The Grief Experience Book Celebrates Two-Year Anniversary

About this event

Clifton Park, NY: Award-winning collaborative grief book The Grief Experience: Tools for Acceptance, Resilience and Connection is celebrating its two-year anniversary with a free, in-person community event featuring seven local authors on Sunday, February 8, from 1:00–3:00 PM at the Clifton Park-Halfmoon Library.

Since its release, The Grief Experience has received national recognition and widespread reader response. The book was named a 2024 International Book Awards Winner, received the 2025 Coalition of Visionary Resources Award in Grief, and became an Amazon Best Seller. These honors reflect both the quality of the writing and the deep need for compassionate, accessible grief resources.

Published in collaboration with Brave Healer Productions, The Grief Experience features 25 authors who openly share their personal experiences with grief, along with practical tools for coping. Each chapter explores a different type of loss, including traumatic grief, parent loss, child loss, infertility, cultural grief, anticipatory grief, and more, offering readers multiple points of connection rather than a one-size-fits-all model of grieving.

A significant portion of the book’s impact has been local. Eleven of the 25 contributing authors are from the Saratoga region, and together they have presented to hundreds of grieving individuals through workshops, community events, support groups, trainings, and public talks since the book’s release. These authors continue to bring grief education and support directly into libraries, counseling settings, and community spaces.

“The goal was never just to publish a book,” says lead author Kelly Daugherty, LCSW, FT. “It was to start conversations, normalize grief, and give people tools they could actually use. Seeing how this book has been used in real-world settings and how many people it has reached has been incredibly meaningful.”

The anniversary event will include author reflections, a moderated discussion, audience Q&A, and book signings. Attendees will also learn about grief-related resources available within the local community. The event is open to anyone who is grieving, supporting someone who is grieving, or interested in understanding grief more deeply.

Event Details:
Clifton Park-Halfmoon Library
Sunday, February 8
1:00–3:00 PM
Author discussion, Q&A, book signing, and community resources

About the Book:
The Grief Experience: Tools for Acceptance, Resilience and Connection is a collaborative grief resource created to validate the many ways people experience loss. Through honest storytelling and practical tools, the book offers readers connection, normalization, and support, meeting grieving individuals where they are, without timelines, stages, or expectations.