Genre guide · Nonfiction
Grief & Loss: word count & book length
How long a grief & loss book should be, which trim sizes suit it and what that means in printed pages. Typical length: 40,000–70,000 words.
About grief & loss
Books that walk with readers through bereavement — memoirs of loss, guided journals and gentle companions for the first year. Shorter, warmer books often serve grieving readers best.
Printed length in recommended trim sizes
| Trim | Pages at 11 pt | Spine (white) |
|---|---|---|
| 5.5 x 8.5 in Digest | 144–248 pages | 0.32–0.56 in |
| 6 x 9 in US Trade | 128–218 pages | 0.29–0.49 in |
| 5 x 8 in | 174–294 pages | 0.39–0.66 in |
Page counts for these lengths
Tips for this category
- Consider a slightly larger type size: grieving readers often report difficulty concentrating.
- Include a resources page with helplines appropriate to your market.
- See our guide to writing about grief and loss.
About Grief & Loss
Grief is the response to the loss of something deemed important, in particular the death of a person or animal to which a bond or affection was formed. Although conventionally focused on the emotional response to loss, grief also has physical, cognitive, behavioral, social, cultural, spiritual, political and philosophical dimensions. While the terms are often used interchangeably, bereavement refers to the state of loss, while grief is the reaction to that loss. The grief associated with death is familiar to most people, but individuals grieve in connection with a variety of losses throughout their lives, such as unemployment, ill health or the end of a relationship.
From the Wikipedia article “Grief”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Most-published grief & loss works in Open Library
| Title | Author | First published | Editions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vita nuova | Dante Alighieri, Dante Gabriel Rossetti | 1829 | 231 |
| Rabbit, Run | John Updike | 1960 | 159 |
| Bridge to Terabithia | Katherine Paterson | 1972 | 103 |
| Looking for Alaska | John Green | 2005 | 69 |
| Life After Life | Raymond A. Moody | 1975 | 65 |
| Insurgent | Veronica Roth | 2011 | 64 |
| Vera | Elizabeth von Arnim | 1921 | 55 |
| Lisey's Story | Stephen King | 2006 | 53 |
| In memoriam | Alfred Lord Tennyson, Vernon Purinton Squires | 1850 | 49 |
| A Grief Observed | C. S. Lewis | 1961 | 44 |
Open Library lists 6,264 works under this subject.
Frequently asked questions
How long should a grief & loss book be?
What trim size is best for grief & loss?
Sources & data
- Subject statistics from Open Library.
- Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).