Reviews (3)

Healing
As a grief therapist I am always searching for books that will be helpful in my classes. This book was one I did indeed find valuable. I also use Write from Your Heart, A Healing Grief Journal in my group classes and for the children I use After the Tears, A Gentle Guide to Help Children Understand Death.

Useful and instructive
If you liked this book, also try "The Healing Journey Through Grief" by Phil Rich. There is also a Clincian's Guide available. This book is one in a series of self help journaling books designed to helppeople through life issues, and breaks the process into clear cut stageswith information and journaling exercises throughout to help peopleunderstand, write about, and work through their issues and difficulties.Theother books in the series, all by Phil Rich and other co-authors)include abook on journaling for individuals (The Healing Journey) and one onjournaling for couples("The Healing Journey for Couples") andothers ("The Healing Journey Through...") on divorce, menopause,job loss, retirement, and addiction.

Excellent resource book
Worden has written an inclusive, quality handbook, which is an excellent resource for those investigating the nature of grief. The book is useful to the practioner as well as the individual searching for information on grief and it's manifestations. It is a practical handbook in that it provides the reader with information they can use at the time it is needed, to help get through the crisis at hand. Wordens book is complete, without being wordly, is easily used with well defined categories. The handbook covers many different types of grief ranging from normal to complicated grief reactions, grief in children, to the counselors own grief. Practical applications to dealing with these issues in grief, are also provided. The book gives enough background to understand the topic at hand, saving the reader from 'wading' through pages of literature reviews. For those who desire a more extensive discussion, an ample and lenghty bibliography is offered ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Death, Grief, Bereavement    2. Grief therapy    3. Mental health counseling    4. Psychological Aspects Of Bereavement    5. Psychology    6. Psychotherapy    7. Psychotherapy - Counseling    8. Psychotherapy - General    9. Medical counselling   

Reviews (8)

The MOST INVALUABLE book for a child facing an IMPENDING death
This book is an absolute must have for anyone with a child who is about to face the loss of someone special and close -- due to an illness, accident, or age, -- Children have such difficulty expressing their emotions because in times of such sorrow and anxiety, they are experiencing things they have NEVER felt before. They are confused, distraught, fearful, and so terribly hurt - and when all the adults around them are suffering too -- it makes it all the harder to discuss such delicate and sensitive things -- we want to be strong for them, we don't want our angst to invoke their own.....
For you or your child to Write /draw out your feelings
I purchased this book for my daughter and now also plan to purchase it for my niece and nephew. After reading the other reviews I knew I needed to get this book and set it aside for when one or both of her grandparents pass away.
5 Stars
Art therapy is a wonderful way to let children release their emotions.Good ideas, great presentation.Read more

Subjects:  1. Children and death    2. Children: Grades 2-3    3. Death    4. Death / Grief / Consolation    5. Death, Grief, Bereavement    6. Grief    7. Inspirational - General    8. Juvenile Nonfiction    9. Loss (Psychology)    10. Social Issues - Special Needs    11. Family & Relationships / Death, Grief, Bereavement    12. Family & relations    13. Personal awareness: family, relationship & social issues   

Reviews (3)

Light touch on a deep subject
While the individual tips are certainly valid and helpful, an overall organizing principle to group tips might increase the effectiveness of the book. The brevity of tips makes the content accessible, but does not provide much depth topic by topic. In addition, the very compelling illustrations that are included in the book are not tied into the text they accompany. More insight into the background or intent of the drawings would be valuable (while preserving confidentiality of course).

Well Done
Congratulations to the Dougy Center Staff for creating this book. It is a much needed resource. World Trade Center attack:Bereaved children will benefit.
The deaths at the World Trade Center and Pentagon triggered a strong reaction in me, especially when I read how many children had lost a parent, because I lost both parents when I was young (my father when I was 4, my mother when I was 5).Recently I had started a small e-mail group of adults who went through similar parental-loss experiences, and it has been very helpful to meet others who went through this.This book has helped my thinking – children see things differently from adults, and feel things differently, and this book explores all that.As a social worker in a former career, I facilitated bereavement support groups at a major Manhattan cancer agency, and realized the bereavement process is a long one even for adults. One of my desires at this time is to connect with those who lost friends or family members in the terrorist attacks (or those who know them), so that I and those in my group might directly or indirectly offer supportive insights.If we could be of help, please get in touch.... ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Bereavement in children    2. Child Care/Parenting    3. Death / Grief / Consolation    4. Death, Grief, Bereavement    5. Grief in children    6. Loss (Psychology) in children    7. Children    8. Death    9. Death & Dying    10. Grief   

