The Handley Library branch is excited to be partnering with Blue Ridge Hospice to provide a new tabletop roleplaying game-based grief support program, “Adventures Through Grief!” Tap into your creativity, build interpersonal skills, and learn to train your dragons as their Grief Counselors and Music Therapists take on the role of Game Master to guide you on the task of navigating life after losing a loved one.   

Blue Ridge Hospice describes this program as “a new and innovative bereavement support program for … young adults who are coping with grief after the loss of a loved one.” Using a concept from Game to Grow, a nonprofit organization dedicated to using games to improve lives, the team hopes to allow participants to express their grief in indirect and non-threatening ways.  

“We want to innovatively serve young adults who feel socially isolated and want to process their grief but wouldn’t traditionally seek counseling,” said Christina Thomas, LCSW, Grief Support Counselor at Blue Ridge Hospice. “The creativity and social interactions that take place during our specialized tabletop RPG game will create a fertile ground for healing.” 

This program is for anyone ages 18 to 24 who is experiencing grief or loss. Join us every 4th Thursday of the month! No experience is needed, but registration is required. Click here to view the event in our calendar and register for the program.

Library Resources

If you like tabletop roleplaying games, you may enjoy these titles:

Gauntlgrym by R.A. Salvatore

How to Be More D&D : Face Your Dragons, Be More Adventurous, And Live Your Best Geeky Life by Kat Kruger

How to Slay a Dragon by Caitlin Stevenson

Rick and Morty vs. Dungeons & Dragons by Patrick Rothfuss

The Book of Random Tables: Quests 2: 1000 Adventure Ideas for Fantasy Tabletop Role-Playing Games by Matt Davids

Dungeons and Dragons, Vol. 1 by John Rogers

If you or someone you know has recently lost a loved one, you may be interested in these titles: 

Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner

Bearing the Unbearable : Love, Loss, and the Heartbreaking Path of Grief by Joanne Cacciatore

The Other Side of Sadness : What the New Science of Bereavement Tells Us About Life After Loss by George A. Bonanno

I Wasn't Ready To Say Goodbye : Surviving, Coping, and Healing After the Sudden Death of a Loved One by Brook Noel

The Orphaned Adult : Understanding and Coping With Grief and Change After the Death of Our Parents by Alexander Levy

It's OK That You're Not OK by Megan Devine

The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion