Grief Lending Library

Simple, direct, “straight from the heart” information about what a teenager can expect from the grieving process.

• Teens

After the sudden loss of her mother, Chelsea Hanson, a nationally-recognized grief educator and founder of With Sympathy Gifts and Keepsakes, didn’t know where to turn for help, what to do next, or how to put the pieces of her life back together. Hanson’s The Sudden Loss Survival Guide gathers everything that she learned during her own recovery process and provides an indispensable road map to aid those who’ve experienced a life-changing loss.

• Sudden & Traumatic Death

• Death of a Mother

An introduction to the problem and prevention of geriatric suicide focuses on the elderly's sometimes suicidal reaction to severe physical illness, and pathological personal relationships.

• Sudden & Traumatic Death

• Suicide / Historical

This book in a five-book set is Aidan’s story after the suicide death of his father Don, in 2002. Their reflections are captured in their own words and through poignant art by artist/storyteller Laurie Phillips.

• Sudden & Traumatic Death

• Suicide

This book in a five-book set is Becky’s story after the suicide death of her father Don, in 2002. Their reflections are captured in their own words and through poignant art by artist/storyteller Laurie Phillips.

• Sudden & Traumatic Death

• Suicide

This book in a five-book set is Pattie’s story after the suicide death of her husband Don, in 2002. Their reflections are captured in their own words and through poignant art by artist/storyteller Laurie Phillips.

• Sudden & Traumatic Death

• Suicide

This book in a five-book set is Will’s story after the suicide death of his father Don, in 2002. Their reflections are captured in their own words and through poignant art by artist/storyteller Laurie Phillips.

• Sudden & Traumatic Death

• Suicide

A guide for those who have lost someone to suicide. Chapters cover dealing with other people, why suicide grief is different, emotions that come with suicide grief, relationships with others, and recovery.

• Sudden & Traumatic Death

• Suicide

Baby-2 years. 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

Includes personal experiences with sibling grief, survey results from bereaved parents and bereaved siblings, how to bridge the communication gap between parents and children, and dealing with unanswered questions.

• General

• Death of a Sibling

Helps people grieving the loss of a sibling, as well as therapists and friends and family who are supporting. This book mixes Dr. Diraimondo's personal and professional experiences with bereavement, as well as perspectives of other individuals who have faced a sibling loss.

• General

• Sibling Loss

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

Helps adults who have lost a brother or sister to realize that they are not alone in their struggle. It teaches them to understand the unique stages of their grieving process, offering practical and prescriptive advice for dealing with each stage.

• General

• Death of a Sibling

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

The papers included in this book speak of and for the survivors of suicide, of their torment and need for psychological assistance.

• Sudden & Traumatic Death

• Suicide

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

Ages 8-12. A sensitive portrayal of a young boy’s attempt to understand and accept his best friend’s sudden death.

• Children

• Death of a friend / Historical

The facts about suicide, warning signs to watch for, and when and where to go for help.

• Sudden & Traumatic Death

• Suicide / Helping Teens

"Takes the great unknown of death and tells it as it is. Feelings hurt but feelings shared are feelings diminished."

• Teens

• Suicide

Eleven children share their experiences with terminal illness, especially the ways they helped each other cope with the prospects of their own death.

• Children

• Terminally Ill Children / Historical

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 angry expose - the result of hundreds of interviews and extensive research into the plight of The American widow.

• Death of a Partner

• Historical

The words for this book were written long ago as a poem. The poem is now part of the Bible, called Ecclesiastes. It tells about the cycle of life. In the Bible, God says that he will change the pattern of good and bad that we see all around us. God can turn our sadness into dancing. He wants to give us a life that last forever, a life with him on a healed earth with no sickness, no crying and no death-ever!

• Children

• Religious

This book accompanies the reader through the deep and prolonged grief that follows the death of a loved one. Written to connect with you wherever you are in your grieving process, these meditations are appropriate regardless of when your loved one died.

• General

With warmth and compassion, the author highlights seven concerns that she has found to be important to people who are nearing life’s end.

