Grieving Parents Concerns
by Annell Decker, LPC During years of working as a counselor and as a joint facilitator of a children’s grief group, some specific concerns stand out. Here are suggested ideas to consider, specific for parents as well as helping surviving children. People who have not had a child die just don’t know what to say How …
Books for Grieving Children
Resources for locating books: Amazon Centering Center for Loss and Life Transition Abe’s Books (out of print books)** Explaining Death to Children ~ Tell Me, Papa by Joy & Marv Johnson ages 3-8 (explaining death & funerals) ~ Lean on Me Gently by Doug Manning ~ Helping Children Cope with Grief by Alan Wolfelt ~ …
Books for You
Resources for locating books: Amazon Centering Center for Loss and Life Transition Abe’s Books (out of print books) Our newest recommendations ~ From the Deepest Darkness to the Light of HOPE: Strategies and Solutions to Build Resiliency While Fighting Anxiety, Depression & PTSDby Jennifer Tracy Walk with Jennifer as she holds nothing back and takes …
I Will Hold You in My Heart Forever
by Michelle Murray When I found out about my son’s heart problem at my 18 week ultrasound I was devastated and when my little boy Tyler subsequently died at seven weeks of age my whole world fell apart. His story, however, shows how resilience, love and wisdom of the human spirit can bring forward hope, …
Honor Your Child by Healing: The Benefits of Journaling
by Ronald Stair I heard someone say, “grief isn’t a life sentence, it’s a life passage”. It’s the one common human experience we all have at one time or another. But we didn’t expect it to be the death of a child, did we? I’m now discovering grieving this loss is the hardest thing I’ve …
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Our Survival Pact
by Emily Graham Sitting in the hospital next to my son's dead body, my husband and I made the decision to do everything in our power to survive this impossible blow. That pact was forged with the acknowledgment we would both grieve very differently... and that was OK. In those moments, we had no idea …
History of Alive Alone
by Kay Bevington Alive Alone is a non-profit organization that publishes a bi-monthly newsletter for bereaved parents now childless and networks parents with no surviving children. It was founded in 1988 just eight years after Kay and Rodney Bevington's only child, Rhonda, died just prior to her sixteenth birthday on July 24, 1980. Rhonda had lived a …
Life after suicide: One year on (a video)
by Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust In 2017, three bereaved parents, Lisa, Simon, and Julie, spoke to us on film about recently losing their children to suicide. A year on, they agreed to be filmed again, to reflect upon the past twelve months since the original film was released. https://youtu.be/gdfW2576Z4k
Going the Distance (spouse/children death)
by Benjamin Allen The death of Benjamin’s wife and two children through an HIV infection became the watershed experience that reshaped his life. Lydia was infected in 1982 at the birth of their first son, Matt. Three months after Bryan’s birth in 1985, the family discovered Lydia and the children’s HIV+ status. Bryan was 8 …
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Child Memorial Sculptures
You Can Bear It (house fire)
by Justina Page On March 7, 1999, at the crack of dawn, something goes terribly wrong. I awake to explosions, smoke, darkness. Oh my God. The house is on fire. Our family is jolted from our peaceful bliss and thrown into chaos to a home totally engulfed with flames. My husband begins frantically jumping in …
This Promise Always, I’ll Be There (adult child/car accident)
by Ruth Stoecker No words can quell the stroke of grief No sentence spoke will bring relief So helpless now I long to take But half your pain, it mine I’d make To spell you briefly from this storm To offer solace safe and warm Oh Lord touch me that I may lend Some comfort …
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And the Band Played On…. (railroad crossing death/only child)
by LaFreda Kilburn On Wednesday, May 4, 1977 at 2:38 pm, a tiny 5lb 4oz, one month early baby boy couldn’t wait to make an entrance into this world. And he did. He proved to everyone, including a worried doctor, parents, and grandparents, that he had a will to live and would make the most …
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Seven Steps to Surviving Suicide Loss
by Catherine Greenleaf Losing someone we love to suicide can be devastating. The combination of sudden loss, shame, and stigma can make the process of grief look like a long and lonely road. But there are things we can do for ourselves that will develop and increase our resilience, and make that road a little …
