Grief Lending Library

This practical book offers 20 simple rituals that caregivers can use with people with developmental disabilities after a death. All of the rituals can be adapted for people of all age and all levels of disability.

• Professional

• Helping Children & Teens

Learn how a death of a loved one can impact a teen, and how to help. Explains common grief reactions of teenagers, specific challenges grieving teenagers face, when to seek professional help, and advice from other parents.

• Helping Teens

Addresses issues that arise in the classroom after a death impacts a student, a classroom or a school. Includes practical tips and step-by-step information on what to say and do.

• Helping Children

• School Resources

An easy-to-read guide that explains different ways a child with Down Syndrome may respond to a death, how these responses may seem "wrong", and how to help these children understand further and cope in healthy ways.

• Helping Children

• Down Syndrome

Features the artwork of seven adults who experienced the sudden and unexpected death of a loved one or ones. A statement involving their loved one(s) death proceeds their artwork. Readers are then able to observe each person, through their artwork, gradually work through their grief over a period of weeks, months and years. They used their artwork as a way of exploring themselves - shaping, defining and eventually transcending their grief experience.

• General

"The intent of this book is to share the knowledge and experience of a variety of concerned individuals involved in the care of children facing death."

• Helping Children

• Terminally Ill Children / Historical

No mother ever expects to grieve the death of her child before or immediately after the child is born. When the unthinkable happens, where do women turn for help? Written from the perspective of one grieving mommy to another, this book encourages and challenges women to delve into a deeper understanding of God’s Word and His promises as they relate to loss by miscarriage, stillbirth, or early infant loss.

• Death of a Child

• Miscarraige / Stillbirth / Infant Death

This book addresses confronting the reality of loss while you feel the brokenness and the guilt of living on. It also points to the hope of the gospel and relying of Christ for peace and trust during broken times.

• Sudden & Traumatic Death

• Suicide
• Relgious

Case histories and personal experience; as a volunteer, the author presents specific information on patient care, medication techniques, funding, staffing, administration, home care programs, and architectural requirements for inpatient units.

• Anticipatory / Before the Death

• Professional / Historical

The Hot Young Widows Club isn’t just for people who have lost a spouse, but an essential tool for anyone who has gone through a major life struggle. Based on her own experiences and those of the listeners dedicated to her podcast, Terrible, Thanks for Asking, Nora offers wise, heartfelt, and often humorous advice to anyone navigating a painful period in their lives. Full of practical guidance, Nora also reminds us that it’s still okay to laugh, despite your deep grief. She explores how readers can educate the people around them on what to do, what to say, and how to best to lend their support. Ultimately, this book is a space for people to recognize that they aren’t alone, and to learn how to get through life’s hardest moments with grace and humor, and even hope.

• Death of a Partner

Provides the straightforward, uncomplicated language that will explain the facts of death to children from two-year-olds to teenagers.

• Helping Children

Ages 10-13. Children speak openly, honestly, unreservedly, of their experiences and feelings

• Children and Teens

• Death of a Parent

Explains why the loss of a parent is different from other loses, and using examples from her own experience, the author shows how it is possible to work through the grief.

• General

• Death of a Parent

Offers a portrait of the experience of dying that makes clear the choices that can be made to allow each of us his or her own death.

• Anticipatory / Before the Death

Suggestions to help grieving people of all ages with the adjustments that must be made during the holidays and other significant days following the death of someone loved.

• General

• Holidays

Five or more years after the death of their children, twenty-five families open their hearts and share stories of courage, hope and their attempts to make sense out of the most unbearable loss of all. What did they do to move on with their lives, to make each day meaningful again, to remember their child? In addition to helping themselves, learn how these parents help others and what advice they give to those still having difficulty living in a world without their child.

• Death of a Child

Ages 3-8. Deals with childhood guilt; looks at feelings when there’s a family fight, a divorce, illness, injury and death. Let’s kids know that their thoughts don’t control the world.

• Children

Ages 4-8. When a close friend or family member dies, it can be difficult for children to express their feelings. This book helps boys and girls understand that death is a natural complement to life, and that grief and a sense of loss are normal feelings for them to have following a loved one's death.

• Children

A story of the death of a father, and the enduring love he has for their family still. Although he is no longer there, his love still is. Walks us through the family navigating different milestones and experiences together, with the love of the father.

• Children

Provides a valuable anchor for the griever who faces the challenges of a sudden loss and needs to rebuild their life. Includes grief recovery exercises.