• Anticipatory / Before the Death

Explores many types of significant losses which cause grief: death, divorce, unemployment, etc. Coping strategies which help lessen pain and promote healing.

• General

• All Losses

Defines the socio-religious aspects concerning the dynamics of the process of mourning as it is revealed in modern psychiatric research, as well as the Jewish theological background relating to the concept of death.

• General

• Religious - Jewish / Historical

Sheryl Van Weelden speaks to those who are on their grief journey, or those supporting people on their grief journey. Within the pages of this book, she invites them to walk down that path with her.

• Death of a Partner

Deals with the need to be aware of our natural fear of death, our anxiety, our will to live and the foretastes of death in the midst of life.

• General

• Historical

This book is the story of Claypool's own journey through the darkness, written through four sermons. The first was delivered just eleven days after his eight year old daughter's diagnosis of leukemia, the second after her first major relapse nine months later, and the third weeks after her death. The final sermon - reflection on the process of grieving - was preached three years later.

• General

Organized overview of practical interventions that are innovative for human service professionals that are helping bereaved children. Helps in understanding how grief after a death can impact children and all aspects of their lives.

• Helping Children

Readers will find a perceptive history of man's reaction to death and practical methods of counseling which can restore the grief-stricken to a useful life.

• General

• Historical

Loss is always hard, but when someone you love dies of an accidental drug overdose, the grief that follows can be especially painful and challenging.In this compassionate guide, Dr. Alan Wolfelt shares the most important lessons he has learned from loved ones who've picked up the pieces in the aftermath of a drug overdose.

• Sudden & Traumatic Death

• Overdose

Explains the important difference between grief and mourning and explores the mourner's need to acknowledge the death and embrace the pain of the loss. This important book also explores the many factors that make each person's grief unique and the myriad of normal thoughts and feelings the mourner might have. Questions of spirituality and religion are addressed.

• General

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

Contains all that Mr. Kelly has learned about cancer and how to live with it. The author is founder and president of the national organization "Make Today Count."

• Anticipatory / Before the Death

• Cancer / Historical

In this book, Thomas Joiner explains a theory of suicide, stating that a range of behaviors such as murder-suicide, terrorism, and mass shootings are better understood not by homicidal impulses but by suicidal ones.

• Sudden & Traumatic Death

• Suicide
• Violence

In the tapestry of life and death, we may begin to see connections to the past that we missed in life. While death may look like a loss to the living, the last hours of a dying person may be filled with fullness rather than emptiness. In this fascinating book, Kessler brings us stunning stories from the bedsides of the dying that will educate, enlighten, and comfort us all.

• General

Will help find guidelines both to increase the psychological comfort of our own dying and to enhance our understanding of loved ones who may be dying.

• Anticipatory / Before the Death

Voices of Strength helps survivors make sense of life's least understandable act and shows them how to heal by focusing on comfort, memories, recovery, and hopes for a productive future.

• Sudden & Traumatic Death

• Suicide

After the loss of a pet, this book helps to explain with simply words and funny stories, how to move forward in your grief. It discusses the importance of empathy, the power of resilience, and how to know when, or if, you may be ready to have another furry family member.

• Death of a Pet

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

At thirty, Laurel Lee discovered she had Hodgkin’s disease – an agonizing illness that could take her life and her baby’s as well. Refusing to give up, she learned to overcome the pain with humor and faith, and began to write this remarkable journal of her feelings and experience.

• Anticipatory / Before the Death

• Hodgkin's Disease / Historical

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

The author gives advice, inspiration, and constructive suggestions for dealing with the problems of widowhood.

• Death of a Partner

• Historical

A tender tale of death and new life, this mini-book uses the symbol of one waterbug, climbing a stalk to turn into a dragonfly, never to return. Used in Sunday Schools. Christian perspective.

• Children

Helps give a renewed awareness that death is a vital fact of life. The more than fifty literary selections face death with simplicity, dignity, honesty, and humor.

