Book Lists

  • Aarvy Aardvark Finds Hope. O’Toole, Donna. Mountain Rainbow Pub., 1988.

    A read aloud story for people of all ages about loving and losing, friendship and hope. With the help of his friend, Ralphy Rabbit, AArvy comes to terms with the loss of his mother and brother.

  • About Dying: An Open Family Book for Parents & Children Together. Stein, Sara. Walker, 1974.

    This non-fiction book helps parents guide children toward the truth even though it may be difficult.

  • And Peter Said Goodbye. Weil, Jennifer. Enchante Books, 1993.

    Mrs. Murgatroyd’s magical paints send Peter on a fantastic journey across the country to his Grandfather’s funeral where he is able to finally say goodbye and discover his own path toward acceptance and healing.

  • Annie and the Old One. Miles, Miska. Little Brown, 1971.

    A wise and poignant tale of a Navajo family told with simple realism and directness as Annie’s friend, Old One, nears the end of her life.

  • Badger’s Parting Gifts. Varley, Susan. Morrow, 1984.

    Badger’s friends are sad when he dies, but they treasure the legacies he left them.

  • Blow Me A Kiss, Miss Lily. Carlstrom, Nancy. Harper, 1990.

    When her best friend, an old lady named Miss Lilly, passes away, Sara learns that the memory of a loved one never dies.

  • Dusty Was My Friend. Clardy, Andrea Fleck. Human Sciences Press, 1984.

    Eight-year-old Benjamin remembers his friend Dusty, who was killed in a car accident, and tries to understand his own feelings about losing a friend.

  • Everett Anderson’s Goodbye. Clifton, Lucille. Henry Holt, 1983.

    Everett Anderson has a difficult time coming to terms with his grief after his father dies.

  • Geranium Morning. E. Sandy Powell. Carol Rhoda Books, 1990.

    Two friends who lose parents, one suddenly in an accident and one by illness, learn to deal with their grief.

  • Grandad Bill’s Song. Yolen, Jane. Philomel, 1994.

    A boy asks others how they felt when his grandfather died and then shares his own feelings.

  • Gran-Gran’s Best Trick: A Story for Children Who Have Lost Someone They Love. Holden, L. Dwight. Magination Press, 1989.

    A child recounts her special relationship with her grandfather and the difficulty of coping with his death from cancer.

  • Death is Hard to Live With: Teenagers Talk About How They Cope With Loss. Bode, Janet.

    A survival guide to bereavement including a number of experiences dealing with violent of sudden death.

  • Facing Change: Falling Apart and Coming Together Again in the Teen Years. O’Toole, Donna.

  • The Grieving Teen: A Guide for Teenagers and Their Friends. Fitzgerald, Helen.

    Discusses typical questions young adults may have, including death from AIDS, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and suicide. Guides teens through everything from the sickbed to the funeral, first day back at school and the first anniversary of the death

  • Help for the Hard Times: Getting Through Loss. Hipp, Earl.

    Helps teens understand how to experience grief and loss.

  • Helping a Friend’s Grieving Heart: 100 Practical Ideas for Helping Someone You Love Through Loss. Wolfert, Alan.

  • Helping Teens Work Through Grief. Perschey, Mary Ke.

    Helps adults connect with grieving teens while assisting in understanding their range of reactions and experiences in grief.

  • How it Feels When a Parent Dies. Krementz, Jill.

    Children and teens speak openly of their experiences and feelings.

  • How Teenagers Cope with Grief: Something I’ve Never Felt Before. Zagdanski, Doris.

    A book to alleviate the pain and loneliness associated with living without.

  • A Journal for teenagers experiencing loss. Traisman, Enid.

  • Life After Trauma: a Workbook for Healing. Rosenbloom, Dena

    Provides caring assistance out of the emotional tangle that can result from trauma.

  • On Death and Dying. Kubler-Ross, Elizabeth.

    Gives guidance on how to deal with deaths of friends or family members.

  • Straight Talk about Death for Teenagers: How to Cope with Losing Someone You Love. Grollman, Earl.

  • When a Friend Dies: A Book for Teens About Grieving and Healing. Gootman, Marilyn.

    Speaks simply and directly to anyone who has suffered the loss of a friend. Also addresses loss by violence.

  • When Bad Things Happen to Good People. Kushner, Harold.

    Provides practical and compassionate answers that will appeal to people of all religious creeds.

  • When Living Hurts, Gordon, Sol.

    What to do book for yourself or someone you care about who feels discouraged, sad, lonely, hopeless, angry, frustrated, unhappy, bored, depressed or suicidal.

  • The Bereaved Parent. Harriet Sarnoff Schiff.

    This offers guidance to parents facing the imminent death of a child or suffering from grief or depression as well as showing a way through day-to-day hardships and decisions.

  • Companion to Grief: Finding Consolation When Someone You Love Has Died. Patricia Kelly.

    The three stages of grief: disbelief, pain and healing.

  • Don’t Take My Grief Away: What to do When You Lose a Loved One. Doug Manning.

    Addresses the painful disorientation of losing a loved one and helps readers face up to it, move through it, and learn to live again.

  • The Grieving Child. Helen Fitzgerald.

    A guide for adults explaining the death of a parent, relative, friend or pet to a child.

  • How to Survive the Loss of a Parent: A Guide for Adults. Lois Akner.

    Discusses complex feelings of love, loss, anger, guilt and unresolved issues that emerge combined with a powerful healing message.

  • How Will I Get Through the Holidays? 12 Ideas for Those Whose Loved One Has Died. James Miller.

    Helps navigate the difficult currents of Holiday Grief.

  • Living When a Loved One Has Died. Earl Grollman.

    Grief is universal and extremely personal. This helps heal each in his own way.

  • Motherless Daughters. Hope Edelman.

    If you’ve lost your mother, you no longer have to face it alone.

  • Orphaned Adult: Understanding and Coping with Grief and Change after the Death of Our Parents. Alexander Levy.

    Examines this profound life changing event with compassion and understanding.

  • When Bad Things Happen to Good People. Harold Kushner.

    Provides practical and compassionate answers.

  • When Your Spouse Dies. Cathleen Curry.

  • The Caregiver’s Survival Handbook: How to Care for Your Aging Parent Without Losing Yourself. Alexis Abramson. Perigee, 2004.

    Among general caregiving topics, Abramson also addresses the guilt, anger, frustration and fatigue that often befall many caregivers.

  • Companioning the bereaved: a soulful guide for caregivers. Alan Wolfert. Companion Press, 2006.

    This book advocates a model of bereavement care that recognizes grief as a normal process that is fundamentally a journey of the heart and soul.

  • The Comfort of Home: An Illustrated Step-by-step Guide for Caregivers. Maria Meyer. CareTrust Publications, 1998.

  • Art of Dementia Care. Includes taking care of family caregivers. Jane Verity. Thomson, 2008.

  • Self Care for Caregivers: A Twelve Step Approach. Pat Samples. Hazeldon, 2000.

  • Caregivers Survival Guide: How to Stay Healthy When Your Loved One is Sick. Kay Strom. Intervarsity Press, 2000.

  • And Thou Shalt Honor: The Caregivers Companion. Foreword by Roslyn Carter. Beth McCleod, ed. .” Rodale. 2003.

Caring for a loved on enobles every life it touches