• Sudden & Traumatic Death

Audrey Caroline lived for over two hours, weighing three pounds, two ounces. Yet, in the midst of the sorrow of loss, there was still joy. Angie weaves the faith-filled story of Audrey Caroline with a biblical story of hope to help us all to understand how better to cope with loss and disappointment.

• Death of a Child

• Death of a Baby / Religious

Written by a mother who lost her 21 year old son to suicide, this book deals with the themes of suicide loss through the lens of the author's personal grief. Addressing the process of post-traumatic growth, this memoir provides the bereaved with therapy exercises and creative activities to help them come to terms with their loss.

• Sudden & Traumatic Death

• Death of a Child / Suicide

A teacher’s experience in pioneering courses on death and dying for junior students.

• Helping Children & Teens

Ages 6-13. A warm, sensitive story of how one little boy is encouraged and supported to find his own way to remember his best friend. Written in simple, honest language, and the warm, expressive watercolors tenderly express the sensitive story of children’s friendships.

• Children and Teens

• Death of a Friend

This book reveals the true-life experiences of the author's personal journey through grief, hope, and healing following the stillbirth of her little girl. Within these pages you will find understanding and empathy, a sense of companionship and friendship, courage to face holidays and difficult occasions, reassurance of God's loving kindness, and the life-changing hope of heaven.

• Death of a Child

• Stillbirth

The true story of a young widow's anguish and the paradoxical enrichment grief can bring.

• Death of a Partner

A collection of quotations, poems, ancient proverbs, and stories from the likes of Winston Churchill, Madeleine L’Engle, and Jonathon Lazear himself. This book acts as a companion to your grief whenever and wherever you might need it.

• General

Illuminating the impact of loss and grief on our psychological and emotional lives, this book provides vital information to ease painful transitions and facilitate healing. The author emphasizes that dealing with the death of a loved one involves more than picking up the pieces and moving on; rather, healing is an ongoing journey on which grief is a constant companion.

• General

An anthology of reading on the subject of death.

• General

• Historical

The author shows us how, through our concern, our compassion, and our prayers we can comfort the dying and help guide them toward the light of risen life.

• Anticipatory / Before the Death

• Religious

After the unexpected death of his son, Richard’s life seemed to stop. The next few years were spent climbing out of the bottom of a valley he had not known existed before. It is a story about what is important in life, sorrow, faith, acceptance and rebirth.

• Death of a Child

• Sudden & Traumatic Death

This honest, sensitive and beautifully illustrated picture book is designed to help explain the concept of death to children aged 3-7. Written from a child's own words, it is based on the real-life conversations that Elke Barber had with her then three-year-old son, Alex, after the sudden death of his father. 

• Children

• Death of a Father

When Joshua's puppy is killed by a car accident he learns that some surprises come wrapped in the "package" of loss. We encourage adults to talk about these gifts with children. Sensitive, caring adults are made not born. The book is written for children ages 5 - 11 years.

• Children

• Death of a Pet

The second book of the series, It's Ok to be Happy!, continues to follow a little girl's journey as she tries to navigate life after the death of her father. The themes in the book include a support group for children, equine-assisted therapy, and different ways to remember a loved one. (The first book in this series is entitled, But I Don't Want to Say Goodbye!)

• Children

• Death of a Father

Since his mother was killed in the line of duty in Iraq, Derrick is building a doomsday shelter to prepare for the apocalypse when he makes friends with Misty, the girl next door.

• Children and Teens

• Death of a Parent / Military

Humphry depicts his empathy with his wife's pain from cancer, his own anticipatory grief and how he helped her to die.

• Anticipatory / Before the Death

• Death of a Partner / Historical

This book is designed to be a comforting space to help you process loss, honor memories, and begin to heal at your own pace after the death of a pet. It recognizes the immense pain that comes with it, and validate emotions that you are feeling

• Loss of a Pet

The author identifies three different cycles of mourning when someone you love is murdered: crisis, conflict and commencement. Covers second victimization and celebrating life.

• Sudden & Traumatic Death

• Homicide

The author uses his personal experience of his daughter's death in this book of reflection. The kayak becomes a metaphorical conveyance as Rosenblatt floats from one topic to the next, never anchoring on one thought for long, but instead conjuring elegiac prose on everything from life versus death to personal memories and classic literature.

• Death of a Child

A deeply moving memoir written by a mom whose only child was killed suddenly in an automobile accident.

• Death of a Child

• Sudden & Traumatic Death

An outstanding book to help parents explain the idea of death in ways that are understandable to children. Includes sections on the process of grief and ways to help children cope with loss.