• General

• Historical

Teens grieve differently from adults and often get lost in the shuffle after the death of a loved one. Weird Is Normal When Teenagers Grieve is unique because it is a self-help book for grieving teens written by an actively grieving teen. Author Jenny Lee Wheeler lost her father to cancer when she was fourteen and validates for her peers that they have the right to grieve in their own way and according to their own timetable, that their grief attacks might be different from those of adults around them, and that they aren't going crazy if they see signs from their loved one.

• Teens

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

Heart-wrenching personal stories are intertwined with practical suggestions, and specific instances are frequently used to illustrate techniques, processes, and the importance of telling your story, rather than assuming your family already knows it. Kuhl focuses particularly on coming to terms with one's past. Discussions of family histories, lifelong priorities, and difficult choices are emphasized as tools for making peace among family members and with one's own conscience.

• Anticipatory / Before the Death

Offers authoritative and invaluable advice, guidance, and resources for families dealing with the traumatic loss of a family member or friend. New to this edition are sections on crime scene cleanup, unsolved cases, and grief in the workplace.

• Sudden & Traumatic Death

• Homicide

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

Teenagers will find many ideas for helping themselves when a friend has died. The author's gentle advice validates a loss that has often gone unacknowledged.

• Teens

• Death of a Friend

A guide for newly bereaved grandparents working through their own grief while comforting their children. Includes stories and quotes from those who have experienced such a loss.

• General

• Death of a Grandchild

Real life accounts of how the loss of a husband, wife or partner affects one’s life. For anyone who has had a lifemate die.

• Death of a Partner

About the impact of our death upon God, and how God in turn impacts our death with profound meaning.

• General

• Religious

At the age of thirty-six, on the verge of completing a decade’s worth of training as a neurosurgeon, Paul Kalanithi was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer. One day he was a doctor treating the dying, and the next he was a patient struggling to live. And just like that, the future he and his wife had imagined evaporated. When Breath Becomes Air chronicles Kalanithi’s transformation from a naïve medical student “possessed,” as he wrote, “by the question of what, given that all organisms die, makes a virtuous and meaningful life” into a neurosurgeon at Stanford working in the brain, the most critical place for human identity, and finally into a patient and new father confronting his own mortality.

• Anticipatory / Before the Death

• Death of a Partner

This gentle, parent-friendly book affirms parents who are considering palliative care, or have already decided against continued aggressive medical intervention for their dying child. Listen to the stories of parents who have been there. Read about what "medical miracles" can really mean, and know that your decisions come from love, devotion, and the courage that lies in letting go.

• General

• Death of a Partner

Ages 5-8. Unlike many books on death for little ones, this one doesn't tell a story. Instead, it addresses children's fears and curiosity head-on, and in a largely secular fashion, by answering some very basic questions: "Why does someone die?" "What does dead mean?" "What comes after death?" Other questions deal with emotions, and there's a section about death customs.

• Children

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

This book will teach readers to assess and put into perspective, their own feelings about the disease so that they can truly help those who are afflicted with it. The use of cartoons, anecdotes and personal stories will set an upbeat and positive tone.

• Anticipatory / Before the Death

Ages 4 and up. When Mom or Dad dies, children grieve deeply. But we can show our care and love for them by encouraging them to share their feelings of sorrow and loss. We can give them the time and space they need to adjust and listen to—if not answer—their questions. We can let them know that they can heal and live a happy, full life of faith, hope, and love—the kind of life their Mom or Dad want for them. We can listen to their hurt and respond in a loving and supportive way.

• Children

• Death of a Parent

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

Jackson emphasizes the skills and insights that help us work through the grief process. He considers the different ways death affects each person, as well as some aspects of grief common to everyone.

• General

• Historical

An activity book for a child and their caregiver to do together to help facilitate grieving a death together.

• Helping Children & Teens

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

Provides helpful advice for those who are grieving – and it is given in a manner which is both professional and practical.

• General

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 explores the concept of “friendgrief” and offers compassionate guidance for those who have suffered the death of a friend and yearn to come to terms with their loss.

