Grief Lending Library

After the sudden death of her husband, Sheryl Sandberg felt certain that she and her children would never feel pure joy again. Her friend Adam Grant, a psychologist at Wharton, told her there are concrete steps people can take to recover and rebound from life-shattering experiences. We are not born with a fixed amount of resilience. It is a muscle that everyone can build.

• General

• Death of a Partner

The authors share the impact of Caleb’s life and affirm that life includes the inevitability of death rather than denies it. Here the gift of life is measured not in length but in depth.

• Death of a Child

• Historical

The author writes with sympathy and compassion as someone who has experienced the grief of multiple pregnancy losses making this book a great way to reach out to men who are suffering in this way. There is also space for journaling.

• Death of a Child

• Men and Grief / Miscarriage / Religious

In this hopeful five-book set, a mother and her three children ages 5, 7 and 19 share their story after the suicide death of husband and father Don, in 2002. Their reflections are captured in their own words and through poignant art by artist/storyteller Laurie Phillips

• Suicide

As a parent, you don't have the luxury of worrying only about yourself and your emotional well-being. It is your job, in good times and bad, to attend to the needs of your child as well as your own. Putting your child's needs first is a no-brainer, so when something bad happens, it feels natural to put your own on the back burner.The purpose is to help parents who are dealing with their own grief balance their needs with the needs of the children in their care.

• Death of a Child

Tells of the unique relationship between the author and her son who was killed in an accident.

• Death of a Child

When Isabel Allende’s daughter, Paula, became gravely ill and fell into a coma, the author began to write the story of her family for her unconscious child. A powerful autobiography who straightforward acceptance of the magical and spiritual worlds will remind readers of her first book, The House of the Spirits.

• Death of a Child

Poetry that expresses the needs and feelings of children, the elderly, and those who are ill, dying or mourning a death.

• General

Ages 5-12. Crafted for terminally ill and/or grieving children. Tool for opening discussion on the impending death of a young person.

• Children

• Before the Death

In Rare Bird, Anna Whiston-Donaldson unfolds a mother’s story of loss that leads, in time, to enduring hope. This is a book about facing impossible circumstances and desperately wishing you could turn back the clock. It is about discovering that you’re braver than you think. It is about the flicker of hope and the realization that in times of heartbreak, God is closer than your own skin.

• Death of a Child

• Religious

Has your world been shattered by grief? Is pain pulling you under the waves of despair and threatening to hold you there? Take heart; rescue is possible. Hope is possible. Whether you’re grieving the loss of an infant child, grown child, spouse, or elderly parent, Raw Survival is for you.

• Death of a Child

• Sudden & Traumatic Death / Religious

When Alexis dies mysteriously on a cold, January morning, her mother Margaret is expected to accept Alexis’s death and her own complicated life without answers. Instead, she begins to search for a perspective that would give her peace to accept the loss of the child who was part of her soul and the courage to believe in tomorrow. A powerful book for any parent of an exceptional child.

• Death of a Child

• Sudden & Traumatic Death

If you, or someone you know, has experienced the death of a child, this book can help you: Find where to turn for help. Support someone who has lost a child. Accommodate to the death of a child and keep on living. Find peace and comfort without forgetting.

• Death of a Child

In this heartfelt book Marilyn Adams shares the loss of her 11-year-old son in a farm incident as well as the process and tremendous growth she experienced to find meaning and purpose today.

• Death of a Child

This book shows how God provides roses--special occasions, people, and memories--to help us through sorrow. Drawing from the loss of her children (crib death, pneumonia, drunk driver collision) Heavilin will help you understand the grieving process, support family members, give insight into sibling grief, and maintain your marriage during this difficult time.

• General

• Death of a Child

Ages 6-10. Explains death as the inevitable end of life and provides three situations in which children experience powerful emotions when someone close has died.

• Children

What happens to children – those unborn, stillborn, or youngsters – when they die? Can you hope to see them again? Can you let go of your fear and guilt? Can God’s love soothe a wound so jagged? With Scriptural authority and the warmth of a pastor’s heart, John MacArthur examines the breadth of the entire bible and reveals in this compelling book that the Heavenly Father’s care for every life.

• Death of a Child

• Religious

This book describes Sarah's grief following her father's death. It offers compassionate practical advice for adults who want to help grieving children.

