Invisible Loss

Recognizing and Healing the Unacknowledged Heartbreak of Everyday Grief

By: Christina Rasmussen

Narrated by: Christina Rasmussen

From an acclaimed grief educator and the author of Second Firsts and Where Did You Go? comes a road map to recognize and heal the unspoken, often misunderstood experience of everyday loss, so you can finally reenter and live your life in full.

“Compared to most, my problems are small. I should be happy with what I’ve got.” Our inner judge often tells us grief is “allowed” for big losses, but that we should tough out everyday heartbreak. The loss of a loved one and a devastating divorce are likely to be accepted as grief events. But what about moments when we feel overlooked, disregarded, or misunderstood? This could look like rejection in the workplace, lack of intimacy in a relationship, being overlooked by friends, or working in a position that’s not a dream job. “These are losses society doesn’t recognize, mirror back to us, or validate,” says acclaimed grief educator Christina Rasmussen. “As a result, we don’t recognize or validate them either.”

This unacknowledged type of grief—invisible losses that are often labeled as not worthy of recognition—can be hard to define and may surface as feelings of anxiety, depression, angst, or restlessness. These are the moments when we shift perception of ourselves and can end up living in continuous survival mode, without really recognizing or understanding why.

In Invisible Loss, Rasmussen shines a light on this unrecognized form of grief. Because we avoid invisible loss, we don’t process it; instead, we seek the protection of an endless “waiting room” in the hope that time will heal our wounds. Here, Rasmussen helps you meet your loss, free from shame or guilt, to explore:

• The origin of your invisible loss and how you’ve coped along the way

• The five life reentry phases based on the Life Reentry® Model

• Exercises to help you find your way out of the waiting room

• Guidance in reframing your thoughts toward your original self

“The entire world is silently grieving, attempting to process a form of heartbreak unlike anything we’ve ever experienced. We need a new language and road map for our invisible losses,” says Rasmussen. This guide gives you the tools you need in order to heal, move forward, and embrace the life you were meant to lead.

©2024 Christina Rasmussen (P)2024 Sounds True

Critic reviews

“Finally, a book about the kind of heartbreak that is so often dismissed or never even talked about. Christina takes the reader by the hand through this world of silent losses and helps them understand not only why they have been anxiously stuck in the past but how to find their way back to themselves.”—Leeza Gibbons, New York Times bestselling author and founder of Leeza’s Care Connection

“I think we’re surprised by how the ‘invisible’ can sometimes have the greatest impact on our lives. I’m thankful to Christina for lifting us all up by helping us bring the invisible to life and understand how we can all find our place as ‘watcher and thriver with a sprinkle of survivor’—a wonderful analog to crewmates having successful missions on a spaceship. By behaving like crewmates, not passengers, we have the power to create a future for ourselves and for all life on Earth that’s as beautiful as it looks from space.”—Astronaut Nicole Stott, author of Back to Earth

“If you feel stuck in the waiting room of a half-lived, wounded life, this book presents a strategy of self-discovery that takes you from surviving to thriving: out of the prison of your comfort zone and into the arms of the world.”—Justine Musk

Thoughtful, well researched, practiced and implemented study of the dreams that we lose in life and how to regain them

Clear understanding of what gets us stuck in life and how to overcome it. Well thought out and tested process for becoming a better version of ourselves.
Speaks from experience blended with education, science, research and common sense.