Finalist for the 2022 National Book Award for Young People's Literature
* A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year
* A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year
* A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year
* A Booklist Best Book of the Year
* A Horn Book Fanfare Title

YALSA NONFICTION HONOR BOOK: a seed grows


Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature

Given to a book that exemplifies literary excellence in young adult literature.

2023 Award Winner: All My Rage

written by Sabaa Tahir

Growing up as outcasts in the small desert town in California, best friends Salahudin and Noor understand each other the way no one else does. Until "The Fight", which destroys their bond with the swift fury of a star exploding. What is their friendship worth—and what will it take to defeat the monsters in their pasts and the ones in their midst? A brilliant, unforgettable, and heart-wrenching contemporary novel of young love, family and forgiveness, love and loss, in a sweeping story that crosses generations and continents.
Young Adult // Ages 14 - 17

* National Book Award for Young People’s Literature (2022 Winner)


Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Author Award

To affirm new talent and to offer visibility to excellence in writing and/or illustration by African American authors and illustrators that reflect the African American experience.

2023 Award Winner: We Deserve Monuments

written by Jas Hammonds

What's more important: Knowing the truth or keeping the peace? When seventeen-year-old Avery moves to rural Georgia to live with her ailing grandmother, she encounters decade-old family secrets and a mystery surrounding the town's racist past. Family secrets, a swoon-worthy romance, and a slow-burn mystery collide in a YA debut that explores how racial violence can ripple down through generations.
Young Adult // Ages 14 - 18

* A School Library Journal Best Book of 2022
* A Kirkus Best Books of 2022
* A Parents Magazine Best Books of 2022
* People magazine's Best Children's Books of 2022


Alex Awards:

Given to ten books written for adults that have special appeal to young adults, ages 12 through 18.


More Teen Honor Books:

  • The Summer of Bitter and Sweet written by Jen Ferguson
    * Stonewall Honor Book for Young Adult Literature (2023 Honor)
    * William C. Morris YA Debut Award (2023 Finalist)
    Young Adult // Ages 13 - 17
  • The Silence that Binds Us written by Joanna Ho
    * Asian/Pacific American Award for Youth Literature Honor (2023 Honor)
    Young Adult // Ages 14 - 17
  • Ain’t Burned All the Bright illustrated by Jason Griffin, written by Jason Reynolds
    * Randolph Caldecott Medal (2023 Honor)
    Young Adult // Ages 12+


Feb 10

Matchmaking at the Library by Vanesa Gomez

Posted on February 10, 2023 at 12:17 PM by Genesis Gaule

What do librarians and Tinder have in common? We’re both matchmakers! Though, instead of an awkward first date, you’ll get a potential new favorite book. 

Our staff are always eager to set you up with your next great read. Our displays are great ways to find new books that fit a certain theme, with a variety of tropes and themes to pick from. We also have book lists on the Libby app to help pair you with the perfect eBook or eAudiobook based on your previously read authors. Here are some other ways to find your next NFB (New Favorite Book).

Blind Book Recommendation:

The bookseller website Brilliant Books has put together this amazing list of book recommendations that allows you to pick a book based on your tastes. They have varying descriptions of the book with increasing amounts in detail. If there is a title that piques your interest, you can always check our catalog to see if we carry the book!

Twenty Questions Game:

Looking for a more personalized recommendation? Ask our librarians for help and we’ll ask you a series of questions to get a better idea of what you might like. There are so many sub genres, and it can be hard to find what you are looking for if you haven’t identified what you gravitate towards.

Don’t judge a book by its cover!

While it may be tempting to always reach for the shiny new arrivals with pretty covers, it can be a hit or miss method for choosing books. I recommend looking through the shelves and picking up some of the soft covered and well worn books that have creased pages. These books tend to be loved over the years by many different people, and I have read some of the most thought provoking and heartstring tugging books this way.

Read outside of your usual age level:

Nothing gets me out of a reading rut than reading books outside of the adult reading level. Whether it’s a popular Junior graphic novel, new middle grade fantasy series, or an old collection of nonfiction picture books, there’s just something about giving your brain a break and letting your curiosity about a subject grow! Plus it gives you some fun facts to tell at parties.

What book will you swipe right on next?