The Empty Room: Surviving the Loss of a Brother or Sister at Any Age

The younger sister of a boy who died in his teens of a rare autoimmune disease describes the loving bond they shared and draws on interviews with more than two hundred sibling survivors to consider the complex emotional impact of losing a brother or sister. 35,000 first printing.

Alison Smith author of "Name All the Animals""The Empty Room" is one of those quietly revolutionary books. Through her own grief, through conscientious research and compassionate journalism, DeVita-Raeburn tells the story of a forgotten grief. In our culture, sibling grief is hidden. It is a nameless, faceless loss. DeVita-Raeburn gives these siblings a voice. And in doing so, she gives us back the story of our own lives.

Judith Guest author of "Ordinary People" and "The Tarnished Eye" This book is a factual description of my own fictional preoccupations, and I found myself thinking over and over: "The Empty Room" is a book that could save lives. Elizabeth DeVita-Raeburn has offered a wonderful gift, an invaluable source for both solace and understanding. This book is not only for those who have lost siblings, but for all of us who have siblings and have struggled with the joys and mysteries of a mingled identity.

Andrew Solomon author of "The Noonday Demon" The death of a sibling is a curiously neglected area in modern psychology, and in "The Empty Room, " Elizabeth DeVita-Raeburn delves into this particular and poignant category of trauma. Her book is compassionate and generous and will be a great solace to people isolated in the pain of such loss.

Reeve Lindbergh author of "Under a Wing" This is a brave, wise, and above all open-minded look at a truth that seems to have been ignored almost entirely: sibling love and sibling loss are as profound as any other experiences in our family lives and do impact us, enormously, forever. It's as if Elizabeth DeVita-Raeburn has opened a new window on a landscape I thought I knew, and suddenly, after all these years, I see my own home ground much more clearly.

Judy Dunn author of "Sisters and Brothers" and professor at the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College, London This is a poignant exploration of a seriously neglected topic -- the impact of the death of a sibling. It is a moving contribution to our understanding of sibling relationships and will surely be helpful to those coping with the grief of bereavement.

Joanna H. Fanos, author of "Sibling Loss" The journalistic skills of DeVita-Raeburn, combined with her courage in sharing her own personal story of her complex responses and feelings to her brother's illness and death, have produced a book which represents a significant step in portraying the profound consequences of sibling loss. Her story is destined to reach the hearts of many readers, not only those of us whose personal journey of discovery and healing resonates with hers.

Helen Rosen, Ph.D. author of "Unspoken Grief: Coping with Childhood Sibling Loss" Elizabeth DeVita-Raeburn's "The Empty Room" is a very welcome addition to the scant literature on sibling loss. In telling her own story, as well as the stories of those she interviewed for the book, DeVita-Raeburn draws us into the experience of both children and adults who have lost a brother or sister. It amazes me that sibling loss continues to go unrecognized as the potentially life-changing event that it is. Here's a book that acknowledges that pain and will help survivors begin to heal.

Alison Smith author of "Name All the Animals" "The Empty Room" is one of those quietly revolutionary books. Through her own grief, through conscientious research and compassionate journalism, DeVita-Raeburn tells the story of a forgotten grief. In our culture, sibling grief is hidden. It is a nameless, faceless loss. DeVita-Raeburn gives these siblings a voice. And in doing so, she gives us back the story of our own lives.

Alison Smith author of Name All the Animals The Empty Room is one of those quietly revolutionary books. Through her own grief, through conscientious research and compassionate journalism, DeVita-Raeburn tells the story of a forgotten grief. In our culture, sibling grief is hidden. It is a nameless, faceless loss. DeVita-Raeburn gives these siblings a voice. And in doing so, she gives us back the story of our own lives.

Judith Guest author of Ordinary People and The Tarnished Eye This book is a factual description of my own fictional preoccupations, and I found myself thinking over and over: The Empty Room is a book that could save lives. Elizabeth DeVita-Raeburn has offered a wonderful gift, an invaluable source for both solace and understanding. This book is not only for those who have lost siblings, but for all of us who have siblings and have struggled with the joys and mysteries of a mingled identity.