• Helping Children

It was about the importance of overcoming obstacles, of enabling the dreams of others, of seizing every moment (because "time is all you have...and you may find one day that you have less than you think"). It was about living. In this book, Randy Pausch has combined the humor, inspiration and intelligence that made his lecture such a phenomenon and given it an indelible form.

• Anticipatory / Before the Death

This crisis memoir explores questions we all ask when a loved one dies. It is the true story of one woman's struggle to survive the pain of being left behind when her 15-year-old daughter dies suddenly in a car accident. This book is about life and love, and the search for peace and joy following a great loss.

• Death of a Child

• Sudden & Traumatic Death

The death of a life partner poses unique challenges for lesbians. This book reveals the touching and very personal stories of twenty-five women, including the author, who were widowed at a young age and forced to create a new life without their life partners. The book follows the widows from the time the couple met, to the time when one of the partners died, and beyond, to show how the surviving partner coped with her loss.

• Death of a Partner

• LGBTQ

Twenty-something Holly has moved to Brighton to escape her grief. But now that she's here, sitting on a bench, listening to the rolling waves, how is she supposed to fill the void her boyfriend left when he died? She had thought she wanted to be on her own. Beautifully written, Let Me Be Like Water is a moving and powerful debut about loneliness, friendship, the extraordinariness hiding in everyday life.

• General

• Death of a Partner

When adults want to support their child and make sure their worries and questions are addressed, this book: uses gentle honest words to start conversations, supports a variety of feelings and typical reactions from kids, provides inclusive illustrations that are representative of many families, no matter the dynamics, race, or culture, encourages families to find a way to remember and memorialize their baby that feels good to them, includes tips for adults and extra suggestions about some hard questions kids can ask. This book uses words and themes that are appropriate for kids ages 2-11.

• Children

• Sudden Death of an Infant Sibling

The author offers the kind of compassion and insight that can only come from one who has lived through deep loss himself. Among other loses, he has had to face the death of a fiancée, a beloved grandmother, and a favorite college professor. From these experiences, he has drawn the kind of insight that will help others walk through the dark, seemingly endless times of grief. With honesty, passion, and perspective, he shares the little things that eased him forward and the words of comfort that carried him to a place of strength.

• General

How do you explain death to a 6 year old? In his book, “A Letter to Mickey,” Jay Keller does just that! Simple language, colorful illustrations and large print make the text easy to read and understand. Written from a Christian perspective.

• Children

• Religious

A father's letters to his premature son from birth to death.

• Death of a Child

• Men & Grief

Recording the full range of mourning from intense shock to moments of exceptional affirmation, Klaus’s stories and reflections on loss bear witness to universal truths about the first and most significant year of mourning.

• Death of a Partner

Todd's wife Lisa reveals what really happened on that ill-fated flight, as well as poignant glimpses of a genuine American hero. She talks candidly about Todd's growing-up years, their marriage and last week together, and then family moments without him-the devastating day her children learned their daddy had died, how they celebrated his first birthday without him, the mix of grief and joy when she gave birth to their third child, and how she's found the confidence to go on in the face of such tragedy and loss. It's no wonder that, through this unpretentious homemaker and mother, an entire nation can find hope, inspiration and strength.

• Death of a Partner

• Sudden & Traumatic Death

The cultural expectation for sadness, loneliness, and despair when you feel relief, happiness, and even joy, only adds to the guilt and conflict felt by many "relieved grievers." Elison and McGonigle here share their own and others' stories, compassionate clinical analysis, and pragmatic counsel. Wise, compassionate, and groundbreaking, this book expands the traditional definition of grief, and, in so doing, generously validates the feelings that many of us feel obliged to hide.

• General

• Anticipatory / Before the Death

Shows how Scripture can answer our questions and concerns regarding the hereafter.

• General

• Religious

Real-life accounts of people who have experienced “clinical death” and been revived.

• General

• Near Death Experiences / Historical

On the morning of February 6, 1991, Dennis Apple discovered the lifeless body of his son on their family room couch. Eighteen-year-old Denny had died without warning from what was later explained as complications due to Mono. Sixteen years later, Dennis still struggles with living in a world without his son.Life After the Death of My Son shares a glimpse of the unspeakable pain, helplessness, frustration, and eventual healing that Dennis and his wife, Buelah, have experienced since losing their son.

• Death of a Child

• Sudden & Traumatic Death

The author replies to questions put to him by Norman French; one being, “Is there life after death?”

• General

• Historical

Guides readers through the practical and spiritual lessons we need to learn so that we can live life to its fullest in every moment.

