A book reading took place in Yellowknife Public Library (YPL)鈥檚 meeting room on May 26.

Dina Bell-Laroche鈥檚 new book, Grief Unleashed, was inspired by her own experience of losing her sister, Tracy, to cancer 22 years ago.

She said that for the first decade after her sister Tracy鈥檚 death, she was busy raising her children and growing her career, and did not give herself enough time to grieve. It was only later that she started to immerse herself in what had happened to her by reading her mother鈥檚 journals and going back to school to study grief and loss.

鈥淚t so resonates because what I found in my first stage of grief, I couldn鈥檛 pick up the pen,鈥� said Bell-Laroche. 鈥淚t鈥檚 emotional to even talk about this, and so it was only seven years after she died that I really started to immerse myself in what was happening to me. I did so by reading all of my mom鈥檚 journals that she had kept after Tracy was diagnosed with cancer.鈥�

She said that her book is organized into five chapters that detail her journey of grief and healing, and offer insights and resources for others who are bereaved or want to help someone who is.

鈥淚t helps us understand that loss is a universal human condition that we will all experience,鈥� she said. 鈥淟oss, like the death of someone you care about, it can be complicated. It can also be loss related to the shattering of a dream. It could also be the loss of a relationship, people who are divorced, it could be the loss of territory when you鈥檙e displaced.鈥�

She also said that grief can be complicated by factors such as trauma, stigma, or disenfrachisement.

The book invites readers to reimagine a new relationship with loss, and to become companions of each other when life goes sideways.

鈥淢y book is a way for people to maybe make sense of their inner experience,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd, hopefully, help them connect to themselves, and maybe relate to others as well, and learn how we can better companion each other when life goes sideways.鈥�

She said that companionship means to be present and witness each other鈥檚 pain, without trying to fix it or offer platitudes, and help us connect to ourselves, to others and to nature, which is where she found her healing.

Though this was not her first time being in Yellowknife, this was the first time she has ever hosted a book reading.