Subjects:  1. Medical    2. Medical / Nursing    3. Nursing - General    4. Terminal Care    5. Nursing    6. Terminal care nursing   

Reviews (23)

Excellent for self-help and for helping others
I am a counselor working primarily with adolescents, but this book is applicable for people of any age. I bought it to use as a tool for working with teens, but picked it up when I lost a family pet and read it while I was grieving. Very helpful. Best aspect of this book is that it deals with different kinds of losses in life that we grieve over- not exclusively death issues. The 10 steps have relevance for anyone who has experienced a loss, and the author does a wonderful job of explaining the steps of grief and how humans process grief. It is faith based, and that made me appreciate it even more!

Not so much...
This "mini-booklet" is basically a reiteration of the stages of grief set within a Judeo-Christian perspective.One could probably stop by the local funeral parlor and pick up a free pamphlet that would be every bit as edifying.
A Resource for Those Who Are Grieving
This is an extremely useful resource for anyone going through the grieving process.About three years ago, my daughter, who was twenty-two at the time, learned that a junior high school friend of hers had died.She was terribly distraught over this friend's death.Who wouldn't be at that tender age?
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Subjects:  1. Consolation    2. Death / Grief / Consolation    3. Death, Grief, Bereavement    4. Family & Relationships    5. Family/Marriage    6. Grief    7. Joy and sorrow    8. Large type books    9. Christian spirituality   

Reviews (28)

God is not tame, but he is safe
I read this book because I knew Jerry and his wife when he was the chaplain at Northwestern college in Iowa.Now I'm a pastor's wife and deal with grief and loss regularly and in many different ways in our church.This book, by far is the best I've read because Jerry allows us to enter into his struggle with God with honesty and boldness that is often avoided by Christians.And, in the end, his conclusions are not nice, neat packages with bows or pithy sentiments, but real theology based on who God is, not who I want God to be.

Disturbing and yet encouraging
This book was both disturbing and encouraging at the same time. It was disturbing because I realized how short my own response to tragedy fell as I read Dr. Sittser's account. He stuggled mightily to understand whether his relationship with God could survive his personal tragedy. As he confronted the tough questions he did so honestly and not withholding his true questions and feelings. It was encouraging to see how the honesty of this theologian was used by God to bring healing and hope.
Great! Great! Great!
Sittser, Jerry A Grace Disguised: How the Soul Grows Through Loss Grand Rapids:
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Subjects:  1. Bereavement    2. Christian Life    3. Christianity    4. Christianity - Christian Life - General    5. Christianity - Christian Life - Suffering & Grief    6. Death, Grief, Bereavement    7. Loss (Psychology)    8. Psychological Aspects Of Bereavement    9. Religion    10. Religion - Christian Life    11. Religious aspects    12. Christian Interest    13. Christian life & practice    14. Religion / Christian Life   

Reviews (3)

Helpful when it seems there is no help....
This book helped me to understand that so many of the feelings I had were "normal"....our mother, too, passed away very unexpectedly on March 26, 2006 after just having turned 69...it has been so difficult understanding how a seemingly very healthy woman could just be gone so quickly....
If you lost your mother this is a MUST READ
I bought two copies of this book one for myself and one for my sister following the death of our mother on 3-14-06.Our mom got suddenly ill and passed away very quickly and suddenly.We were left saddened and lost and looking for something to read to help us through this awful time.
Essential reading!
I bought this book for a relative after the death of my mother-in-law.I found that I was so drawn into the book that I had a hard time putting it down each night.The author wrote the book after the loss of his mother who died in her eighties.His experience mirrored my relative's experience very closely.The author shares the experiences of those who lost their mothers at all ages thus appealing to everyone who has lost their mother.I found it to be a comforting book for anyone who has lost a parent.It is a book that will be re-read many times. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Bereavement    2. Death    3. Death / Grief / Consolation    4. Death, Grief, Bereavement    5. Family & Relationships    6. Family/Marriage    7. Grief    8. Mothers    9. Psychological aspects    10. Christian spirituality    11. Coping with death & bereavement   