• General

As a 20 year old college student, Malinda found herself pregnant and trying to figure out what to do next. Life became more difficult after learning her daughter had a severe form of Spina Bifida and the doctors were almost certain she would not make it through the end of the pregnancy. From death and despair to strength and recovery, this is a story of Malinda navigating through the greatest loss of her life.

• Death of a Child

• Terminally Ill Baby

After a trouble-free pregnancy, her baby was declared dead on what was to be her date of birth. Following a C-section, Ash fought a fever that raged at 104 degrees and almost succumbed to the silent B-strep infection that had killed her daughter. Devastated by the experience, Ash sought solace and perspective in all the old places and found little relief. In this moving account she discusses the inner changes she faced after the stillbirth of her daughter, delves into spiritual questions that shook her soul, and examines the connection between mother and child that transcends separation and death.

• Death of a Child

• Stillbirth

Ages 5-8. Explains life and death “in a sensitive, caring, beautiful way.”

• Children

Written from the author’s own experiences regarding the important decisions that must be made after the loss of a spouse.

• Death of a Partner

Ages 5-10. Megan hid under the lilac bush under Grandmother's bedroom window. Grandma knew she was there. She heard the grown-ups talking about Grandma being ill. After grandma dies, Megan watches the doves build a new nest and gathers lilacs to bring to the funeral.

• Children

• Death of a Grandmother

"It is my hope that this book will help you to manage wisely the emotions of your grief and will challenge you to confront creatively the death of your beloved."

• General

• Historical

Ways to handle the stages of grief, living alone, restructuring families, exploring children's reactions and rebuilding one's life after the death of someone loved.

• General

The subject of children and death made comprehensible to parents, relatives, doctors, nurses, social workers, and everyone else concerned.

• Helping Children

Will help guide and support the family and friends of seriously ill patients.

• Anticipatory / Before the Death

• Historical

For survivors of the sudden loss of a loved one. Includes: suicide, homicide, accident, heart attack and stroke.

• Sudden & Traumatic Death

This book is filled with excellent chapters that bring us up to date with the most current information on both pre-death and post-death interventions.

• Anticipatory / Before the Death

Discusses various issues that children and adolescents face before, during, and after the death of a loved one. Also touches on the dying child. Topics that are discussed include developmental perspectives, children’s hospice care, sibling loss, loss of a parent, loss of a friend, and loss experienced by military children.

• Helping Children & Teens

A collection of articles pertaining to large-scale disasters, grief, community support, etc.

• Sudden & Traumatic Death

• Professional

Written and edited by some of the nation’s leading authorities on ethics and end-of-life care, this book explores a range of issues – including pediatric hospice, historical, religious, spiritual and cultural perspectives of the end of life, hospice in nursing homes, surrogate decision making, physician assisted suicide, organ donation and our society’s legal tenants of end-of-life-care.

• Anticipatory / Before the Death

• Professional

This book includes perspectives from clinicians who have experienced personal trauma, such as death by suicide, supporting a community after a tragedy, and working on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic. Chapters include: Supporting those bereaved by Drug Overdose and Suicide Deaths, Treating traumatic loss after Violent Death, and Trauma and grief in children and adolescents.

• Professional

• Trauma

A look at the many variables which affect an individual's grief. Variables such as culture, spirituality, class, gender and age can offer meanings by which we view death and understand loss and grief.

• General

The author is trying to say that dying need not be fearful or painful, either socially or psychologically.

• Anticipatory / Before the Death

• Historical

For the very young; text and photographs present the concept of death, the importance of grief, and the customs of mourning.

• Children

• Historical

Leads you through the process of coping with the loss of a parent-from understanding your immediate reactions to anticipating and recognizing the different stages of grief that follow. This guide also helps you nurture the relationship with a surviving parent.

• General

• Death of a Parent

A mothers personal journey in learning how to navigate through her new 'state of being' after her son is killed overseas.

• Death of a Child

This book includes a significant perspective on considering the meaning of afterlife for us and our pets. Covering topics like the grieving process, children and death, euthanasia, and emotional considerations, this book can offer comfort to those of any viewpoint.

• Loss of a Pet

Through discussions of various theories of grief, narratives of the bereaved obtained in interviews with 22 men and women, case study analysis, and chapter summaries, this text integrates the literature about and the bereavement experiences of partners in varying types of relationships.

• Death of a Partner

Theresa Jackson's father died in 2007 and she has since put together useful clinical and healing resources for others in the same position, to help them recover. With an Masters degree in clinical research, Theresa has combined the latest theories and practices on loss, with effective meditations and exercises so that you can honor and remember your lost parent, all the while processing your grief in a healthy way. Sharing hers and others’ personal journeys of coming to terms with the loss of a parent, she hopes to help more bereaved adult children on their healing journeys.

