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Shock

Denial

Review
Bregman's response to "a new language for death and dying and grief" was prompted by a seminary student's rhetorical question: "Once you've said that death is natural, what more is there to say?" She largely embraces the death-awareness and hospice movements that have articulated the new language, in which "death is natural" is a commonplace. But that commonplaceness raises questions about its meaning and challenges Christian traditions that have long devoted attention to the supernatural. To show how Christian thought has been transformed by the new language, Bregman first sketches the histories of Christian attitudes toward death and dying and of the death-awareness and hospice movements in the U.S. She then discusses the interrelationship of the three, incidentally considering American misappropriation of Freudian language. Convinced that Christianity has a stake in the death-awareness movement, she argues that a Christian contribution to the movement should be grounded in a theology of the Cross and resurrection. She may leave readers convinced that there is more to say and that saying it will be of lasting importance.

Guilt

Reviews
The first 18 pages of this 36-page booklet describe the guilt process, including 10 types of guilt that may occur during the bereavement process. The second 18 pages offer 17 suggestions for coping with guilt. This booklet won't tell you not to feel guilty. It is written to help bereaved people gain insight into their guilt feelings and to begin the process of moving beyond the heavy burden of guilt.

Reviews
Help for all victims of violence: the meaning of PTSD Yearly. Monthly. Daily. Hourly. Even as you read these words, somewhere someone has become a victim of violence. Victims of homicide, assault, rape, robbery, terrorism, car accidents, natural and man-made disasters - to cite a few.

These acts result in psychological trauma with its states of terror and fear, and symptoms that may include hypervigilence, exaggerated startle response, sleeplessness, and recurring intrusive memories of the event. Such events and their aftermath often lead to avoidance of the traumatic situation and withdrawal from other life activities as well. In time, psychological trauma becomes Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and the effects of PTSD, if left untreated, may last until death.

It need not be this way. There are good interventions that victims can utilize for themselves and with their therapists. For many years, my victim patients asked where they could learn more about PTSD. Since there was no book on the topic, I wrote this one so that the basic information about psychological trauma and PTSD would be available. Many victims and their therapists have found this book to be of remarkable help.

There is no need to suffer. It was not your fault. Learn about the aftermath of violence and what you can do about it. - The Author

Anger

Reviews
Pastor R. F. Smith, in this personal account of the death of his son, admits his anger at God, relates the long journey of dealing with this anger, and details the process of making a pilgrimage to the place where he could live, work, and love again.

Reviews
Offering hope and useful suggestions to those grieving the loss of a loved one, this guide provides outlets for feelings of grief, anger, frustration, and disappointment. It is devoted to the unique grief suffered by the families and friends of persons killed suddenly and violently. This book provides self-affirming skills of emotional expression that will help get survivors well again.

Depression

Review
You or someone you love may be one of an estimated 25 million Americans currently taking antidepressants for a wide range of psychiatric and physical disorders. But there is a dark side to these "wonder drugs" --- punishing side effects such as weight gain, lethargy, and sexual dysfunction that afflict up to 80 percent of the people who take them. Until now, side effect sufferers have had nowhere to turn for help.

Loneliness

Fear

Panic Attacks

Review
You or someone you love may be one of an estimated 25 million Americans currently taking antidepressants for a wide range of psychiatric and physical disorders. But there is a dark side to these "wonder drugs" --- punishing side effects such as weight gain, lethargy, and sexual dysfunction that afflict up to 80 percent of the people who take them. Until now, side effect sufferers have had nowhere to turn for help.

Suicide

Review
"Trudy Carlson is a courageous woman. This book, written as a result of her son's suicide, demonstrated the transformative power of grief. It is the first book I would recommend to a survivor of life's worst nightmare--the death of a child by suicide. I learned so much from it. Although Carlson in no way minimizes the extraordinary grief a survivor experiences, she demonstrates how one can grow through adversity, and thus offers hope."

