Child Grief

When Lu Spinney's 29-year-old son, Miles, flies up on his snowboard, "he knows he is not in control as he is taken by force up the ramp," writes his mother, "skewing sideways as his board clips the edge and then he is hurtling, spinning up, up into the free blue sky ahead.... " He lands hard on the ice and falls into a coma. Thus begins the erratic loss - Miles first in a coma and then trapped in a fluctuating state of minimal consciousness - that unravels over the next five years.

We live in a grief-illiterate society. After the death of a child we often hear “there are no words.” But there are words. Oil for Your Lantern offers the newly bereaved, and those who love them, a gentle introduction to life after the death of a child, sharing words when we don’t yet have them ourselves. Oil for Your Lantern is a series of thirty essays written by Elizabeth Brady since the sudden death of her son, Mack, from sepsis in 2012. Elizabeth’s essays move both outward and deeply inward, exploring practical, cultural, and spiritual aspects of mourning a beloved child. “...

A caring, up-close look at suicide with prevention and grief in one best-selling book. Why? They relate more than you realize. Considering how loved ones would grieve might be what keeps someone here. Likewise, grief can become so intense that prevention tools are needed to keep safe those left behind. With a detailed table of contents and bulleted lists, you will use this resource again and again.

With her bracing storytelling, Bair shows what it’s like for her family to seek equilibrium after their unspeakable loss of 8-year-old Kelly. Bair proposes that grief is an intuitive, loving, life-long partner in sorrow, not something to “get over.”

As a parent, I never thought I’d: Witness a hair cutting party for my oldest daughter, who wanted a wig made of her own hair for when the chemo rendered her bald Shop online for sperm with that same daughter, because she’d already picked names for her four children Plan a “Viking funeral” for my sweet Jessie, or Rain, as she was known by many of her friendsMaybe I should have included a spoiler alert, but this isn’t a story where I keep you in suspense about whether Rain won her battle or not. It’s the story of her passing, in which she did triumph, as she managed this course ...

Lamentations of the Heart soulfully combines contemporary free verse poetry and nonfictional prose to tell the story of one mother’s grief following the death of her only child. The author interweaves scriptural passages with the inevitable struggles to accept and make sense of her new reality. All of it reveals the unending love for family that remains. Written to reach out to others who have experienced similar pain, it moves upon the uneven, wavering pattern of great emotion, along a tumultuous path blessed with signs and wonders — an unwanted journey a tapestry of life healing ...

Livia Andersen wanted so much for her family…now finally at Christmas her children are finding their way. Livia Andersen was a woman who held her family together with a quiet smile and an iron will. It has been over a year since her death and her children and the many grandchildren she leaves behind continue to grapple with the shifting changes in their lives. Her absence is still deeply felt by each member of the Andersen Family. Two of Livia’s children have experienced more than their share of change and turmoil in their lives since her death. Her oldest son learned of a carefully ...

Der 15-jährige Daniel ist vor allem eins: wütend. Sein Vater ist weg, seine Mutter schleppt einen Liebhaber nach dem anderen an. Doc, ihr neuester Freund, ist der Mann, der Daniels Hund eingeschläfert hat. Trotzdem gewinnt Daniel ihn lieb. Bis zu einem tödlichen Unfall nach einer Party, durch den Daniel ein schrecklicher Verdacht kommt. Kann er seinen Erinnerungen an diese Nacht glauben? Oder spiegeln sie nur wider, was er gerne glauben würde?

After receiving a life-changing phone call on July 4th, 2009, Kelly Buckley embarked on the hardest trip of her life. Her son, Stephen, had gone missing while swimming with friends. Within 24 hours, her life turned upside down. Stephen's body would be discovered by search and rescue divers. Amid deep pain and gut-wrenching grief, Kelly began to write on the back of an envelope outside of the funeral home. Rather than writing about the unfairness of Stephen's passing, she makes a decision that will heal not only herself but countless others as well. Kelly vowed to seek out daily moments of ...

Before May 31, 2008, September Vaudrey's life was beautiful. But on that day, with one phone call from the ER, her whole world - everything she knew and believed - was shaken to the core. Katie, her 19-year-old artist daughter, had been in a car accident and would not survive. How does a family live in the wake of devastating tragedy? When darkness colors every moment, is it possible to find light? Can God still be good, even after goodbye?

Representing families of all backgrounds, I'll See You in Your Dreams Tonight shows children that they can still have adventures, both magical and mundane, with loved ones who have passed on—whether meeting amazing creatures in wild and far off places or simply sharing secrets together and telling each other stories.

