The mourning of a parent's death can take many years--for some it may take a lifetime. The first year of separation, however, is often the most difficult and heart wrenching. The first birthday, holiday, spring, summer, autumn, and winter spent without the loved one often revives or increases the pain. This unique guide is organized according to a timeline of a child's first year of mourning the loss of a parent. It is a warm, insightful, yet practical guide to help the families and community members surrounding a child who has suffered such a loss to anticipate and cope with the many difficulties that arise. Practical suggestions for providing comfort, information, and advice are provided for adults struggling to help children endure the trauma. A range of difficult situations that bereaved children encounter are identified, helping to prepare adults for a child's potential reactions and providing them with realistic coping strategies. Lewis and Lippman, child psychologists who have provided therapy to children who have lost a parent, suggest answers to questions that these children frequently ask. They offer methods for dealing with particularly difficult times such as birthdays, and share practical advice for everyday situations and events. They begin with helping the child through anticipation of death, if it is expected, or through the initial shock of unexpected death. Poignant vignettes from the therapists' experience dealing with young and older children are included.

Although Mark Levin is known as a constitutional lawyer and a nationally syndicated broadcaster, he is, first and foremost, a dog lover. In 1998, he and his family welcomed a half-Border Collie/half-Cocker Spaniel they named Pepsi into their lives. Six years later, his wife and son persuaded him to adopt a dog from the local shelter, a Spaniel mix. It turned out he was older than originally thought, and he was the most beautiful dog they'd ever seen. They named him Sprite. Their lives would never be the same.

Sprite and Pepsi became fast friends. They did everything together, from rummaging through the trash to loudly greeting the deliveryman. And the Levin family fell in love with him -- with his gentle nature, beautiful face and soft, huggable fur. But on Halloween night, shortly after joining their family, Sprite suddenly collapsed and was rushed to the animal hospital. It was the first of many such visits, and the start of a long journey for the Levin family, filled with much joy and anguish.

During the next two years, Sprite and Pepsi were inseparable. And Sprite's bond with the Levin family deepened. Friends, neighbors, and even Mark's radio audience came to know and love Sprite. As Mark's daughter turned eighteen and graduated from high school and Mark's son turned fifteen, Sprite's health deteriorated -- even as his spirits remained high and his beauty and grace continued to inspire. Between Thanksgiving and Christmas 2006, the Levin family said their emotional final goodbye. Crushed and consumed with grief, Mark turned to family, friends, and fans for help.

But new hope came when the Levins least expected it.

"Rescuing Sprite" is a stunningly intimate look at the love between a family and a dog, one that movingly shows, in Mark Levin's words, that "in the end, we humans are the lucky ones."

The author will donate a portion of his proceeds from the sale of this book to animal shelters.

A luminous, true story, "Name All the Animals" is an unparalleled account of grief and secret love: the tale of a family clinging to the memory of a lost child, and of a young woman struggling to define herself in the wake of his loss. As children, siblings Alison and Roy Smith were so close that their mother called them by one name, Alroy. But when Alison was fifteen, she woke one day to learn that Roy, eighteen, was dead.
Heartbreaking but hopeful, this extraordinary memoir explores the after-math of Roy's death: his parents' enduring romance, the faith of a deeply religious community, and the excitement and anguish of Alison's first love -- a taboo relationship that opens up a world beyond the death of her brother.

As a result of her own experience with many kind of loss, Stephanie Ericsson offers an intimate, profoundly touching guide for those in grief, legitimizing the complex and often taboo emotions we all feel when loss transforms our lives. In Companion Through the Darkness, Stephanie Ericsson defines grief as "the constant reawakening that things are now different." Using a very simple format -- which combines excerpts from her own diary writings with brief essays -- she vividly speaks the language of loss and captures the contradictory, wrenching, and chaotic emotions of grief. The book can be opened at any point to chapters no more than a few pages long on such themes as:

Abandonment: The sudden state I am forced into. I no longer belong to you. I no longer belong to anyone.

Rage: The state I use to survive seemingly moments of intolerable pain.

Humor: The backside of agony.

Pity: The look on people's faces when they haven't a clue what to say to me.

Transition: The moments, strung out over months, when I know I am no longer the woman I was, but not quite the woman I am becoming.

The result is compelling, intimate, and heartbreakingly truthful -- a book that promises to be enormously sought-after support and touchstone for all those making their own journey through grief.

