Books The Grieving Brain: The Surprising Science of How We Learn from Love and Loss  by Mary-Frances O'Connor (Author)

"The Grieving Brain: The Surprising Science of How We Learn from Love and Loss" by Mary-Frances O'Connor is a neuroscientific exploration of grief that explains how the brain processes and adapts to the loss of a loved one. The book distinguishes between grief—the intense emotion experienced after loss—and grieving, the ongoing process of adapting to life without the loved one. O'Connor describes grief as the brain's struggle to update a mental map disrupted by the absence of someone deeply bonded to us.

The brain's "object-trace cells" continue to register the presence of the deceased, causing ongoing emotional pain similar to physical pain. The book explains how grief involves rewiring the brain, which is why the process is often so draining and long-lasting. O'Connor introduces the dual process model of coping, which balances loss-oriented and restoration-oriented activities for emotional flexibility and effective grieving.