QUEERING THE STAGES OF GRIEF
COMING FALL 2026
Grieving Differently
QUEERING THE STAGES OF GRIEF
Grief follows no rules or timeline.
So what keeps us pretending it does?
In Grieving Differently, professional grief coach and ordained pastor, Timoth Sylvia challenges the familiar stages of grief by queering them, shifting perspective, questioning who they were meant to serve, and wondering what they might look like when viewed from the edges. He also offered an additional stage - Coming Out - highlighting the unique way the queer community can help all people grapple with grief.
Written after the sudden death of his husband, Peter, this deeply personal and thought-provoking book explores how grief reshapes identity, love, and becoming. By queering grief, Sylvia empowers readers to reject rigid timelines, reclaim their truth, and discover new ways of living with loss.
MORE THAN STAGES
A NEW WAY TO UNDERSTAND GRIEF
This book expands the traditional framework by offering a seventh stage - Coming Out - recognizing the transformative nature of identity in the grieving process.
Inside you'll explore:
- The limitations of the traditional stages
- How grief and identity are deeply connected
- Why queer wisdom can help all of us grieve
- Ways to honor love that continues to shape us
- How to live with loss without losing ourselves
- Finding meaning beyond closure
Queering grief is not only reframing what we've been taught about the stages of grief.
It is about reshaping the way we hold one another
as we journey through them.
WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING
Grieving Differently is a tender, thoughtful exploration of loss, love, identity, and survival.
Timoth Sylvia brings deep honesty and compassion to the grieving experience while gently expanding the ways we think about grief and healing. This book offers comfort, companionship, and meaningful reflection for anyone navigating profound loss.
- Claire Bidwell Smith,
author of Conscious Grieving
“
In Grieving Differently, Rev. Timoth gently guides readers through the challenging and difficult terrain of grief, reminding us that there is no correct way to grieve, but what's most important is to meet ourselves with compassion and kindness regardless of how the process unfolds.
- Sharon Salzberg,
author of Lovingkindness and Real Life
“
“
In a world that rushes us past our pain, Grieving Differently invites us to linger. Timoth writes with a rare kind of courage - naming grief in its rawest forms while holding fast to a faith that does not deny suffering, but dwells within it. These pages do not offer resolution so much as presence, and in that presence, something sacred begins to unfold.
- Reverend Sam Houser,
bestselling author of Queering the Psalms
and No Longer Keeping the Peace
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