Beyond Tears: Living After Losing a Child (Revised Edition with a Chapter Written by Siblings)

Candid and compelling I am also a bereaved mother. These nine women have bared their most innermost feelings in this honest and powerful book. It is the best book I have read, (and reread), on this subject. I highly recommend it to not only to all bereaved parents, but family, friends and professionals who care enough to acquire some insight into what life is really like after losing a child. They have bravely shared their hearts and bared their souls in order to give others hope.

This book connects across the gulf of emptiness and loss that bereaved parents are intimately familiar with. It seems to speak the language, and address the pains that those who have not grieved a lost child can only fathom. It is also offers hope for those who are new to this grief and describes the different way of living that now becomes life. I recommend this book for anyone who has lost a child, or knows somwone who has. As a therapist who works with grieving parents, I can attest to the help Beyond Tears continues to bring with each additional reading.

Since my son was killed in an auto accident I read every book I could looking for help. I I got more help from this book than any other...It was a like a lifeline. After reading it I bought an additional copy which I actually cut up and left parts around my home for reassurance and comfort. When someone asks me what can they do for a friend who has lost a child, I recommend this book. Since it is written by nine mothers (and nine fathers) who each have a different perspective and different way their child died, this is a book for every bereaved parent, but it is also a book that should be read by everyone. The loss of a child is a loss like no other and this book is a guide for family, friends and professionals offering insight and understanding and an inside unobstructed view into the real world of the bereaved parent.

This book is a must have for any parent who has lost a child, anyone who knows someone who has lost a child and anyone in the mental health field who may come in contact with bereaved parents. Each of the nine authors gives an open and painfully honest account of her loss and journey through the grieving process. There are also sections in each chapter that explain what a bereaved parent may experience as well as what supports these authors found helpful and therapeutic. I especially liked the parts in each chapter where the women are sharing their feelings with one another because it helps to illustrate the importance of critical supports and how these women helped each other to get through the most painful loss any mother could experience. The poems these mothers wrote for their lost children moved me to tears. There is also a chapter in the book where the fathers openly share their feelings and grief with each other as well. I found this book to be extremely well written and, in spite of the difficult subject matter, I had a hard time putting it down.

Beyond Tears by Ellen Mitchell and the 9 bereaved parents was "beyond fabulous." I am a bereaved parent and it was the first book I've read on the topic that really helped, guided and provided hope in an honest way for those in the same situation. The brief stories of their children which were interspersed throughout the book added tremendously to the impact of the book. Norma Lazar