Editorial Review

Preceding the phenomenal success of Mitch Albom's Read more

Reviews (20)

Touching View of Humanity
Reading Tuesday's With Morrie touched me deeply, since I struggle everyday with a congenital heart problem--and I never know when the next day may be my last.Morrie's wisdom, humor and expriences is brought through from Mitch Albom's terrific writing.Morrie's words cannot be more insightful and wise as my body is beginning to break down....I re-read his book quite often, so I can feel uplifted.
Morrie:In His Own Words
If you've read Tuesdays with Morrie, then this has to be a companion read.They cover the same material but In His Own Words definitely makes you, as the reader, think of your own immortality and how to better yourself so that in the end, you will have contributed all that is important to you.

Wise advice for the dying, plus a little bit for the not-so-dying
Schwartz, the protagonist of Mitch Albom's Tuesdays with Morrie, gives candid, helpful advice about making the most of your remaining days or months or years. I read Tuesdays with Morrie and thoroughly enjoyed the insights into listening to and caring about others. Albom did an effective job of culling out those parts of Morrie's advice that applied most readily to those of us who don't feel that our deaths are imminent.
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Subjects:  1. Biography / Autobiography    2. Death, Grief, Bereavement    3. Self-Help    4. Social Science    5. Sociologists    6. Sociology - General    7. Specific Groups - General    8. Self-Help / Death, Grief, Bereavement   

Reviews (59)

Have used it for years
I've used this personally for years, through my husband's illness from dementia and subsequent death. As a retired social worker, I've given a number of copies to friends for use in their bereavement. It's so applicable, small and easy to use.

"It Grew on Me"
I purchased this book for my dad and myself after my mother's recent death.At first I thought it was going to be a bit too simplistic in it's daily readings, but soon found out that when experiencing grief, simplicity can be comforting.Her writing is clear and concise.
I keep a supply of these books on hand.
I first found this book while looking for something to help my sister through the grieving after the death of her husband and my mother who passed away withing two weeks of each other.My sister found the book very helpful and I now keep a supply on hand to send to friends and clients who lose someone close to them.I have gotten very positive feedback that this book is very helpful. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Bereavement    2. Christianity    3. Death / Grief / Consolation    4. Death, Grief, Bereavement    5. Devotional    6. Devotional calendars    7. Grief    8. Meditation    9. Meditations    10. Religious aspects    11. Self-Help    12. Coping with death & bereavement    13. Self-Help / Meditations   

Reviews (25)

How to go on living when someone you love dies
This is very easy to read and very practical. The author has great insight into grief and gives much knowledge for men and women going through grief. The book not only deals with all phases of grief, but also looks at secondary losses as well.
How to Go On Living When Someone You Love Dies
I found the book to be very helpful to me in coping with the sudden loss of my Father.It helped me to confirm that I was not losing my mind.

How to go on Living when someone dies
Fresh in my grief, I found this a hard book to read. It has a lot of text book information and probably is very helpful later in grief. But, it reads like a text book and I found it hard to process when my grief was so fresh. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Bereavement    2. Death, Grief, Bereavement    3. General    4. Grief    5. Psychological aspects    6. Psychology    7. Coping with death & bereavement    8. Self-Help / Death, Grief, Bereavement   

Reviews (2)

Oxford Textbook of Palliative Medicine 3e
It's here. What we've all been waiting for. The third edition of the OTPM. And it doesnot disappoint. Palliative Medicine
For local physician's association who counts up to 350 GP' ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Immunology    2. Medical    3. Medical / Nursing    4. Oncology    5. Pain    6. Palliative Care    7. Palliative treatment    8. Terminal Care    9. therapy    10. Medical / Terminal Care    11. Medicine | Palliative Medicine    12. Palliative medicine   

Editorial 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. Read more

Reviews (69)

Great Contribution
Dr. Key Redfield Jamison brings forth a valuable insight into the mind of suicide. She writes with clarity and great commend on the issue of suicide and its complexity. She shares her personal challenges with a heart-felt authenticity. This book is a great contribution to those who contemplate suicide as well as for those who have touch by it. In her last chapter, "A half-Stitched Scar," she addresses those that are left behind, "...Who had to spend their lives with its (suicide) reality...and asked themselves over and over again...why?" This hit home for me, as I was dealing with my own personal secret: my husband's suicide thirty-five years ago.Since then,I was writing and rewriting my book Beautiful in Black that was finally released last month. Writing this book helped me deal with my past and inspired me to live life to the fullest. My hope is that my personal story will help others with their future. I dedicated my book to those who have lost a loved one to suicide and remained silent!

