The Sids Survival Guide: Information and Comfort for Grieving Family and Friends and Professionals Who Seek to Help Them

Horchler and Rice give comfort, encouragement, and insight to the issues that surround Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and Infant Death. Families who have suffered the devastating loss of a baby will find many questions they may have answered among the pages. The topics covered bring a sense of normalcy and healing to the bereaved as the authors guide the reader down the path of surviving their loss and again finding joy in living.

The SIDS Survival Guide was my beacon of light during the darkest part of my life. My son, Dominic, passed away from SIDS on April 10, 2001, at only 4 1/2 months young. I began to reach out and search for all the information I could find on SIDS, drinking it all in by the bucket. A few months after he died, I found "The SIDS Survival Guide", and am so incredibly thankful. There was so much information, so many stories so like my own. I shed many tears while reading it for the first time, and even now, when I go back to read sections, I still cry. I am now expecting our second child in June 2002, and am scared to death. But knowing that I am informed about SIDS is somewhat of a comfort to me; in a way, I am as prepared as I can ever be. I would recommend this book to anyone expecting a child, who has a young baby, or knows someone who is or does.

My husband and I lost our son to SIDS in September of 2000. Our souls have been torn. The grieving process over his death has been draining. I recall little over the past 4+ months since his death. The one thing I do recall is thinking I was going crazy. I had wished their was another SIDS survivor I could speak with. Someone who could possibly relate to what my husband and I were going through. Someone who could understand our emotions. I searched under the keyword SIDS and found this book. I have not read the book in its entirety. I have read the sections I have needed at the particular times in my grieving. This book has helped me confirm that I am not going crazy. What I am feeling, though very personal, is normal. I feel this book is a neccesity for any parent who has to suffer this terrible tragedy. I have placed an order of these books in my babies memory to send to my state SIDS Coordinator in hopes that other parents may find comfort in its contents. Thank you Joani and Robin.

This book touches on all the areas of SIDS that bereaved parents go through. Parents and grandparents will benefit from reading this. The personal stories give insight into others' grief and could help the reader feel a connection with the authors of the stories. It will make the reader feel they are not alone in their grief. The poems in this book are also very helpful in reaching into personal feelings that surround a SIDS death. The book has sections on what SIDS is, parent's grief, children dealing with a sibling's death, grandparent's grief, subsequent children and the decisions surrounding the questions of what to do next. Including ideas on surviving special days. This book will also be helpful to professionals that help bereaved parents.(Another helpful book on SIDS is "Still to be Born" : A Guide For Bereaved Parents Who Are Making Decisions About Their Future written by Pat Schwiebert, RN.)

The book is a must for anyone that has lost a child to SIDS or any other reason. I have read a lot on SIDS but this book was my bible for daily reading. I bought 5 books and loaned my copy out and it has not been returned. I find comfort in being able to pick the book up and read it again and again