Coping With Grief Surviving The Unexpected Loss Of A Child

As parents, nearly all mothers and fathers form a bond with their offspring at the moment of birth. As we parents know, children do not come with instructions, however. The business of raising them to become productive members of society is a roller-coaster of ups and downs. This series of trials and errors helps to define and solidify the parental bond. When that bond is severed by loss, the ensuing chaos sends a grieving parent into a tailspin. When that loss is unexpected and there is no time to prepare, the grief can be particularly debilitating. Parents are not supposed to outlive their children. Just as children do not come with instructions for their raising, there are no instructions for how to deal with the grief which consumes us when we lose one. How can one survive the crippling effects of this tragedy? The enormity of that tragedy is compounded when more than one child is unexpectedly lost. As you read my story of the loss of two of my three children, I hope this survivor's perspective will help to shed light on a very complex and personally-unique emotion and serve as an inspiration for others experiencing the same grief. With belief in God, the love of family, support of friends, compassion from strangers, and the passage of time, it truly is possible to overcome the debilitating effects of grief.

Dealing with Grief in a Healthy Way: How to Survive, Cope, and Heal after a Sudden Loss of a Loved One Times are hard right now, and you must be thrown from your usual routine. You are mourning a loss of a loved one, and you're probably struggling to piece your life back together. But, don't worry. This book will help you acknowledge and understand your feelings; it will also teach you how to deal with all your emotions in a healthy way. Surviving the Loss of a Parent is a book that just "gets you." Whether you need advice to survive a sudden loss of a loved one or you need to help someone through their grief, this book will help you out. It is filled with comforting advice and tips that will guide you through the grieving process. Here's what you'll discover inside this book: Guide to Understanding Your Emotions: There are five stages of grief. Learn how to handle your emotions ranging from denial to anger and depression until you finally reach acceptance; Helping Your Kids Deal with Loss: Discover how to comfort your little ones once their beloved grandma or grandpa passes away; Helping Someone Who Is Grieving: Read incredibly useful tips that will help you be there for your loved one who is grieving the loss of their parent; Tips for Helping a Child Cope with Parent Loss: Learn what are the best ways to help children understand death and cope with loss in a healthy way; And much more! There is nothing more painful than losing a loved one. An exploration of unexpected death and its role in the cycle of life, this book provides a rock-steady anchor that will help them survive the storm of pain and start rebuilding their lives. Scroll up, click on "Buy Now with 1-Click", and Get Your Copy Now!

No parent can ever prepare for the death of a child...period. When a child dies, a parent's world is shattered. There are no words, no explanations, no information that can ever make sense out of a child dying before a parent. "Why My Child? A Clinical Guide for Helping Parents Survive the Sudden Death of a Child" provides clinicians, grief counselors, clergy, and other professionals or paraprofessionals a clearer understanding of the unique issues surrounding the parental loss of a child. In addition to helping foster more appropriate clinical interventions and therapeutic support for bereaved parents, "Why My Child?" outlines more realistic expectations for coping with such a life-changing loss. While nothing can take away the pain of losing a child, there are ways of supporting bereaved parents to help make their pain more bearable. As a marriage and family therapist, former clinical director of a mental health department, adjunct professor, and as a parent whose adult child died unexpectedly, I wholeheartedly recommend this powerful book as a much needed tool on the healing journey of grief. Thank you, Stephanie, for contributing your insight, skills, and wisdom to those who are so much in need. Shari Lowder, M.S., LMFT Clinical Consultant and Supervisor Catholic Charities Professional Counseling Services, Catholic Charities San Bernardino/Riverside

The mourning of a parent's death can take many years—for some it may take a lifetime. The first year of separation, however, is often the most difficult and heart wrenching. The first birthday, holiday, spring, summer, autumn, and winter spent without the loved one often revives or increases the pain. This unique guide is organized according to a timeline of a child's first year of mourning the loss of a parent. It is a warm, insightful, yet practical guide to help the families and community members surrounding a child who has suffered such a loss to anticipate and cope with the many difficulties that arise. Practical suggestions for providing comfort, information, and advice are provided for adults struggling to help children endure the trauma. A range of difficult situations that bereaved children encounter are identified, helping to prepare adults for a child's potential reactions and providing them with realistic coping strategies. Lewis and Lippman, child psychologists who have provided therapy to children who have lost a parent, suggest answers to questions that these children frequently ask. They offer methods for dealing with particularly difficult times such as birthdays, and share practical advice for everyday situations and events. They begin with helping the child through anticipation of death, if it is expected, or through the initial shock of unexpected death. Poignant vignettes from the therapists' experience dealing with young and older children are included.

When clinical psychologist Barbara Wilson was faced with the devastating loss of her adult daughter Sarah, her professional skills were sorely tested. How she, her husband Mick, and their family came to terms with their loss is detailed in First Year, Worst Year, a moving memoir of survival during and after bereavement. Filled with photos of the Wilson family and their journey retracing the last moments of their daughter, who perished in a rafting accident in Peru, this book is a testament to the resilience of the human heart, even after it’s been broken.

Whether from a sudden accident or a slow, terminal illness, the death of a parent is devastating to adults and children alike. In Losing a Parent, Fiona Marshall helps readers understand the process of coping with a parent's death, from preparing for death to recognizing the different stages of grief, from nurturing the relationship with the surviving parent to harnessing new strength to carry on with life. Wise, compassionate, and practical, Losing a Parent is an invaluable source of support for a time of overwhelming loss.

The death of a child has a tremendous and overwhelming impact on parents and siblings, completely altering the psychological landscape of the family. In the aftermath of such a tragedy, parents face the challenge of not only dealing with their own grief, but also that of their surviving children. How can someone attempt to cease parenting a deceased child while maintaining this role with his/her other children? Is it possible for a mother or father to effectively deal with feelings of grief and loss while simultaneously helping their surviving children? Parenting After the Death of a Child: A Practitioner’s Guide addresses this complex and daunting dilemma. Following on the heels of a qualitative research study that involved interviewing bereaved parents, both fathers and mothers, Buckle and Fleming have put together several different stories of loss and recovery to create an invaluable resource for clinicians, students, and grieving parents. The authors present the experience of losing a child and its subsequent impact on a family in a novel and effective way, demonstrating the strength and importance of their book for the counseling field.