Grief is usually associated with death, but loss comes in many forms. A relationship that ends, a career that does not work out, a home left behind, a dream that quietly disappears, or even the loss of a sense of belonging can leave a person struggling to understand what comes next.
In Grief: Groundlessness, Restlessness, Introspection, Emergence, Flow, Srinath Sridharan looks at these less visible forms of loss and the emotional changes they bring.
Rather than treating grief as something that must be overcome, Sridharan presents it as an experience people gradually learn to live with. That approach gives the book much of its emotional weight. There are no promises of quick healing or neat closure. Instead, the focus is on understanding what grief does to the mind, memory, relationships and sense of self.
The book draws from Sridharan’s own experiences with illness, mortality, professional setbacks and unrealised dreams, while also bringing in ideas from psychology, spirituality and everyday life. This mix makes the subject accessible without reducing grief to a set of motivational lessons.
At the centre of the book is the G.R.I.E.F. framework, which divides the experience into five broad stages — Groundlessness, Restlessness, Introspection, Emergence and Flow.
Groundlessness captures the moment when life suddenly feels unfamiliar. Restlessness deals with the emotional turmoil that follows. Introspection is about looking inward and understanding what the loss has changed. Emergence marks the slow return of possibility and hope, while Flow is about learning to carry grief without allowing it to define everything that follows.
The framework gives structure to a subject that often feels chaotic. At the same time, the book does not suggest that grief follows a fixed timetable. People may move back and forth between emotions, or experience several of them at once.
One of the book’s more relatable ideas is that grief is not limited to dramatic or visible events. Some losses are deeply personal and may not even be recognised by others. The end of a friendship, a missed opportunity or the collapse of a long-held ambition can leave behind a sense of emptiness that is difficult to explain.
Sridharan also examines how grief can alter the way people see themselves. Loss can shake assumptions about identity, control and the future. In such moments, the book suggests, introspection can become a way of rebuilding meaning rather than simply returning to the life that existed before.
This is not a book that romanticises suffering. Its argument is more restrained: pain may not disappear completely, but people can find ways to move forward without denying what they have lost.
Sridharan is better known for his work in corporate governance, leadership and institutional resilience. He has advised business leaders and boards for over three decades and is a Visiting Fellow at the Observer Research Foundation. His earlier books include Family and Dhanda and Life’s 101 Greatest Secrets.
With Grief, however, he moves away from boardrooms and institutions to something far more personal.
The book ultimately makes a simple point: healing does not always mean forgetting, replacing or “getting over” a loss. Sometimes it means accepting that grief becomes part of the life that continues.
For readers dealing with change, disappointment or bereavement, Grief offers companionship more than prescription — and that may be its most useful quality.
Book: Grief: Groundlessness, Restlessness, Introspection, Emergence, Flow
Author: Srinath Sridharan
Price: ₹395
Pages: 240