• General

• Death of a Parent

"A thoughtful and moving framework for understanding the impact that early loss has on every aspect of adult growth and development."

• General

• Death of a Parent

Ages 2-4. “Grandma said we lost Paige. My parents said she died.” A young girl wonders what her family will be like without Paige. She also wonders if she is still a sister. In the end she discovers that Paige will always be her sister and will always be a part of her family.

• Childern

• Death of a Sibling

This is a story of love, of life, and of death, which affirms that love is life even if it seems to hold death. It is a story told mostly with poetry--the story of the lights and shadows of one man's life--a journey of sorrow and growth. It was written in great anguish of spirit, out of deep personal need. This is also a story of love, happiness, and faith.

• Death of a Partner

For adults who know children with major hurts, this book provides a model for support and comfort. It also gives helpful advice about helping kids experiencing difficult situations such as death, divorce, abuse, etc.

• Helping Children

Goodman challenges us to open ourselves to a different set of stages that she labels numbness, unrelenting pain, searching, and reinventing. She writes with comforting openness about pretending that she was progressing through the standard stages, was "getting over" the death of her son, and was searching for a more clearly defined faith.

• Death of a Child

When ten-year-old Maryanne dies, six-year old Mark-O and the rest of the family become a little wiser about death.

• Children

• Historical

The author's personal account of his battle with cancer.

• Anticipatory / Before the Death

• Historical

Based on the deaths of both her children as well as her professional experiences as a grief counselor, Meg Woodson offers compassionate, practical advice to see you through these darkest, loneliest days.

• General

• Death of a Child

When journalist Beth M. Howard's young husband dies suddenly, she packs up the RV he left behind and hits the American highways. Making Piece powerfully shows how one courageous woman triumphs over tragedy. This beautifully written memoir is, ultimately, about hope. It's about the journey of healing and recovery, of facing fears, finding meaning in life again, and moving forward with purpose and, eventually, joy.

• Death of a Partner

When his daughter, Amy, collapses and dies from an asymptomatic heart condition, Rosenblatt and his wife leave their home on Long Island to move in with their son-in-law and their three young grandchildren. He peels back the layers on this most personal of losses to create a testament to familial love.

• Sudden & Traumatic Death

• Death of a Child

Shows you how to find your song when one of your children dies. Mama searches all over for her old song, but learns that she must now sing a new song. Excellent for storytelling.

• Death of a Child

Ages 8-11. A compassionate yet straightforward story to assist young children and their caregivers as they deal with an impending death of a mother. The bright, childlike artwork and simple, straightforward language offer readers a hopeful message. The book does not specify what is wrong with the mother, so it could apply to a number of situations or illnesses.

• Children

• Anticipatory / Before the Death

A compassionate yet objective analysis of man's psychological war against himself, and his need for self-respect and self-understanding.

• Sudden & Traumatic Death

• Suicide / Historical

Through these pages, widowed people of all ages share their pain, their anger, their despair. Even more importantly, they share the discoveries and the insights that have enabled them to heal and build new lives for themselves.

• Death of a Partner

Baby-2 years. 'How could Grandpa die when he promised to take me fishing?' A young child shares his feelings after Grandpa dies. He talks about all the things he will miss doing with Grandpa. The child decides to make a memory box out of Grandpa's old tackle box. He fills it with special items and all the memories of his Grandpa.

• Children

• Death of a Grandparent

This book is a good resource for grieving men, as well as the professionals who help them. The author addresses a wide variety topics related to men and grief and the book is divided into three major sections: 1) Grief Responses and Characteristics, 2) The Special Challenges of Specific Losses, and 3) Working Through Your Grief.

• General

• Men and Grief / Professional

The author uses her own experience of the suicide of her son to help others through the unique grieving process of a suicide survivor.

• Sudden & Traumatic Death

• Death of a Child / Suicide

For persons experiencing fetal death. Deals with feelings, anger, guilt, questions, withdrawal, reaching out, dads, couples, relationships, statements that hurt, and memorializing the baby.

• Death of a Child

• Miscarriage

A good look into the possible causes, medical interventions and physical reactions to miscarriage. Goes into detail about feelings with the main message of “Be kind to yourself.”

• Death of a Child

• Miscarriage

Ages 5-8. Honest and straightforward, this story explores the many emotions a child who has experienced a death may experience, from anger and guilt to sadness and bewilderment. Ultimately, Missing Mommy focuses on the positive―the recognition that the child is not alone but still part of a family that loves and supports him.

• Children

• Death of a Mother