• Children

• Death of a Father

Todd Monson's story, as told by his mother, touches the deep center of emotional and spiritual life.

• Death of a Child

• Historical

This book is a remarkable collection of quotations, personal reflections, and prayers intended for those who find themselves in their own “season of grief.” The insights and stories from Ann Dawson’s own experience after the death of her son are carefully placed alongside the comforting and often inspiring words of writers like C.S. Lewis and Kahlil Gibran.

• General

• Death of a Child

On November 3, 2020, Tim and Aileen Challies received the shocking news that their son Nick had died. Seasons of Sorrow includes a selection of Tim's reflections sharing the poignancy of early grief, the doubts and fears that plague us during loss, and the faith and joy that sustain us through sorrow.

• Death of a Child

• Sudden & Traumatic Death / Religious

Hospice chaplain uses three decades of experience interacting with grieving parents to give this heartfelt, easy-to-read and intensely practical book. The author walks the reader through the powerful impact a child's death can have - emotionally, mentally, physically, relationally, and spiritually.

• Death of a Child

A collection of poems following the death of an infant. Expresses grief, anguish and anger.

• Death of a Child

• Death of a Baby

This book consists of poems, letters, diary entries, and essays written by parents, grandparents, professional counselors, siblings, friends, and babysitters-all of whom discuss their personal experiences in confronting SIDS. After an informational opening chapter, the remaining 17 chapters focus on confronting one's loss and that of loved ones and how to move forward.

• Death of a Child

• SIDS

Clara writes of her own grief, and interviews women and men. The moving, honest responses to these interviews tells the reader that through the tears and rage and awful silence, God still loves us and knows our children.

• Death of a Child

• Miscarriage

Provides practical suggestions to validate parents' grief; cope with the unique concerns of early loss, crisis pregnancies, stillbirth, and newborn death; find medical, religious, and family support; and manage their lives afterwards.

• Death of a Child

• Miscarriage

For women and men who are single and dealing with the death of a child in miscarriage, as an infant or as an older child.

• Death of a Child

For children ages 4 and up. A very personal way to help your child deal with the death of a friend or relative. Includes practical suggestions for parents.

• Children

• Helping Children

Something Very Sad Happened is intended to be read to two- and three-year-old children to help them understand death and process the loss of a loved one. Written at a developmental level that is appropriate for two- and three-year-olds, the story explains death; lets children know that it is okay to feel sad; and reassures children that they can still love the person who died, and the person who died will always love them.

• Children

“As a grieving father, R. Glenn Kelly exposes the inner thoughts of a man who has lost the most precious of gifts; his child. Written with the powerful and honest emotion that only someone who has walked in his shoes can truly understand, R. Glenn provides encouragement, insight, and hope to men who are “in the club no one wants to belong to.

• Death of a Child

• Men and grief

The author uses her personal experience of her daughter's death to help other parents deal with their grief in the days, weeks, months and years after losing a child.

• Death of a Child

This story is about a child whose father dies at home. It follows the family from the night of the father's death through the days following the funeral. The feelings of the child and the events surrounding her father's death are realistically portrayed and caringly addressed. The illustrations are bright and colorful and the text is rich and descriptive. This is an excellent resource for families who are experiencing, or will soon experience, the death of a family member.'

• Children

A reader friendly guide to helping children. Includes: supporting grieving children and teens, signs of grief in children and teens, what you can do, teachable moments, and taking care of yourself. Information that will help schools when a death in the classroom occurs.

• Children

• School Resources

A story of faith and love told so that others may find comfort and understanding when faced with the most painful of all losses: the death of one's child.

• Death of a Child

• Religious

This collection of more than twenty-five stories from Gold Star parents celebrates the lives of their sons who died in service and offers hope and advice for other families facing such a loss. Bonus essays from a casualty assistance officer and a former soldier give deeper insight into how wartime death affects comrades.

• Death of a Child

• Military

A story about the unique and complicated relationship between mothers and daughters, and celebrates how that relationship continues to exist beyond the grave. Maya became an organ donor at the time of her death. The book chronicles a remarkable friendship between a grieving mother and the man who is alive because her daughter's heart beats in his chest.

