By Jeanne Safer
240 pages; Basic

"It's not all bad news" writes psychotherapist Jeanne Safer, PhD, in her taboo-breaking first sentence, "The death of your parents can be the best thing that ever happens to you." That's not a no-more-tears prescription; it's a strategy for getting a payback from your pain. In Death Benefits (Basic), Safer tells how a midlife orphan can sort through memories, salvaging what heals, packing away guilt and resentment, perhaps even unearthing a legacy of love.

— Cathleen Medwick