Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for the digital ARC of this book.

I have had so much loss the last few years that I pretty much feel numb, but the simplest things will send me into a crying fit. I lost my dad 12 years ago, my youngest brother and mother late 2020, my sister in 2023, and my husband Nov. of 2023. Along with family losses there have been six close friends who have also passed in the last 3 years.

I feel like I will grieve for the rest of my life and in some ways, I believe we all do.

This book is such a warm, heartfelt read. It comes from the heart of one of my favorite thriller writers, and makes me understand how she is able to express so much emotion in her fiction stories. This is a book that I will reread many times. Infact, I plan to get the audio version because I love to have others read to me. This book really spoke to me and gives me hope that life with grief is possible.

Beautifully written book about the grieving process and how it affected the author. While everyone experiences grief differently, this book deals with the heart wrenching pain and finding hope and healing. I would recommend this book to everyone, especially if they are dealing with loosing a loved one.

Clare Mackintosh is one of my favorite authors and normally writes the best books that weaves a story that grips you from the start. This was something so different from her and it was extremely heartbreakingly raw to hear her tell the story of her losing her child at just five weeks. This is such a well written memoir with a lot of great information about how she dealt with the grief and moving forward.
There are 18 assurances in this book and each chapter will go through each one and how it applied to her and how it helped. Along with providing other items that helped her move on in her grief.

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks for an ARC copy. Anyone that is dealing with grief in any way should purchase this book and see if it too will help.

This book was beautifully written and so vulnerable. I appreciated reading her journey with grief and her journey. I would definitely recommend for anyone going through grief whether it’s the same as Clare’s or different.

When I saw this book was available on NetGalley I really hesitated about picking it up. My husband had recently died and I was afraid it would be too much or too soon or a bad fit in some way. On the other hand, it seemed like it might be the exact right book at the exact right time. It was.

It helped me to see that I wasn't the only one absolutely undone by what I was experiencing. I really can not thank the author for taking the time and having the courage to put this down on paper. I will be grateful forever.

I received a free copy of, I Promise It Won't Always Hurt Like This, by Clare Mackintosh, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
This work reads like a hybrid of a memoir and self-help book.
The author shares very vivid accounts of her experience right alongside the progression of those feelings and how resolve/ dissipation/lessening or those feelings might occur on one's journey.
I appreciate the author sharing specific recall of certain feelings and the presentation of those emotions through day-to-day life.
Through this read, the language and tone used brought me to feel as though I was being spoken to directly.

“I Promise It Won’t Always Hurt Like This: 18 Assurances on Grief” was written by Clare Mackintosh. Clare lost her son 18 years ago and has gotten to a point in her grief where she can provide support for others who are navigating loss and grief. This excellent resource can be read multiple times based on where one is in their journey. This book is certainly not for everyone. However, the author gives excellent, heartfelt advice that can be used immediately or tucked away. Clare is honest about her experiences and grief itself. How one handles grief is not linear, and Clare gives readers permission to navigate their feelings the best way they can. Although she states forgetting is part of the grief process, Clare encourages those dealing with grief to hold onto the memories of those they've lost and maintain connections as much as they see fit. Grief is tough, and it may be hard to believe that it won't always hurt, but Clare reassures readers there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and they will make it to the other side.

"You got up. You found your footing again and you kept going."

Thank you, Clare Mackintosh, Sourcebooks, and NetGalley, for the e-ARC. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Clare Mackintosh is a fiction writer who lost her son 18 years ago. This is her personal grief journey written creatively into 18 promises or topics. You can read the book cover to cover, like I did, or choose promising subjects that appeal to where the reader is on their own grief journey. I found Clare's history and experience with grief, as well as her writing style to be very comforting. I cried plenty while reading this, but I also felt comfort and hope. Above all I felt completely understood and normal. This is a short book and I read it one chapter a day so as not to be overwhelming, as the topic of grief can often be for me. I am thankful she chose to share wisdom that worked for her.

I would recommend this book to anyone who has lost a loved one, should they be looking for such a resource. My biggest takeaway from this book, as well as my own experience, is how important it is to see or sit with people's grief. To allow it to be and not try to fix it. To listen and hear the stories of their loved ones. To ask their loved ones name. Most of all I know there is no timeline for grief and that people are walking around looking fine, but it is important to remember they might not be, and that empathy and acknowledgement goes a long way.

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I Promise It Won't Always Hurt Like This
by Clare Mackintosh
Pub Date: 01 Mar 2024

Thank you #Sourcebooks and #NetGalley for an E-ARC of author Clare Mackintosh's book, " I Promise It Won't Always Hurt Like This ". This book is a very emotional topic, grief. Almost everybody has had some significant loss in their life, whether it would be loss of parent, spouse, child, friend or even the loss of a beloved pet.

Loss affects everybody differently. Clare describes her loss of her child, how it affected her, and what helped her get through it. It was very hard for me to read as I'm going through grief right now but it was very helpful. I would suggest anyone going through grief to read it when they are at a point they are ready to handle this subject.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for gifting me a digital ARC of this wonderful book by a favorite author, Clare Mackintosh - 5 stars!

Clare and her husband lost their baby boy, Alex, at the age of 5 weeks. His twin survived but that didn't lessen the overwhelming grief they experienced and continue to experience. This book is inspired by a twitter post she wrote on the anniversary of Alex's death that went viral, stating 18 promises to those grieving.