Review
The authors address the special needs and emotions of the survivors--those affected by the suicide of a loved one--explore the natural grief, and the added guilt, rage, and shame that dealing with a suicide often engenders. Includes a directory of worldwide support groups.

Review
This well-written text was extremely helpful to me and my family during an incredibly difficult tragedy, the suicide death of a beloved son. Survivors need education as well as encouragement from someone like Ms. Bolton, who has truly been in our shoes. I have recommended this book to many bereaved, even those who have not been touched by suicide.

Review
An excellent read for health care professionals, survivors of suicide and anyone seeking stories of human strength, Victoria Alexander offers a well organized collection of narratives from survivors of suicide. Raw in it's honesty, it offers hope of a future to the recently bereaved and a reference point for professionals and laypeople caring for those left behind. A survivor myself, it allowed me to address issues I had buried years earlier. A decade of collecting these touching, sometimes painful stories has allowed insight into a suffering that shame so often causes us to conceal.

Review
"Suicide is a particularly awful way to die: the mental suffering leading up to it is usually prolonged, intense, and unpalliated," writes Kay Redfield Jamison. "There is no morphine equivalent to ease the acute pain, and death not uncommonly is violent and grisly." Jamison has studied manic-depressive illness and suicide both professionally--and personally. She first planned her own suicide at 17; she attempted to carry it out at 28. Now professor of psychiatry at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, she explores the complex psychology of suicide, especially in people younger than 40: why it occurs, why it is one of our most significant health problems, and how it can be prevented. Jamison discusses manic-depression, suicide in different cultures and eras, suicide notes (they "promise more than they deliver"), methods, preventive treatments, and the devastating effects on loved ones. She explores what type of person commits suicide, and why, and when. She illustrates her points with detailed anecdotes about people who have attempted or committed suicide, some famous, some ordinary, many of them young. Not easy reading, either in subject or style, but you'll understand suicide better and be jolted by the intensity of depression that drives young people to it.

Review
The book starts with stories about what it is like to be a survivor of the suicide of someone you love. But it goes much further. It is a self-help guide to recovery for the survivor, a handbook for anyone who cares about helping someone else, and a resource for professionals who work with bereaved survivors in health care, education, religious institutions, and the workplace. It can also serve as a college textbook for classes dealing with loss, grief, and bereavement in general as well as after a suicide.

Besides covering the immediate aftermath of the suicide, the book helps to understand both the many aspects of the situation leading up to the suicide and the complicated process of recovery. It touches on such topics as addiction, abuse, neglect, and depression, as well as self-examination, spirituality and personal growth.

It has many practical suggestions about what to do and not to do, what to say and not to say,  how to help oneself, how to help children, etc.

When Our "Angel" Visits

Sleeping/Not Sleeping

Review
This easy-to-read, informative book clearly explains common problems associated with sleep and strategies for dealing with them. It defines normal sleep patterns and methods used to diagnose disorders. Common disorders are explained, including those affecting children and older adults. Drugs and clinical treatment of serious disorders are covered.

Review
One of the world's leading experts on sleep disorders provides a collection of proven safe and sensible solutions for insomnia and other sleep-related problems that literally keep millions up at night.

Review
THE SANDMAN is a singularly soporific bedtime story based on a systematic unfolding of progressive relaxation suggestions interwoven with the timeless Sandman theme. Equally comforting whether read quietly to oneself or aloud to a loved one, the story evokes a relaxing world of magical sand, miniature bulldozers, lapping waves and, best of all, restful sleep. Happily it turns out that children and grown-ups are equally smitten by Sandman's charms.

Review
If you have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep, you're not alone. Almost one-third of the adult population shares your problem. Now John Selby, a clinical psychologist who has helped hundreds of insomniacs-including himself-gives you his Secrets of a God Night's Sleep. You'll discover some fascinating facts about sleep, why it becomes a problem, and how you can overcome those sleepless nights. Learn: Why you lie awake when you long for sleep Why you wake up in the middle of the night The surprising sexual dimensions of sleep How to break the anxiety/worry habit How to adjust your bed for total relaxation Magic bedtime rituals to induce sleep Fabulous fantasies and techniques to put you in dreamland and much, much more!

