Books, Support Groups, and Other Resources for Grieving/Grief
Below is a list of resources our family has found and continues to find helpful as we move through the grieving and healing process. We hope you find them helpful as well.
SUPPORT GROUPS
- Compassionate Friends (for bereaved parents): For parents who have lost a child of any age, visit https://www.compassionatefriends.org/chapter/rochester-chapter/.
- For a more comprehensive list of support groups, please visit https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/home-care/hospice-care/bereavement.aspx.
BOOKS FOR CHILDREN
- When Something Terrible Happens: Children Can Learn to Cope with Grief, Marge Heegaard
- Water Bugs & Dragonflies, Explaining Death to Young Children, Doris Stickney
- A Birthday Present for Daniel: A Child’s Story of Loss, Juliet Cassuto Rothman
- Lifetimes: The Beautiful Way to Explain Death to Children, Bryan Mellonie
- The Next Place, Warren Hanson
- The Invisible String, Patrice Karst
- Heaven is for Real for Kids: A Little Boy’s Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven and Back, Todd Burpo
- A Terrible Thing Happened, Margaret M. Holmes & Sasha J. Mudlaff’
- Help Me Say Goodbye: Activities for Helping Kids Cope When a Special Person Dies, Janis Silverman
- The Grief Bubble: Helping Kids Explore and Understand Grief, Kerry Debay
BOOKS FOR YOUTH/TEENS
- Fire in My Heart, Ice in My Veins: A Journal for Teenagers Experiencing a Loss, Enid Samuel Traisman
- When a Friend Dies: A Book for Teens About Grieving and Healing, Marilyn E. Gootman
- Healing Your Grieving Heart: 100 Practical Ideas for Teens, Alan Wolfelt, Ph.D.
- You Are Not Alone: Teens Talk About Life After the Loss of a Parent, Lynne. B. Hughes
BOOKS FOR ADULTS
- The Worst Loss: How Families Heal from the Death of Child, Barbara D. Rosof
- Beyond Tears: Living After Losing a Child, Ellen Mitchell
- I wasn’t Ready to Say Goodbye: Surviving, Coping and Healing After the Sudden Death of a Loved One, Brook Noel
- Comfort: A Journey Through Grief, Ann Hood
- When the Bough Breaks: Forever After the Death of a Son or Daughter, Judith R. Bernstein, Ph.D.
- Tear Soup: A Recipe for Healing After Loss, Pat Schwiebert & Chuck DeKlyen (also for children)
- When Bad Things Happen to Good People, Harold Kushner
- Heaven is for Real: A Little Boy’s Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven and Back, Todd Burpo
- Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon’s Journey into the Afterlife, Eben Alexander
OTHER RESOURCES
- Monroe County Office of Mental Health’s Consortium on Trauma, Illness and Grief in Schools (TIG) Program Brochure called Grief: Coping with Sudden or Traumatic Loss
- Monroe County’s Resource Guide called Coping with Sudden or Traumatic Loss: A Guide to Community Resources
- Video series, When Families Grieve, sponsored by Sesame Street
- Dealing with Death: Affects of Grief and Death on Mental Health (please note: Dreams from Drake has no affiliation with Choice Mutual).