We are all in various stages of grieving, especially as we get older. While I can only imagine the pain of losing a child, grief hurts whether it is for a parent, a spouse, a friend, a pet. This is the book that will bring you hope and give you strength. It isn't preachy and gives you permission to go through it in whatever way works best for you. But knowing that someone has walked the walk and come out on the other side is comforting. It's also a guide for knowing what to do and what not to say to others. This is a book that I will buy for myself and others. Mackintosh's first book, I Let You Go, is still one of my all time favorite books, and I've read all her others, but this book allowed me to get a glimpse of the person behind those books., and it was a privilege. Highly recommended and a must read for all of us!

This was a thoughtful reflection on grief, smartly based on the authors social media posting. It's brief and therefore not a huge lift or burden to read if you are the middle of grief

“I Promise it Won’t Always Hurt Like This - 18 Assurances on Grief” by Clare Mackintosh is a great resource for anyone going through the stages of grief. The author shares like a friend talking to you. She hits on so many universal experiences that when you’re in the throws of grieving feel like it’s going to last forever or you’re the only one in the world feeling/thinking something. I like how it’s broken up into stages so you can read just what applies at the time. It gives the reader the ability to really focus on what they are going through. I highlighted so many profound statements as I was reading it.

I don’t have fresh grief though 2017-2020 were filled with loss so I remember being in the darkness of grief that rocks you to your core & puts you in a pit that feels like will never surface from. We lost 5 aging pets (who are loved like any member of our family) & my Dad passed in late 2019. The loss of a parent really lingers with you. Even after 5 years it can sneak back up on me in random moments that i would have called or done something with Dad. He will forever be missed. All our animals are loved so much. That loss hurts so deeply. This book would have been tremendously helpful during that time.

I’ve been a fan of some of Clare Mackintosh fiction books. She really has a gift for writing nonfiction too.

Thank you NetGalley for the advance copy.
Publish date is March 1, 2024.
This book will make a thoughtful gift to a friend who has lost someone or have on hand in your own library.

#netgalley #claremackintosh #ipromiseitwontalwayshurtlikethis

This one will absolutely break you. So, come in with a box of tissues and get ready to cry it out. The author gives incredibly wonderful advice on grief. This is a book that I would give to anyone grieving. It's heartbreaking but so needed. Very well done.

Hello, yes. This was an amazing book. At this point I am not grieving, but I believe when I get to a point where I am, this book will be a reread for me. I can see myself and others coming back to this book over and over again for help. I will say, I wept a few times in the very beginning. Seeing that I did just have a baby, hearing about her loss was a lot for me. I would recommend this to ANYONE though.

An honest and straightforward story of the author's grief journey. Most of us will experience grief through different losses and each will pile upon the previous one and you can feel like you are drowning. Clare's 18 Promises is a sensitive and encouraging look at navigating loss. Highly recommend for anyone who feels "stuck" in their grief or just needs reassurance that you will be okay.

Many thanks to NetGalley and SouceBooks for this ARC!

Most of us have not made it to adulthood without suffering some type of loss of life. Sometimes it’s a grandparent that’s lived a long life, sometimes it’s a child who died before experiencing barely any life at all and sometimes it’s somewhere in between. The author tells her story and stages she went through when her son died at 5 weeks old. She reminds us that grief can look different for everyone, but whatever your grief looks like is ok and it will change over time. She also talks about ways she handled interacting with other people. This part spoke to me from being the grieving person and the person speaking with someone who is grieving. She says “We can’t control what other people are going to say, but we have total autonomy over our own words. Your choice. Your conversation. Your grief.” I think this is an inspiring read no matter where you are in your grief process and I thank Clare Mackintosh for sharing her journey. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

I have read several of Claire Mackintosh's books so when I was asked if I wanted an ARC of her latest book, I didn't hesitate to say yes. I didn't read the blurb and didn't pay that much attention to the title, nor did I see the subtitle. This book was not what I was expecting, but this was the book I didn't know I needed.

Claire Mackintosh writes about grief in this book. The grief of losing a child. I cannot recommend this book enough to anyone who is experiencing grief. I lost both parents within eight months of each other and lost a brother while reading this book. The author has 18 Assurances on Grief and writes a chapter about each one. I typically do not highlight sections of books while writing, but I highlighted numerous sections of this book. If you, or anyone you know, is suffering from grief, I urge you to get a copy of this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for the copy of this book.

Very emotional read! As someone who recently lost my grandmother to a very aggressive type of cancer, I have been struggling with how to cope with the loss and grief in the situation. This book felt like a step in the right direction. Grief is such a personal yet universally shared emotion and it can be so hard to navigate that space. I think Clare did an amazing job with handling grief in this very personal book, without being too "you should grieve like this" because as she says it's different for everyone and that will never go away, only change,

Thank you to the publisher for the copy - all opinions are my own.

This is a truly beautiful book and a piece of work that will be invaluable to anyone navigating the complicated and complex channels of grief. Clare knows this path all too well, and her shared insights and thoughts are gorgeously written and beautifully impactful.

I Promise It Won’t Always Hurt Like This is both a memoir that validates the experience of grief, and a guide to walking through grief and finding that, though the loss will always be apart of you, there is still joy, still hope, and still a life to be lived.

Clare Mackintosh tragically lost her son at five weeks old. This book is a compilation of 18 promises/assurances to those who’ve experienced the death of a loved one. The promises are broken up into individual chapters, each offering personal anecdotes, insight, and reassurance that it really won’t always hurt like this. There is practical advice in the book, with the acknowledgement that grief is not a one size fits all, and thus healing isn’t either. What works for some will not work for all— but the pain of grief is universal. The aftermath of a loss— trying to find your footing in a world that still moves even when your life has stopped, is a universal experience.

This is well written and thoughtful— an ode to two things existing at once: grief and joy, loss and hope. I will definitely be adding this book to my list of recommendations to clients in my work as a psychotherapist.

Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.