How It Feels When a Parent Dies

I lost my Father when I was 3 years old, too young to remember him, and only had my three older sisters and mothers memories to steal a peek at him from. My family didnt talk about him, because the sadness was too much to deal with, and I didnt know one single other child who had lost a parent growing up so I felt like a freak. I picked this book up the other day, wondering if any of these childrens stories were similar to mine, and found that every one of them carried a mirrored image of my grief. It was published in 1988, and the pictures prove that, but each story is a timeless one of loss, and confusion, and guilt and the everyday struggle to "deal" with the death of a parent that NO child should have to endure. I wish I had found this as a child, I would not have felt so alone. I found myself at the end wondering how each of them are doing now, in 2009, It would be an interesting read to find out how their losses as children affect them now.

I am a high school counselor. I bought this book to have in my office for my students to have access to. The short writings hold a range of reactions to the death of a parent. The authors come from different backgrounds, situations and circumstances, yet they hold one thing in common: losing a parent. Honest writing. Great for adolescents and adults.

As a long-time child therapist I have used many books and other methods to help children cope with this most painful of losses. This book heals young people with its reality, with the variety of experiences and feelings presented, with its loving approach to the feelings they have felt but feared no one else had ever felt. This book is invaluable.