Moms vs. Dads

Review
An intimate look into the life of a family dealing with the terminal illness and death of a child, and how their faith helped them cope with the pain and challenges brought on by this tragedy. Told by the child's mother based on her journals kept throughout the ordeal, this is a poignant account of emotional turmoil and faith.

Review
Many parents who have experienced the death of a child struggle with painful and at times almost overwhelming marital problems. Grieving can create great marital distance, and it can magnity couple problems that existed before the child died. Grieving parents often fear that they will divorce. Most books that have been written to help grieving parents focus on individual, personal grief. This book focusses on the couple relationship. Based on intensive interviews of 29 couples who experienced the death of a child, the book offers perspectives, insights, powerful and moving interview quotes, and advice dealing with common marital problems experienced by bereaved parents. Commonly the problems are connected to couple communication, differences in grieving and how those differences are interpreted, sexuality, parenting of other children, the use of alcohol and drugs, blaming, differences about whether to have another child, differences in whether to go outside the marriage for support, and what to do with things and spaces that were the child's. This book discusses hard realities but offers a message of hope. Grieving parents can and do overcome marital difficulties and achieve a strong and loving marriage based on resepect for differences, mutual understanding, and their shared history.

Our Other Children

Review
Gives needed information to those who work with grieving children. Basic, reader friendly, and talks about what you really need to know and how children respond to grief from infancy to teen.

Review
This book is a positive contribution that will help children and their families move forward towards acceptance, understanding, and hope.

Review
Explaining death to a child is one of the most difficult tasks a parent or other relative faces. The Grieving Child now provides much-needed guidance, covering such areas as visiting the seriously ill or dying, especially difficult situations, including suicide and murder, attending a funeral, and the role religion can play.

Review
Daddy's Promise is about a little boy's journey of discovery after the death of his father. Jesse is angry and filled with questions. Why did his daddy have to die? What happens when someone dies? Where do they go? Jesse's questions are answered both by his mother, and in a series of dreams where Jesse visits his father and learns about life, death and life after death.  Daddy's Promise answers common questions children have about death, as well as suggestions for coping

Review
Dr. William Kroen offers sound advice, comfort and compassion to any adult helping a child cope with death. Weaving in anecdotes about real children and their families, he explains how children from infancy through age 18 perceive and react to death and offers suggestions for how to respond to children at different ages and stages. Specific strategies are offered to guide and support them through the grieving process.

Good Days/Bad Days

Hey! What About The Dads?

Grandparents Grief

Grandma's Tears
Comfort for Grieving Grandparents
By June Cerza Kolf
Review
Grandparents are often overlooked when a grandchild dies, yet they carry a double burden--the loss of their grandchild and the sorrow of their own grieving children. Author Kolf offers support and hope in brief chapters that do not overwhelm the bereaved. She intertwines practical strategies for surviving grief with first-person accounts from grandparents.

Getting Help

Dear Parents
Letters to Bereaved Parents
By Joy Johnson
Review
A collection of letters to bereaved parents written by bereaved parents and well-known leaders in the bereavement field. This is a support group in book form. Makes a wonderful gift to newly bereaved families.

Sweet Memories
By Elaine E. Stillwell & Joy Johnson
Review
For children and adults. . . to create healing and loving memories for Holidays and Other Special Days. Includes activities and crafts for creating a Photo Collage, Brag Book, Love Copies, Treasure Chest, Nature Basket and more. Elaine lives in Rockville Center, New York. She and her husband, Joe founded the Rockville Center Chapter of The Compassionate Friends, a national self-help organization for bereaved siblings and parents. After her own experiences with grief she became active in helping other bereaved parents.

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