LITERARY TITAN AWARD

"We will always carry the people we love most with us throughout our lives. It took a while for Judy Lipson to figure this out and not feel overwhelmed; even seeing people who knew her sisters was a harsh reminder of their passing. Lipson grew up tight-lipped, unable to express her grief for over thirty years. Lipson writes about losing her sisters, one to an accident and the other to a long, hard battle with mental illness. With this book, Lipson hopes to connect with people who feel the same inability to grieve their loss and help them.

The bond between siblings is a powerful thing. In Judy Lipson's Celebration of Sisters: It's Never Too Late to Grieve, we learn of Lipson's greatest tragedies and the grief she has over losing two of the most important people in her life, and the journey she has taken to heal from their loss. The book starts with the harrowing stories of Jane and Margie's deaths. Lipson's grief is palpable through her strong writing; her readers will feel the hard, cold reality of her loss. Starting with the loss of her sisters, Lipson helps readers to slowly understand her upheaval and why it took so long for her to find help.

Lipson shares memories from her childhood. These heart-warming stories relieve the depressing atmosphere of the book and encourage readers to continue with Lipson through her journey of healing. This is a very emotional story that will certainly tug at the heart. Readers will be overcome with empathy, but the story is ultimately uplifting.

Lipson's story of the passing of her sisters creates a strong foundation for the story structure. As we continue on to the beginning of Lipson's life, working our way through her childhood and slowly into adulthood while revisiting her sisters' deaths; this creates an almost half biography/diary sort of structure that is a bit chaotic, at times jumping around the timeline of Lipson's life, but otherwise engaging. While I enjoyed all the memoires that Lipson shares throughout this impassioned memoir, I felt that some of the memoires were repeated, which sometimes helped to reaffirm the scene but other times it felt repetitious.

I found this book to be a heart-aching reminder of my own loss. As a very empathetic person, I could not help but shed a few tears when I read about Margie and Jane. Even though this was an emotionally difficult book to read, I would recommend it to anyone who struggles with the grief of losing loved ones.
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Celebration of Sisters is a sentimental view into the life of someone who experienced tragedy and came out the other side to tell her story, and the story of those that are now gone. Readers who are looking for an emotionally honest and engrossing biography will find this book hard to put down."
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"What a great book!" - Library Titan

Coming Soon

My essay Celebration of Sisters is included in the anthology.

Endorsements

"I'm so grateful this collection exists. It is validating to read about siblings' experiences with grief and love in their own words. As beautiful as it is heartbreaking, this collection is evidence that sibling love lasts a lifetime - and far beyond." –Annie Sklaver Orenstein, Author of Always a Sibling: The Forgotten Mourner’s Guide to Grief

“I have scoured the internet for resources for my clients who are experiencing sibling loss. I’m grateful to have found a book that incorporates so many perspectives and experiences. My clients, and the population in general, need this book.”-Dr. Ingrid Clayton, Clinical Psychologist and Author of Fawning: Why the Need to Please Makes Us Lose Ourselves—and How to Find Our Way Back (Putnam, September 2025)
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”There isn’t nearly enough written about sibling loss.  As a parent who lost a child, I was immersed in my own grief and at a loss to be there for my other two children. Not only did they lose a sister who they adored, I imagine they often felt as though they lost their parents, too. I’m grateful for this resource to help other grieving siblings to cope with the loss of a brother or sister. Through this collection of sibling stories, others will surely find new ways to process their grief and hold on to their love and connections.”–Lilly Julien, Founder of COPE Foundation, a grief and healing organization helping parents, siblings, and families living with the loss of a child. 

“As someone who lost her 17 year old brother, this anthology really hit home. It’s a powerful collection of stories that speak to the unique experience of losing a sibling. If you’re grieving or just trying to make sense of it all, this book offers a real look at finding hope—and reminds us all that we are not alone on this journey.”–Dr. Heidi Horsley, Executive Director - Open to Hope Foundation, Adjunct Professor - Columbia University

“Finally! Here is a book that helps you feel and understand sibling loss in the most profound ways. I thought I knew a thing or two (or 2,000) about the subject. But, only after reading this beautiful collection did I feel seen and appreciated for the pain that comes from losing your brother or sister (or both). I’m so grateful to these writers for their poignant, generous and comforting words. What a gift.”–Meg Kissinger, Award Winning Journalist and Best-Selling Author of While You Were Out: An Intimate Family Portrait of Mental Illness in an Era of Silence

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