Author plans to talk about process of grieving

Recovery from grief is not a linear process, says an author, psychologist and Evans resident who will be host of a grief recovery workshop Saturday at the Church of Our Savior in Martinez.

Diana Davis, who wrote and illustrated her book Here to There, Grief to Peace, under the pen name Diana Jacks, said her intention is to gently guide readers through the turbulent emotions that follow loss. The workshop, which is free, will run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

"It's a workshop on grief recovery from any tragedy - losing your job, divorce, death, the death of a pet, anything that really strikes people hard," Davis said.

Davis, who also is a professional artist, based the book on a series of nine paintings that illustrate stages of grieving. Those stages are: Impact, Despair, Resolve, Struggle, Thinking Through, Finding One's Way, Blind-sided, True Strength and Peace.

"The crux is to inspire people coming out of a tragedy that they can survive it well, that others have and that this is basically how you do it," Davis said.

Davis wrote the book after a publisher saw her paintings and convinced her they would form the foundation of a guide, she said.

The book features the paintings on the cover and on perforated cards that are intended to be used as reminders, Davis said.

"The cards are meant to be punched out and moved around because it is my message that grief is very fluid," she said.

The path to moving beyond the grief is not smooth and does not come without setbacks, she said. A person who feels they have moved on one minute might be struck with sadness or anger by the loss the next, she said.

"The cards being moveable subtly gives the person validation that (changing emotions are) OK and that that's normal."

The title is reflective of what a person riddled with grief wants to have happen; they want to move from where they are to a peace they do not have, she said.

"This takes courage and tenacity ... (and) I found that when I do these workshops, people (are) inspired to work on their problems," Davis said.