[.ca] Bereaved Parent (ISBN 0140050434)

The one book that really helped:
After our teenaged son was killed I read everything I could find in hopes I would find something to ease the pain. This is the only book both my husband and myself (who grieved in very different ways) related to. I routinely take this book to friends who have lost a child in lieu of sending flowers. Even now, years later, I will occasionally reread this book and discover something helpful. Ms. Schiff, put simply, tells it like it is. I do not hesitate to recommend The Bereaved Parent to anyone who has lost a child, no matter what the circumstances of the death or the ages of the parent or child ,and to those who care about them.

Very helpful:
This was one of dozens of bereaved-parent and bereavement-in-general books that were given to us after the death of our daughter last winter. This one helped me more in terms of understanding that this is a process, rather than a destination, and helped me with understanding how my husband and I would grieve somewhat differently and how we could keep communication open. I lent it to a friend, who said it helped her a great deal with understanding what my husband and I were dealing with; it "helped her to help us", in other words.

Very helpful:
This is a great book when trying to comfort from a loss and or get over a loss yourself. This is a book that you need to have on the shelf for those times when unexpected things happen.

Not just for the bereaved Parent:
When we lost our baby brother in 1999, my sister was given this book to give to our mom. I still don't think she read all of it BUT I did and as a "big" sister dealing with my moms bereavment and my brothers and sisters it really helped me face and understand the many different ways people deal with the death of a loved one. I recommend this book for anyone close to bereaved Parents.

A little too harsh for the newly bereaved:
I have yet to be able to finish reading this book. As a bereaved mother myself, I was unable to say the word "death" or "dead" for at least the first 2 years. Even now I still find it difficult. I would not recommend this book for any parent who is within a year or 2 of their loss. The author uses the "D" word very often and seemingly without regard to the newly bereaved. Yes, we know our children are dead. We know we will have to come to acceptance of this fact at some point in order to live fully, or as fully as possible after having buried your child. But there is no need to be harshly led into it.