A topic not to be avoided
An astounding number of people in this country suffer from mental illnesses, and while depression is often a topic of discussion, the outcome of severe depression--suicide--usually goes unmentioned. This despite it being the cause of so many deaths among young people. Kudos to Jamison for turning the spotlight on sudicide and looking at it from many angles--its epidemics, history, victims, root causes, and attempts at prevention. This is an eye-opening, informative, and sometimes shocking examination of an all-too-common occurrence which we should try to prevent as much as we try to prevent heart disease or stroke. I seriously doubt that the book itself would prompt someone to go hang themselves, unless their mind is already made up.

A real eye opener and a bit shocking.
I doubt if anyone would choose this book if indeed they were not touched in some way by the suicide of a loved one or by the anticipation of suicide to take their own lives. Much like a new-found disease, those who are touched or affected by suicide seek out information to try and understand the hows and whys because it is felt that there is nobody out there who can relate or understand the pain or agony that is suffered by and as a result of suicide. This book helps a bit by sharing the pain and bringing it out a bit and providing small pathways to understanding. At the same time, it can be like ice-cold water shocking the system and it can be overwhelming. Those who are touched are touched forever - it will never leave. We know this and so we seek to understand more and more about something that cannot be talked about openly. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Children    2. Psychology    3. Suicidal behavior    4. Suicide    5. United States    6. Youth    7. Youth Suicide    8. Psychology & Psychiatry / Suicide   

Reviews (20)

Great tool for support
I have read this book before and just recently re-purchased it based on some things that were going on in my own family. It is a great primer for both the person who may be experiencing a life threatening illness, or even just a life changing illness, as well as a guide for all of the family members and friends who may be offering support. It provides an expectation for the emotional roller coaster than both the patient and the family members will experience so that they are better prepared to work through the issues, and keep the lines of communication open.

A Wonderful Book
Someone gave me this book after my husband of 32 years died suddenly.I can only say I wish I had read it sooner.Two points make the book WONDERFUL for me.An acclaimed scientist and author wrote the text in 1977 and vocalized the unconditional love you experience after death.Secondly, when I was a lifeguard I had this experience while rescuing a child who did live but I almost died.My mentor told me I had only an hallucination due to oxygen deprivation.After that judgement by him, I never trusted the vision and feelings I had experienced.I rarely spoke of the incident and only to 2 very trusted friends who were dying of heart problems to give them comfort prefacing my experience with the words of my coach.While 'Life after Life' was validating, Kubler-Ross gets right to the point on page 16.Knowing that past experience was real would have made my husband's death easier for me I think.I hope this book helps you in your journey as the book helped me.I now give this book to anyone I know experiencing death.

O Kubler-Ross Youve Done IT Again
MS. Kubler-Ross became famous becuase she was able to make death safe for democracy and in this book she tames death for us, once again.
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Subjects:  1. Death    2. Death, Grief, Bereavement    3. Future life    4. General    5. Near-death experiences    6. Parapsychology - Near-Death Experience    7. Parents    8. Psychological aspects    9. Psychology    10. Religion    11. Spirituality - General    12. Thanatology    13. Coping with death & bereavement    14. Spirit communication & mediumship, spiritualism   

Reviews (6)

Working through the Grieving Process
"As we live our life, we can choose to become a light for those we have lost. We can carry their memory, their hopes, their dreams into the future." ~Brook Noel
Great Companion to the Book
If you liked the book "I Wasn't Ready to Say Goodbye" but wanted a way to help you actually work through the loss and grief process, the workbook is finally here.To a certain extent this workbook stands alone and can be used without the primary book but you would lose a lot of the benefit if you did it that way.When used in conjunction with the book you gain a much greater understanding of what is going on and the process of working through the workbook is greatly enhanced.The workbook is full of insightful questions and exercises to help you understand what you are going through and appreciate and accept yourself.From there you can learn, grow, and heal.The workbook is very helpful with getting out the grief, anger, guilt, and anything else you may need to work on.If you are dealing with sudden, unexpected loss the book "I Wasn't Ready to Say Goodbye" is one of the best resources you can pick up.Now, this companion workbook helps you apply the book to your life and start the healing process.

