Sherry Walling - Touching Two Worlds: A Guide for Finding Hope in the Landscape of Loss

Praise for Touching Two Worlds

Touching Two Worlds communicates our mysterious human solidarity in painthe intimate twins of grief and love, two sides of a coin. The author offers a vulnerable and important in-the-moment vocabulary for those of us who are desperate in our grief within the context of our death-phobic society. I can only say thank you for this radical insight.

Jerry White,

corecipient of the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize and professor of practice, University of Virginia

Touching Two Worlds is a tremendous resource for anyone struggling to find their footing in the aftermath of loss. Ive spent my career helping clients heal from trauma and grief, and Im very grateful to have this book as an important new resource.

Michael Mithoefer, MD

senior medical director for Medical Affairs, Training and Supervision, MAPS Public Benefit Corporation

Sherrys deep insights on grief and loss serve as a healing, way-finding journey for so many of us unpacking the complex layers of grief.

Tracey Ivanyshyn

president of UPLevel Global and founder of Good Grief at Work

From experience, going through grief can be a lonely road, as most dont understand unless they have also experienced it. Dr. Sherry Walling is both a person with that experience and an expert in the subject. I am grateful she has decided to share her wisdom through this book.

Erik Huberman

founder and CEO of Hawke Media

An intimate window into the transformative power of grief, lovingly paired with healthy, practical coping strategies of how to care for yourself and others in lifes most sensitive times.

Michael Freeman

MD, founder of Econa and clinical professor of psychiatry, UCSF School of Medicine

Dr. Walling demonstrates how to cultivate resilience. Using a show, dont tell approach, her experience and her expertise help move the reader from overwhelm to groundedness.

JJ Virgin

New York Times bestselling author of The Virgin Diet

In Touching Two Worlds, Dr. Walling elegantly demonstrates how to lean into resilience. This work reflects the training of a trauma therapist and the openhearted vulnerability of someone who is unafraid of her humanness.

Dan Martell

entrepreneur and CEO of SaaS Academy

This book is an adept, gentle guide on how to love ourselves more openly through deep pain and loss. Dr. Walling is the very best possible advisor for the unwitting grief club.

Rev. Dr. Chris Erdman

pastor, author, and spiritual coach

Touching Two Worlds is a love letter to the departed and the bereaved, to Life and Death and Grief itself. On these pages, Sherry Wallings heart laid bare is our owncracked wide open with care and compassion, gently reminding us of love lost and found, here to honor our hurting, our healing, and to call us home.

Anita Stubenrauch

ex-Apple creative veteran, founder of The Land of Make+Believe, and founder of Cause:Effect Creative

Dr. Sherry Walling is a psychological rock star who takes you on a cosmic journey of love, death, and grief. Authentic. Bold. Vulnerable. She holds the center. And will help you find yours. Enjoy.

Matt House, DO

president and medical director of House Psychiatric Clinic

This is an extraordinarily helpful book. It is written by one of the few people that I trust with my mental health. I recommend this to anyone who is confronting a loss or major disruption.

Andrew Warner

founder of Mixergy

Along with providing tips and strategies throughout the book, the most impactful section is where Sherry promotes kindness and respect to those struggling with their mental health or substance use. Anyone who has lost someone to suicide will find a connection to this book.

Sue Aberholden

executive director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Minnesota

While grief is universal, few of us know how to do it well. In Touching Two Worlds, Dr. Walling offers practical, compassionate wisdom to help grieving people (and those who love them) feel less alone in the darkness.

Jordan Harbinger

host of The Jordan Harbinger Show

The reflection and embodiment practices offered here are hard-won, time-tested tools. Dr. Walling speaks directly and openly about real-life, applied strategies that have helped her to continue healing her own heart.

Casey Taft, PhD

staff psychologist, National Center for PTSD, VA Boston Healthcare System and professor, Boston University School of Medicine

Touching Two Worlds is a gift to be held with both hands, an open heart, and a recognition that we are not alone. As we stumble through a world soaked in pain, Dr. Sherry Walling reminds us that we are not alone. Bound by grief, we are connected in deep and true ways, an accompaniment that we may not have realized we needed but deserve nonetheless.

Erinn Farrell

cofounder and partner of The Coven

Dr. Walling has written a magnificent guide to grief and grieving. It will surely be a helpful companion to anyone suffering the loss or impending loss of a loved one. Each chapter reads like an opportunity to sit with a friend who deeply understands your pain, and who also has excellent plainspoken advice for getting through all the awful situations that grief puts you through.

Patrick Combs

Blisspreneur and master of story

Sherry Walling, PhD

Sounds True

Boulder, CO 80306

2022 Sherry Walling

Sounds True is a trademark of Sounds True, Inc.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner without written permission from the author and publisher.

Published 2022

Cover design by Jennifer Miles

Book design by Karen Polaski

BK06477

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Walling, Sherry, author.

Title: Touching two worlds : a guide for finding hope in the landscape of loss / Sherry Walling.

Description: Boulder, CO : Sounds True, 2022. | Includes bibliographical references.

Identifiers: LCCN 2021045094 | ISBN 9781683649670 (paperback) | ISBN 9781683649687 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: Walling, Sherry. | Walling, Sherry--Family. | Children of cancer patients--Biography. | Suicide victims--Family relationshipsBiography | Clinical psychologistsUnited StatesBiography. | Grief.

Classification: LCC BF575.G7 W3433 2022 | DDC 155.9/37dc23/eng/20211217

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021045094

For Tim and Dave.

And for you.

This book is from my broken heart to yours.