At the age of 17, Hope Edelman lost her Mom to breast cancer. After she lost her Dad later in life, she turned her pain into inspiration, as she began a journey to better understand the confusing world of grief.

Her first book, "Motherless Daughters" was a number one New York Times best-seller, and now her latest book, "The After Grief", gives a brilliant insight into how we not only process grief, but how loss isn't something we just get over.

The BBC Radio Five Live presenter Tony Livesey, who lost his Mum suddenly, when he was just 13 said about Hope's book, that if he'd had a roadmap like this for dealing with grief, it would have changed his childhood.

So whether you're someone who's been recently bereaved, or is still struggling with loss from many years ago, or just want to understand grief a little more, than I know that Hope's story, insight and wisdom will help.

This interview gives all of us a little more undserstanding about a difficult and confusing aspect of life that one day, we are all going to face.

If you have been through life events similar to those described in this episode and you need someone to talk to, please contact the samaritans, free any time, from any phone, on 116 123

And if you'd like to share your thoughts with Simon, he'd love to hear from you:

Twitter

@SimonThomasSky