Designed to assist the reader in coming to terms
I Wasn't Ready To Say Goodbye is a fact-filled resource and a consumable, self-help oriented, interactive companion workbook designed to assist the reader in coming to terms with the sudden death of a loved one. From getting through the first few weeks; to helping children cope; to special challenges that sudden and unexpected widowhood can bring; to the support groups and resources to be found locally, regionally, and nationally; to getting past grief blocks, and more, I Wasn't Ready To Say Goodbye is very highly recommended reading and can prove essential to successfully facilitating the grieving process and eventually moving on with our lives after the death of a loved one. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Death / Grief / Consolation    2. Bereavement    3. Death    4. Family & Relationships    5. Family & Relationships/Death, Grief, Bereavement    6. Psychological aspects    7. Self-Help / Death, Grief, Bereavement    8. Topical/Death/Dying    9. Death, Grief, Bereavement    10. Self-Help   

Reviews (10)

Finding Your Way After Your Spouse Dies
Far too religious for me.I do not think this book presents a healthy way to respond to grief.

Finding Your Way After Your Spouse Dies
Excellent writing, very helpful, good suggestions from one who has experienced this loss.

Lukewarm Comfort
This is a nice little book, consisting of two page reflections, advice, a suggested prayer, and related scripture on a series of topics that very roughly reflects the grieving process.As such, it can be read cover-to-cover, but serves most use as a "daily reflections" or "journal by proxy", and is best when you flick through the pages and read whatever section you happen upon.
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Subjects:  1. Bereavement    2. Christianity - Pastoral Ministry    3. Death / Grief / Consolation    4. Death, Grief, Bereavement    5. Marriage (Christianity)    6. Ministry To The Bereaved    7. Psychology    8. Religion    9. Religious aspects    10. Widowers    11. Widows    12. Christian ministry & pastoral activity    13. Christian sacraments    14. Coping with death & bereavement    15. Marriage    16. Grief    17. Spirituality   

Reviews (40)

Required Reading
I read this book when it was first published in 1972 and have read it once a year ever since.It does nothing less than inform the reader what motivates human beings to do the things they do!It should be required reading for every man and woman on the planet so that humanity can build a genuine hero system that will lead the species to its true potential.

May allow you to turn a corner in your life
I derived many things from Ernest Becker's "Denial of Death".I went from agnostic in my outlook about the universe to Christian, realizing that "The Denial of Death" is fundamentally an anatomy of evil, a diagram of man's skewering in a universe he finds wholly incomprehensible.Taken on its own, this book can be cause for serious reflection of one's ambitions in life; Becker carefully reveals what man is really up to throughout history.The unfolding horror of the book's pages begin to describe a hopeless and paradoxical situation for human life.Anyone who allows Becker's thoughts to sink in...to really understand what he is saying will, in my opinion, continue to seek out answers about human nature and the condition of our world.The relevance of "Denial" is that it can be applied as a psychoanalytical tool for viewing mankind through the ages, from primitive being to Donald Trump.Some argue that this book is too pessimistic, too dark of a view of mankind.Again, very correct! Becker is, in my understanding of this profound book, simply describing the mechanism of evil, where man goes awry and why he continues to act in ways contrary to what he knows best.Anyone who has read The Bible, cover-to-cover, will find in these pages an intellectual's 285-page descripiton of evil, based in human nature, acted upon by man in his world. There are few solutions to the portrait of evil that Becker so carefully paints for us.The pan-drippings, so to speak, of "The Denial of Death" is Becker's next and last book, "Escape from Evil".This makes perfect sense, as "Denial" is a careful and horrifying analysis of ourselves against the universe.What Becker describes in "Denial" is so penetrating that little hope is found in "Escape".One year after reading "Denial" I was convinced that man, indeed, destroys his world because of his very nature, his false illusions about what is meaningful.Where "Denial of Death" gives you a diagram of what's wrong with man, The Bible offers hope only through the Christian God--man is born in a world that will corrupt him--Becker explains the details of this corruption.The Bible asks, in essence, for you to reject your nature and live "the narrow path".Becker shows you how wide the evil path is and why man conceives of it. I am a student of human nature.My only "escape from evil" was a complete paradigm change for man.Man, burdened with his ego and a zillion personal attributes, is condemmed to live in a world of paradoxes, a world of hypocricy and a world of perpetual angst and agression, both starting and ending at zero.Man exerts great energy going nowhere, like a hampster running fast on a wheel.The illusion he props us is that he is actually moving, but Becker takes us outside of the cage and shows us what is really happening.The integrity and truth of a book lies in its inability to be reconciled, just like the true artist who asks more questions than he answers.You owe it to yourself to read this and then try to reconcile it in your mind."Denial of Death" is a needed rung on your ladder of intellectual evolution.Some are beyond the material and already understand it.Some will be paralyzed by it, others will deny it...but if you integrate what he is saying, and attempt to construct your life knowing that you are living a paradox, you can step up to the next rung on your ladder and move your mind forward.The next rung on my ladder of evolution was a spiritual awakening towards God.What book can do that?

