What's So Unique About This Book?

---

Two main things differentiate Navigating Hell from other grief books—it's written almost entirely in real time, and it involves a variety of overlapping losses in rapid succession. It chronicles primary, secondary and tertiary losses related to people, relationships, beliefs, trusts, jobs, directions, dreams, identities, normalcy and more. 

With only one exception (no spoilers), McKenna never advises a reader to "do this" or "do that." In this sense, Navigating Hell is a non-invasive journey.  It allows you to live each moment with her and silently relate to the degree you are comfortable. Every person and situation is different, and what a reader decides to do or not do is strictly their choice.

The format—which reads like a novel or screenplay—includes raw and uncensored depictions of thoughts, feelings and events. Italicized passages invite you inside McKenna's most private internal conversations and confessions. There are countless opportunities to say, “I can’t believe she admitted that, but I'm glad she did.” 

 One thing McKenna discovered by being a grief insider and a grief outsider at the same time is that the right way to help is almost always a moving target. That said, Navigating Hell may help you better understand someone who is grieving and identify possible ways to assist given your circumstances.

Navigating Hell includes even the most subtle twists and turns that often accompany tragedy and serve as indicators of grief's fingerprint. Every type of loss is different. Every process is different. Who we are before, during and after is different. Every person in the book has a story, and you will likely identify with many of them.

You don't have to be grieving to be drawn in. Navigating Hell is a powerful story of devastation, decision and survival, regardless. The potent blend of emotion and unpredictability makes it hard to put down.  If you are looking for a compelling summer read, this book checks that box, too.

Whether a reader is a Christian or non-Christian, Navigating Hell is relatable. In addition to the losses themselves, McKenna details the volatile spiritual struggles that accompanied them... 

And she doesn't hold back.

Loss forced McKenna to navigate tragedy in a variety of ways. Grief is an intensely private journey that no kind word, hug or good intention can shorten. However, Navigating Hell illustrates that life's ashes can be effective fertilizer.

There is a razor-sharp thread of imagery that spans from cover to cover and makes Navigating Hell exceptionally visceral. The story takes the reader from standing on the perfect mountaintop to freefalling down a pit to hitting bottom to climbing out and beyond.