Written by grief counselor Harold Ivan Smith, this book is for those who have loved and lost their mom. Drawing on personal and professional experience, Smith guides readers through grief, from death to burial to honoring the memory of their mother.
Rebecca Faber learned about grief when her toddler son drowned in the family pool. She offers you her experience in the hope that it can help you is your journey toward a God whose love is indeed stronger than death.
Elaine Mallon is not an expert on grief. She's someone who lost her mother suddenly and unexpectedly. She knows the magnitude of this heartbreak firsthand. Devastated and unprepared for how life-changing and painful processing the loss would be, she found herself wondering: "Where's the manual?" and "How do I do this?"Like a compassionate friend, Mallon captures the raw, universal pain of losing your mother with empathy, honesty and eloquence. She tenderly walks the reader through each step of the grieving process, offering straightforward answers to many common questions and addressing fears faced by those grieving, as well. This is a must-read, essential guidebook for anyone uncertain about what to do or where to turn after their mother's loss.For those hoping to help a loved one through grief, this book also offers direction on how to comfort someone who is grieving by explaining what they are going through and how to be most helpful to them.If you've lost your mother, please know this: If you're grieving, you're healing - and you are not alone.
My only son was murdered in December 2012 and I was having a very hard time dealing with my grief. I looked into councelling groups but the meetings were held on week nights, and this was impossilbe for me as I work an afternoon shift. I would come home from work and write how I felt in a notepad, as I was doing this, my expressions of grief were coming out in poems. I began posting my expressions of my grief on my facebook page., my family would comment on how beautiful they were, and that maybe I should consider publishing them in a book. I thought no who would really want to read about my grief and how I hurt inside. Then I found a facebook page for grieving mothers and began posting my expressions there. In no time so many grieving mothers from all over were wanting to share my poems. They had all encouraged my to write my expressions in a book and thats what I've done. For all the grieving mothers in the world this is from my heart.
Ease the Pain of Losing a Child Softening the Grief is both a companion for grieving mothers so they know they are not alone and a resource for people who want to be caring but are afraid they will say the wrong thing. This book provides the right things to say and do. Learn what words will truly bring comfort rather than pain to a grieving mother. Understand the emotional challenges faced by a grieving mother, even months and years after the loss of her child. Appreciate the inability of a bereaved mother to forget her pain - ever. Learn how to support and comfort a bereaved mother with confidence. Know what to say and do without adding more pain. Four mothers who each lost a child want to educate friends and family of those who are grieving. In Softening the Grief they write about what to say and do to provide comfort and include a list of 25 things people often say that are intended to offer sympathy but more often are hurtful. The authors suggest better ways to communicate compassion and support. These women also write about the pain that never goes away and share their journeys through stories and poetry. A final word from the authors: If you felt it was a gift to know our child, then we ask you to continue to share that gift. Remember that we hurt every day. Your gifts of remembrance validate our feelings that our child was and continues to be loved, missed, and never forgotten. You can help to keep us strong so we are able to stand and reach out to the next unfortunate mother who experiences the pain of losing a child. It is never too late and the relationship was never too long ago to mention our child.
Advice from One Grieving Mom to Others When Kim’s three-year-old son tragically passed away, she found plenty of resources on grieving. She says what she really needed, though, "was someone who would give me advice for living, not just grieving . . . How do I get through the grocery store without crying? What do I do with my son’s things? When will my mind stop replaying the emergency room scene?" Now, ten years later, she’s written that book. With raw vulnerability, a deep well of wisdom, and the practical knowledge of someone who’s been there, she walks grieving moms through the life-after-death process from how to plan the funeral to how to deal with friends, family, holidays, and birthdays. This is a profound and powerful resource that’s invaluable for the mom who has lost a child—and for her friends and family who want to love her well.
