Catherine M. Sanders

I'm not sure how to rate this. I didn't want to be reading it, nor do I want to be reviewing it. But I did.. So I am. I went with three stars, because I'm sure there are a lot of people out there that it would be helpful for. For me though? I can't say it helped. Maybe that's because of the peculiarity of my situation. Maybe I just wasn't ready yet to hear what it had to say. To be honest.. A lot of it was common sense. Your grief will be like this, and that's normal, you're not alone. It didn't really help. And more so... The things I thought that would help most, the sections on dealing with the loss of a child under two.. They had some weird suggestions on how to cope. Things I would never do. I guess they may help some people, I won't go into what they are here... But they didn't really help me.

So three stars, because there were some passages that really hit close to home. Things I had thought or felt.. And seeing them written there by someone else, thought by someone else.. It made me feel a little less alone. I think if my situation were less complicated, it would have been more helpful. But the truth is.. I don't think there's any book out there that could help me. But back to this book.. I took the main point of the book to be this.. Your grief will affect you in a way unique to the person you are, and the situation you are in. Nothing you say or do in your grief is wrong, and you're not as alone as you may feel. There's always someone else out there who has been through something similar.. We all deal exactly how our body tells us to in order to heal. The best you can do is let yourself be open to the pain. Feel it and don't run from it. Do what you need to do. Listen to your body and pay attention to what it needs. Take time for yourself. One day at a time... Keep on living because that's the only option you have.… (más)

It is only through experiencing grief that bereaved parents ultimately heal. Moving through the phases of grief, the bereaved person works toward restoration. Understanding these phases, knowing what to expect, and learning what they can do to help themselves give parents greater assurance and comfort.
In How to Survive the Loss of a Child, Dr. Sanders, a bereaved parent herself, offers grieving parents practical help and emotional support. This book also helps family members, friends, and caregivers relate to grieving parents and aids them, too, in understanding the process of healing through grief.… (más)