John W. James

John W. James founded The Grief Recovery Institute in the mid-1980s as the result of being unable to find the resources he needed to assist him in dealing with the overwhelming grief he was experiencing from the death of his own infant son. Since that time, the Institute has grown to include Affiliates located in Mexico, England, Sweden, Australia, Hungary, and Africa. To this day, the Institute's mission remains to deliver grief recovery assistance to the largest number of people in the shortest amount of time.

Even though retired, John remains internationally recognized as one of the foremost authorities on grief and grief recovery. He has coauthored multiple benchmark publications on the topic of recovery from loss: The Grief Recovery Handbook, When Children Grieve, Moving On, Moving Beyond Loss, and The Grief Recovery Handbook for Pet Loss. In addition to his writings, he has delivered guest lectures, workshops, and programs worldwide, as well as advocating for veterans and military personnel on bases all over the country.