This handbook will help parents and others model healthy attitudes to grief and loss to show children how to work through a loss. The commonsense suggestions include allowing emotions to be expressed without judgement and telling the truth about the adult's own grief. Personal stories illustrate the use of these techniques and their success. The authors are affiliated with The Grief Recovery Institute and have written other books on grief recovery. They do not have professional credentials in counseling or the helping professions. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
"There isn't anyone in life who hasn't experienced some kind of loss. It's comforting to know that we are not alone in our sadness and that practical, easy to read, thoughtful help is available by way of Russell Friedman, John W. James, and Leslie Landon Matthews' gentle insights on the pages of When Children Grieve. Thank you, Neighbors, for your obvious care."
Fred Rogers - Producer/Host Mister Rogers' Neighborhood
Producer/Host Mister Rogers' Neighborhood and Honorary Chairman of The Caring Place (a center for grieving children, adolescents, and their families).
"In my 25 years of training family therapists, I have never seen a more useful tool for helping children deal with loss. This book transcends traditional thinking about helping children grieve. In practical, everyday language, the authors present an action-oriented program that provides concrete suggestions of things to say and do with a child to help acknowledge the loss and to complete' the process of grieving in the healthiest of ways. Although this book positions adults as the child's "emotional leader" in the grief process, all adults can benefit greatly by applying these principles to themselves as well."
Edwin S. Cox, Ph.D., President Emeritus, Phillips Graduate Institute
"Once in a generation, a book comes along that alters the way society views a topic. We teach our children to read, write and do math, so their lives will be successful. While gains are important, loss is unavoidable. Sadly, we do not always teach our children useful skills to deal with the feelings caused by losses, large and small - mainly because we do not know how. When Children Grieve is an essential primer for parents and others who interact with children on a regular basis."
Bernard McGrane, Ph.D., professor of sociology, Chapman University and UC Irvine