Grief on the Road to Emmaus: A Monastic Approach to Journeying with the Bereaved by Beth L. Hewett (review)

Reviewed by: Grief on the Road to Emmaus: A Monastic Approach to Journeying with the Bereaved by Beth L. Hewett Susan Quaintance O. S. B. Grief on the Road to Emmaus: A Monastic Approach to Journeying with the Bereaved by Beth L. Hewett (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2023. Pp. 328. Paperback, 29. 95. ISBN 978-0-814-66804-7). Having spent ten years as a hospice volunteer, and over three times that long as a professed Benedictine, I was glad for the opportunity to review Grief on the Road to Emmaus: A Monastic Approach to Journeying with the Bereaved. A long-held intuition that the monastic tradition has an important contribution to make to the literature of human mortality (can it be otherwise when "Keep death daily before your eyes" rolls off monastic tongues so readily? ) whetted my eagerness to see what the author had to say. I was not disappointed. The book, both practically and theologically, has much to recommend it. The highest praise that I can give is that the text is grounded. Beth Hewett's understanding of the Rule and monasticism is solid. Using monastic values (i. e. listening, community, prayer) to frame her teaching on holistic bereavement facilitation, she succeeds in showing how professionals in the field might benefit from seeing their work in a monastic context. One of the key ways I judge an author's grasp of the Benedictine tradition is their approach to humility, and Hewett passes with flying colors. Chapter Six, "Humility Knows Its Place, " deals with more complicated grief (as it intersects with trauma and/or mental illness) and with ethics in the ministry of consolation. This section demonstrates a genuine comprehension of the foundational value, and she writes clearly about its place in the profession. "To be humble is to be willing to learn new ideas and strategies both from God and from others. Thus, we should become familiar with what experts have seen and said, using their wisdom to supplement our grief care. We should take training frequently, step back when overwhelmed, listen responsively to constructive feedback, and defer to those who know more than us sic (RB 7: 55) " (p. 186). Similarly her comments on the use of the Psalms in praying for and with the bereaved sound like they come not just from an academic understanding of the genre End Page 235 but from her own lived experience. She describes the Psalms as a way to "listen to and learn God's voice" (p. 160). How appropriate to offer the Psalms to the sorrowing to help them make their prayer a dialogue with the Holy. With this spiritual framework for the practice of bereavement facilitation, Hewett gives abundant practical advice. From Chapter One, where she provides exercises for a practitioner to assess his or her own experience of grief and mourning, to Chapter Eight where she lists valuable activities a ministry of consolation could provide, the author manifests a thorough grasp of the discipline. Each chapter is impressively footnoted, and readers will find many sources for further study. Information is current, and though the author writes from within Roman Catholicism, she is careful to consistently include approaches from other faith traditions, and how rituals can be adapted for secular practice. Additionally the book's structure is a strength. At the beginning of each chapter, after a personal story which highlights the theme of the section, Hewett provides a map for where the chapter is going. Each concludes with a tidy summary of the information it covered. (It is easy to see that, in addition to her bereavement ministry, the author has taught rhetoric for decades. ) This structure not only makes the book easy to read but ensures that it is a tool that a bereavement facilitator could keep close at hand, with the knowledge than an idea or source read about earlier could be found again with ease. While the book has much to recommend it, its audience is very specific. Most monastery libraries operate on a shoestring budget, and resources might be better spent on titles that would have a broader readership. However, as I read, I wondered if the book might not be a good. . .