The Last Letter from Heaven A Novel of Grief, Love, and Hope Some love never leaves. Some letters change everything. For twenty-five years, Carla Williams devoted her life to caring for her special needs son, Peter — feeding him, bathing him, loving him through every moment, even when the world said he wouldn’t survive past childhood. When Peter passes unexpectedly at age twenty-five, Carla is left adrift — grieving, guilt-ridden, and questioning her purpose. Her heart longs to know: Did I love him enough? Is he okay? Will I ever feel whole again? Then, one quiet morning, a mysterious...

When Carla walked the shores of Islamorada Key, she wasn’t searching for a mission—only a moment to breathe. But the ocean had something else in mind. Half-buried in the sand, she discovers a weathered glass jar sealed with a handwritten letter inside. The letter isn’t for her. But somehow, it’s hers to deliver. Still healing from the loss of her special needs son, Carla is drawn into an unexpected journey of hope. Each jar she finds contains a letter written to a grieving mother—someone she doesn’t know, yet somehow must find. With the help of her husband, adult children, and a...

What if your childhood daydream wasn’t just a fantasy—but a doorway to the unimaginable? For three years, Jonas Shay has tried to forget Extraordinary, the imaginary world he once escaped to after his mother’s disappearance. With his dad’s help, he buried the daydream, convinced himself it wasn’t real. But now, just shy of thirteen, the whispers are back—talking seagulls, meddling elfins, a world that refuses to stay forgotten. Soon, Jonas learns the impossible: his mother is alive, trapped somewhere inside Extraordinary. Reality slips away as Jonas plunges back into the world ...

A child walks away with a stranger. Father Terry Lester is under suspicion. Laura O’Brien Robbins’ psychic abilities are scattered as she tries to find the boy and clear her friend. She is joined by her husband, Greye, and a skeptical Los Angeles detective in her search. Two weeks pass and she is no closer to finding the child. Laura is convinced she knows who the kidnapper is, but how does she prove it? Will a helpful ghost provide information? Is Laura willing to put herself in danger to discovery where the boy is hidden? Will she find the boy and clear the priest’s name in time to ...

USA Today Bestselling author Andrea Smith gives you her debut YA/Teen novel. A heartwarming story of coping with loss. My name is Victoria Howard and when Mom died just shy of my tenth birthday, nothing could have prepared me for the pain of dealing with my loss. Imagine my surprise when just a few weeks later, on my tenth birthday, Mom had planned a special gift to be delivered to me. A puppy named Sir Percival Howard. A Chinese Pug. As if he could ever replace my Mom! I was angry with my mother. So angry I was determined not to let Percy into my heart. He wasn't a substitute to make me ...

Useful Suggestions and Supportive Ideas for Surviving after her Daughters Suicide How Did I Miss That? chronicles the heartbreaking aftermath of a mother's grief when her daughter committed suicide while simultaneously honoring her life. Cindy Harris presents a good balance of personal experiences as well as helpful suggestions for helping someone struggling with such a heart-wrenching experience. If you or a loved one has suffered such a terrible loss of a child to suicide, you will want to read how the author was able to process the loss of her child, survive the pain, and then gradually,...

On an ordinary September day, 12-year-old Jack is swept away in a freak neighborhood flood. His parents and younger sister are left to wrestle with the awful questions: How could God let this happen? Can we ever be happy again? They each fall into the abyss of grief in different ways. And in the days and months to come, they each find their faltering way toward peace. In Rare Bird, Anna Whiston-Donaldson unfolds a mother's story of loss that leads, in time, to enduring hope.

What readers are saying... "An excellent story - one showing exactly what God can do, if we only listen and get out of our own way. I absolutely loved this book. Thank you for making me laugh and cry, for helping me see things from a different perspectives and showing Gods amazing grace so clearly!" Amazon reviewer Sage Hoffman wants what her sister has. A normal life. A husband. The works. But moving on from the trauma she survived during her late teens proves more than she can bear—especially when she’s haunted by the sound of a tiny heartbeat she never knew existed. Because of the ...

In this major study of near-death experiences with the newly born, babies, toddlers, and children up to age five, NDE expert P. M. H. Atwater reveals how those who experience a near-death state or other worlds at a very young age are profoundly affected for the rest of their lives, including developing psychic and intuitive abilities, higher intelligence and “wisdom beyond their years,” and a pervasive feeling of being “homesick for heaven.”