After Melody Beattie's twelve-year old son, Shane, died, she found herself cast into a new ''club'' - a circle of people who had somehow survived the heartrending loss of a child.''Most of us find ourselves joining clubs whether we want to or not,'' Beattie explains. ''Someone dies and we join the 'You Weren't Supposed to Go Away and My Heart Is Broken' Club. Or the phone rings and we're thrust into the 'Why Do I Have Cancer?' Club... There are the 'I'm a Financially Broken Man (or Woman) and the Empty Nester' clubs... We wait for life to be like it was, then one day we get it: Life as we know it is gone. It's never going to be the same again.Welcome to the club: The Grief Club.In The Grief Club - part memoir, part self-help book, part journalism - you will come to know about Beattie's experiences with death, divorce, and drug addiction. You will meet many others who have also endured tragedy and heartbreak. And you will, undoubtedly, see parts of yourself and your life reflected in the stories. That's how the club works. The secret for getting through life's losses, Beattie reveals, lies in joining the club and sharing your story with people who listen and care and understand. And, in turn, you will be there to listen, care, understand, and welcome others to The Grief Club.