• General

• Death of a Friend

Helps you make the important decisions that will allow your loved one to face death with courage and dignity – and you to continue living a full life.

• Anticipatory / Before the Death

This book affirms the pet owner's grief and helps you understand why your feelings are so strong. It also offers practical suggestions for mourning—expressing your grief outside of yourself—so that you can heal. Ideas for remembering and memorializing your pet are also included.

• Death of a Pet

Two books in one. Twelve suggestions to help someone who is sick, injured or otherwise disabled and twelve suggestions for the caregiver.

• Anticipatory / Before the Death

Ages 3-6. Sam is so excited for his baby brother TJ to be born, but TJ never comes home from the hospital. Sam wonders where TJ went, and learns that he is in Heaven with God.

• Children

• Death of a Baby Sibiling

Covers a wide range of questions and concerns to help us guide children through trials and time of loss.

• Helping Children

• Death of a Grandparent

Elementary age children. Corey and his grandmother love to watch balloons floating up to the sky, and when she dies, Corey thinks of a special way to say goodbye.

• Children

• Death of a Grandparent

A story about a little boy trying to make sense surrounding the death of his baby sister. After no one tells him what happened, he must ask questions to the adults around him and find a way to interpret the things they do and say in order to find out the truth.

• Children

• Death of a Baby Sibiling

The author explores the rage, injustice, secondary blame, the media and legal system. Fits all violent death.

• Children

• Death of a Grandparent

My name is Heather and this is my story. It follows me from marrying my best friend and succeeding through an infertility struggle, to becoming a widow and ultimately a single mother. This is the journal of my life after losing the love of my life to mental illness and suicide. My hope is to help others out there who may be travelling a similar path as I am.

• Death of a Partner

• Suicide

Shares the experiences of widows who have found comfort and continuity in mutual-help and community support programs. Brings the success of the original widow-to-widow program into the 21st century, preparing a new generation of community leaders, clergy, counselors, hospice staff, social workers, and the widowed themselves to organize and implement mutual-help programs.

• Death of a Partner

Author, therapist, and fellow widow Genevieve Davis Ginsburg offers you-as well as your family and friends-sage advice for coping with the loss of a husband. This book equips you with the gentle encouragement and practical strategies you need to start along the path to building a new life.

• Death of a Partner

Widowed Parents Unite is more than a book-it's a lifeline. Within its pages, you'll meet parents who've lost their spouses to unforeseen tragedies, from sudden accidents, to relentless illnesses. Their stories resonate deeply, providing both solace and advice.

• Death of a Partner

…to show widowers how others were coping with problems they, too, were experiencing.

• Death of a Partner

• Historical

Step by step information to aid a woman in her new role as widow.

• Death of a Partner

• Historical

Practical suggestions for the newly widowed.

• Death of a Partner

• Historical

Ages 7-10. In discussing her mother's death with her father, 11 year old Sarah comes to see that in endings there are new beginnings, that in winter there is promise of spring, and that everything comes full circle.

• Children

• Death of a Mother

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

A collection of stories by young teens who have experienced the death of a sibiling

• Teens

• Death of a Sibling

Louise and David discuss the emotions and thoughts that occur when a relationship leaves you brokenhearted, a marriage ends in divorce, or a loved one dies. They will also help you develop greater self-awareness and compassion, providing you with the courage and tools to face many other types of losses and challenges, such as saying good-bye to a beloved pet, losing your job, coming to terms with a life-threatening illness or disease, and much more.

• General

• All Losses

In this graphic novel, a wide variety of cartoonists display their experiences with death and what comes next. Different stories display the different aspects of grief, mourning, memorials and myths of the afterlife.

• General

Father and daughter explore ways to communicate with and care for aging parents while finding the support you need to adjust to new responsibilities and roles.

• Anticipatory / Before the Death

• Aging Parents

Information intended to assist mental health professionals to increase their knowledge of advances in the field of youth suicide.

• Sudden & Traumatic Death

• Suicide / Professional