A powerful exploration of grief and resilience following the death of the author's son that combines memoir, reportage, and lessons in how to heal Everyone deals with grief in their own way. Helen Macdonald found solace in training a wild goshawk. Cheryl Strayed found strength in hiking the Pacific Crest Trail. For Carol Smith, a Pulitzer Prize nominated journalist struggling with the sudden death of her seven-year-old son, Christopher, the way to cross the river of sorrow was through work. In Crossing the River, Smith recounts how she faced down her crippling loss through reporting a series of profiles of people coping with their own intense challenges, whether a life-altering accident, injury, or diagnosis. These were stories of survival and transformation, of people facing devastating situations that changed them in unexpected ways. Smith deftly mixes the stories of these individuals and their families with her own account of how they helped her heal. General John Shalikashvili, once the most powerful member of the American military, taught Carol how to face fear with discipline and endurance. Seth, a young boy with a rare and incurable illness, shed light on the totality of her son's experiences, and in turn helps readers see that the value of a life is not measured in days. Crossing the River is a beautiful and profoundly moving book, an unforgettable journey through grief toward hope, and a valuable, illuminating read for anyone coping with loss.
This book is not about one story of loss or one grief therapy approach. This book contains exactly what grieving couples have asked for: what they wanted to know in exactly your situation; what they have mentioned and pointed out they would need or would have needed in that horrendous time of loss. Books written by bereaved parents often follow the formula: "My life was beautiful, then my child or baby died and then my life was never the same again. I had to write a book about it." These books are usually self-therapy, rather than a way to help others. Books by therapists often talk about their work from a theoretical basis that lacks personal experience. They discuss people who experience complicated or chronic grief as opposed to encouraging the resilience that lies within each and every one of us. I have experienced the loss of a child and I am a grief therapist, but this book is not a memoir about my loss. Neither is it just a book written from the perspective of a therapist having worked with countless clients experiencing loss. This book focuses on the effect parental bereavement has on the parents and their relationship. It is about surviving loss as a couple and the re-emerging from grief into a life of joy and melancholy, laughter and tears, happiness and sadness. Not either/or but BOTH/AND. This book will, teach you understanding and acceptance of the grieving process each and everyone chooses. In a relationship, each partner is equally responsible to take part in sailing the ship together. Surviving Loss as a Couple is about how you can re-emerge from this crazy ride through the darkness of grief with renewed depth and understanding with your partner. This book is based on bereaved parents' needs, challenges and what they said has helped them, based on a worldwide survey I have conducted. It contains detailed descriptions of what has helped eighteen individuals and couples that I have interviewed, couples in varying situations and at different stages of their journey with grief.
When a mother's worst fear happens...These devotions will guide and encourage her and those who wish to help her. This book has grown from the premise that when God allows tragedy, he sends blessings to bring about his calling of perfection on our lives. Since the years when my two daughters died of cancer, I have found grief to be a time of gentle spiritual awakening-when eyes are opened to new realities and hearts find peace and answers. This book holds stories from friends and my own life which I pray will point you to Jesus in the Psalms. There you will discover the beautiful work he is weaving in your life and the hope to which you've been called.Joan Moss relies on Scripture to bring hope to mothers suffering the relentless grief of losing a child.... Her freeing and strengthening devotional covers the many facets of grief she has personally experienced-despair, anger, guilt, loneliness and more. Joan knows first hand that only God can heal us, and he is more than willing. Let her walk you into the loving and merciful words of Jesus with each chapter. She has written an essential, comprehensive and beautiful book. -Lara Stark, Author of Bridal Veil Fireweed, The Tale of the Woodswalker and Calla Lily DreamsGrief... is a difficult and often surprising experience. One surprise may be (its) wide variety of emotions. This devotional is a... guide to the comforting relevance of the Psalms as messages of reassurance that God is with us. -Carolyn Havlen, Facilitator at GriefShare, New MexicoAs a bereaved mother... this book would have been helpful as I went through so many emotions, especially in the first year. -Roberta Swanhart, Darren's momThis book invites itself to be given as a gift to women who need its message of hope.-Teena Marcus, Women's Book Study Leader, Hope Church, New MexicoI lost my 27-year-old daughter over thirty years ago. The Lord has healed a lot of my pain. Joan's book still touched me very deeply. As a Biblical counselor and senior pastor, I see this as a good resource which I highly recommend. -Rev. Patricia H. Bergsland, retired pastor and mother of Ann Scott, New York