• Death of a Child

• Organ Donors

This short, easy to read book offers simple but important advice and guidance for school teachers and staff on what to do when a child is grieving. It includes advice on explaining death to children, insights into how children may be feeling and how they may react, and ways in which they can be supported. The book also covers how bereavement can affect a child and how it can affect the whole school in the case of a death of a pupil or staff member.

• Helping Children

• School Resources

Through stories and thoughtful analysis, Maria explains how to handle the difficult job of talking with children and adolescents about loss. Includes information about divorce, Death of a Pet, death of a family member, the disabling of a sibling and more.

• Helping Children

• All Losses

How parents can survive when more than one child dies. The author speaks of his experiences of going back to work, marriage and Jessica, the surviving big sister who was at home.

• Death of a Child

• Death of children

For parents who have experienced the death of a stillborn baby or a very young infant. Gives suggestions on things a parent should consider for remembrances.

• Death of a Child

• Stillbirth / Early Infant Death

An overview of the basic issues; children's comprehension of death, the phenomenon of childhood bereavement, and parental loss.

• Helping Children

• Death of a Sibling

For parents who have lost an infant child. The author shares the story of the brief life of her son who is born with a rare heart defect. Stresses the importance of recognizing grace and beauty in the here and now.

• Death of a Child

This prose poem shows how the author dealt with her teenage daughter’s unexpected death. A collaboration of art and poetry.

• Death of a Child

Suitable for children aged 4+, this is an ideal book for parents and caregivers to read with their children, as well as teachers, therapists and counsellors working with young children. This book guides children gently through 17 of the 'big' questions they often ask about death and dying.

• Children

A dictionary of death, dying, and grieving terms for grieving children and those who love them. Gives parents suggestions on how to talk with children about death and dying.

• Helping Children

Written by parents to help other parents who are experiencing the ultimate tragedy of their child's death from drugs or alcohol - parents who find themselves isolated in a fathomless dark void wondering whether they will ever resurface into the real world again. This book offers strength, practical advice and an aid in grief recovery for parents and families, gleaned not only from personal experiences but also from meeting with many parents.

• Death of a Child

• Overdose

A guide for parents whose child dies before birth, at birth or shortly after birth. This sensitive booklet is a help to families during the early days of their grief. It helps answer questions and prepare parents for the days ahead.

• Death of a Child

• Miscarriage / Stillbirth / Early Infant Death

Losing your mother to cancer is never easy, no matter what your age. But for a child, the loss is incomprehensible. The time together, special experiences, and memories are much too abbreviated. Perhaps the most difficult of all, is the loss of a mother's love. The Little Pink Book™ series explores cancer through the eyes of a child using whimsical stick characters and an unpretentious storyline. Death and loss are not easily talked about, yet they are events that all of us must eventually face.

• Children

• Death of a Mother

Here, finally, is a book for grieving parents that acknowledges their pain and offers encouragement for the future. In these meditations and prayers based on biblical passages, Melissa Sexson Hanson writes honestly and movingly of her own grief during two miscarriages and of the difficulty of the recovery process. She also describes clearly the faithfulness of God's healing presence in her life, providing a sense of hope to all those seeking comfort after a similar loss.

• Death of a Child

• Miscarriage

A sensitive book that offers bereaved parents the comfort of knowing how others have navigated this rutted road. Acknowledges that no family ever "recovers" from this tragedy, but rather adapts to a life irretrievably altered.

• Death of a Child

The death of a child at any age seems a most cruel reversal of nature. This gentle book includes: helping yourself when it hurts, the grief journey, the layers of loss, other family members, the wounded spirit and caring for yourself.

• Death of a Child

Death is hard enough for adults to accept. For children, the experience of loss can be overwhelming. In this concise, practical guide, grief counselor Huntley offers principles for helping children of all ages understand death, work through predictable "tasks of grieving," and take steps toward healing and acceptance.

• Helping Children

The author draws on families’ own stories and groundbreaking research on grieving, to answer questions like, “How do families survive this worst loss?"

• Death of a Child

From one of America’s most iconic writers a stunning book of electric honesty and passion. Joan Didion explores an intensely personal yet universal experience – her husband’s sudden death. This book will speak to anyone who has ever loved a husband or wife or child.

• Death of a Partner