Forthcoming from Routledge · 2027
Synchronicity in Grief
Reconstructing Meaning After Loss
A scholarly and compassionate study of the meaningful coincidences that arise in the wake of loss — and what they reveal about how we rebuild meaning and stay bonded to those we love after they are gone.
About the book
The book weaves together Jungian theory, contemporary grief frameworks, and intimate accounts of synchronicity across diverse loss experiences — from pet loss to spousal bereavement, parent–child relationships, and beyond. Each chapter offers practical exercises that professionals can incorporate immediately into their work with grieving clients.
It provides a comprehensive model for understanding the interplay between emotion, cognition, and spirituality in grief, and offers tools for responding empathetically to clients’ reports of synchronistic experiences without pathologizing them. For coping, it shares techniques for working with the dead through active imagination, and strategies for navigating grief in a culture that often denies death.
The heart of it
A bird arrives at a precise moment. A monarch butterfly lands just as a grieving person silently asks a question that cannot be answered in words. The favorite song of someone who has died plays during a moment of profound vulnerability.
These moments are often fleeting, yet they carry an emotional and existential gravity that can establish a continuing bond with the deceased — and alter the trajectory of grief itself. This book takes them seriously, and asks what they mean.
Inside the book
- 1Introduction to Synchronicity in Grief
- 2Grief Theory in Synchronicity in Grief
- 3Synchronicity Catalyzes Meaning Reconstruction and Continuing Bonds
- 4Synchronicity in Birth Parent Loss
- 5Synchronicity in Pet Loss
- 6Synchronicity in Grandparent Loss
- 7Synchronicity in Parent Loss
- 8Synchronicity in Life Partner Loss
- 9Synchronicity in Grief: Conclusions
With a Foreword by Helen Marlo, PhD, Acknowledgments, and Index. Hardback, paperback, and ebook editions.
Who it’s for
A useful read for researchers and professionals working in bereavement therapy, and of interest to grief counselors, healthcare providers, pastoral counselors — and to the bereaved themselves.
About the author
Jennifer Hill, PhD, is an independent researcher affiliated with the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology at Sofia University in Palo Alto, California, and a special topics editor at the International Journal of Transpersonal Studies. When she is not writing and researching, she is an academic editor specializing in converting PhD dissertations into publications, including articles and books. In her free time she enjoys photography, art, hiking, and spending time in nature.
Follow the journey
The ideas — on Substack
I’m writing Meaning After Loss, a series on the book’s themes — synchronicity, grief, continuing bonds, and meaning. The first essay is live now.
Read the first essay →The making of it — behind the scenes
I’m documenting what it actually takes to bring a book into the world — production, copyediting, page proofs — on my portfolio blog.
Read the production diary →The patience of publishing. — Jennifer
ISBN 9781041251699 (hbk) · 9781041251705 (pbk) · 9781003745433 (ebk) · DOI 10.4324/9781003745433