'Absorbing, funny and oh-so-romantic. I loved every page!'When Lily's husband dies, she moves to the edge of a tiny village, settling into a solitary life, her only real company her brother and his family. A quiet life becomes her safe space, with no risk of getting hurt. When her brother offers her spare room to his oldest friend, Jack, Lily's reluctant - but knowing how much she owes her family, can't say no. A lodger takes some getting used to but to her surprise, Lily begins to enjoy Jack's company. Slowly but surely, Jack encourages Lily to step outside her comfort zone. But taking risks means facing the consequences, and telling people how she really feels, means Lily might have to face losing them. But as the saying goes - you only live once - and being brave could mean Lily gets a second chance at love... 'Read yourself happy' with Maxine Morrey's latest feel-good, unforgettable and utterly uplifting love story, guaranteed to make you smile. Perfect for fans of Mhairi McFarlane and Sophie Kinsella. Praise for Maxine Morrey: 'An uplifting read that stops you in your tracks and makes you wonder "....but what if?" Absorbing, funny and oh-so-romantic, I loved every page!' Rachel Burton 'A super sweet read, guaranteed to warm any winter evening' Samantha Tonge 'A lovely story that kept me turning the pages' Jules Wake 'A stunning, perfect novel - it literally took my breath away.' The Writing Garnet, 5 stars 'A warm hug of a book.' Rachel's Random Reads, 5 stars

My Number Was Up, Dad," written by Gary and Gabriel Vaught, is the real life account of a phenomenal sequence of events (that still occur today) following the death of the family's eighteen-year old son, Gabriel. Gabriel died suddenly and tragically while attending college in Chicago, Il, from symptoms associated with Type-One, (Insulin Dependent) Diabetes. The entire event was a mystery for two short days until their son contacted them from the afterlife to explain his death, his departure from the earth, his amazing revelations and observations of and from heaven. This Fisher's, Indiana, family could have never imagined a more tragic or startling turn of events in their life. From experiencing the grief of the horror of hearing of their son's mysterious death, to the channeled communications that occurred in a leisurely dialogue that reinforces his existence in the afterlife, (proving the "Afterlife Consciousness" theory) through Spirit communications. Numerous conversations subsequently have occurred bringing Light to the Vaught's of what each individual can expect to learn here and hereafter. The journey is laid out in an easy to understand process that bears witness to why each human being lives here and hereafter. The story is a tragedy turned into a triumphant joy for Gary, producing an inner peace that brings him now to the threshold of an entirely new and different life. He spends each moment now walking with Christ. Serving God in instructional and guided ways that help humans better understand their true Spiritual awakening, he discusses anyone's abilities to communicate with Spirit for guidance or joyous purposes, through conscious awareness and practice. The significance ofthe messages, serve to inspire faith and awareness, and are insightful, as they raise one's consciousness beyond customary routine thinking. This book offers hope to anyone and everyone that has ever lost a loved one, especially a child, that our loved ones are indeed here with us, always

If someone you love dies or you suffer a profound loss of a deep relationship, a career, or a physical ability, this is a book you must have. Grief is not a disease. It is an opportunity to look deeply at your life and create a new life for yourself. The example of the author's own journey will encourage you to take sufficient time to move through the grief slowly and patiently in the face of our "quick fix" society. The author invites you to find your own answers to these important questions: What is my role in the world now? How do I bring healing to my life? Will I experience peace and joy once again? www.AuthorHouse.Com BM25509

Intended for nurses, doctors, midwives, social workers, chaplains, and hospital support staff, this guide gives caring and practical advice for helping families grieve properly after losing a child at birth. As the special needs of families experiencing perinatal loss are intense and require more than just the bereavement standards in most hospitals, this handbook offers tips and suggestions for opening up communication between caregivers and families, creating a compassionate bedside environment, and helping with mourning rituals. Encouraging continual grief support, these specific companioning strategies can help ease the pain of this most sensitive situation.

In what was the most devastating event of their lives, Tom and Pat Monahan lost their nine-year-old grandson, Tommy, in a house fire in December of 2007. This unimaginable tragedy rocked their lives with pain and sorrow beyond description, of a kind and strength they had never dreamed of.

As a way of dealing with this unspeakable grief, Pat Monahan practiced what she preached as a professional bereavement counselor: she began journaling her feelings to work through the pain. Following the depression that comes with grief, she realized that this process was a major key to lifting her depression. In hopes of helping others whose faith has been shattered following the loss of a loved one, Pat presents her recorded thoughts and struggles in "To Thee We Do Cry."

She describes the impact her grandson Tommy's life and death had on the entire community of Staten Island; she also emphasizes the importance of coping with the struggle with spirituality while faced with such trauma. In the end, it is faith that will guide someone suffering from a loss back to living a full life once more.

As much as we may not want to admit it, death is a part of life. When Jesse Kalfel discovered that his mother wanted to be cremated rather than buried, he queried some of his friends concerning how they wanted their bodies handled after death. Many of them also expressed an interest in cremation but had not given much thought to what should be done with their ashes.

In "So You're Cremated ... Now What?" Kalfel provides many commercially available scattering possibilities along with some of his own creative suggestions. Would you like to distribute your earthly remains by being packed into fireworks or have them shot into space? How about placing your ashes inside a time capsule or scattering them around exotic locales in the world? Would you like your final remains turned into a real diamond or cast into a pink flamingo lawn sculpture?

Read "So You're Cremated ... Now What? Over One Hundred Creative Ways to Scatter Your Ashes and Other Useful Information" and gain insights about a serious topic written in a lighthearted manner. If you're considering cremation of your final remains, this book presents various options and provides a way to discuss the subject with loved ones.