Shallow
"The Denial of Death" is evasive and lacking in depth, not to mention excessively wordy.
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Subjects:  1. Death    2. Death & Dying    3. Death / Grief / Consolation    4. General    5. Heroes    6. Psychological aspects    7. Psychology    8. Thanatology    9. Coping with death & bereavement    10. Popular psychology    11. Psychology & Psychiatry / General    12. Topics in philosophy   

Reviews (26)

A New Perspective on Pain and Suffering
This book does nothing to remove pain from a believer's life, and it does not give any instructions or quick fixes as to how to do so.What it provides is a new perspective on pain, one from a God-centered viewpoint rather than a man-centered viewpoint.The author sympathizes with the reader who may be suffering, but then continues to give new, biblical insights that identify pain as a blessing from God to a sinful, broken world.
China's Victory Over the USA will make you ask THIS QUESTION
The Chinese victory over the USA will make you ask this question.What's wrong with America?Thousands of things.USA dishonors Christ through its sexual immorality.Look at the rampant pre-marital sex in America.Don't tell me that America is a Holy Nation or a Christian Nation.It's not.China is more pure.We illegalize homosexuality and forbid pre-marital sex.China is a more pure nation.Christian writers don't seem to care about the purity of America.Mr. Philip Yancey hasn't written one book on it.I rest my case.

Obviously Yancey is a Pop Psychologist who has No Respect for the Bible
Mr. Yancey has no respect for the teaching of the Bible.God is always there when it hurts.In fact, God allows hurt.Look at Book of Job.God allowed Satan to kill Job's children (!!!) and tempt his wife away from Job and give Job a horrible disease.God was always there.In fact, God was a part of the plan to CAUSE Job to suffer.Why?On a whim.Satan said that Job would lose faith if disaster struck him, so God said, "Okay, give it your best shot!"Sometimes, God sends disasters into your home for a whim, for a wager with Satan.This is the lesson from the Book of Job.Sometimes, God Himself brings pain and death because Christians refuse to uphold the interests of the Kingdom of Christ.Look at the book of Jeremiah.It was God who chose to kill Israelites, destroy the Jerusalem Temple.In fact, Jeremiah specifically states that King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, who was not a believer, was anointed by God to bring destruction.It's like God anointing Bin Laden to destroy America.That would be the similar analogy in terms of anointing a hostile unbeliever to destroy a believing nation.The Bible is clear that God chose King Nebuchadnezzar to destroy the Jerusalem Temple and kill Israelites.And anyone who opposed King Nebuchadnezzar opposed God Himself.How does this apply to Bin Laden.This is how seriously God takes desecration of His House, the Christian Church.God will raise up an unbelieving enemey to destroy America if America desecrates God's houses.And opposing this anointed enemy would be opposing God Himself.Mr. Yancey should think seriously about what God teaches about suffering.God gives suffering when believers desecrate His house.God sends death and destruction when Christians refuse to uphold the interst of Christ.This is an important lesson for America to learn. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Christianity - Christian Life - General    2. Religion    3. Religion - Socialissues    4. Christian Interest    5. Christian life & practice    6. Coping with death & bereavement    7. Nature & existence of God    8. Religion / Christian Life   

Editorial Review

Borne from actual questions asked by her own daughters, journalist Maria Shriver's Read more

Reviews (56)

very comforting for my 4 year old
This book was very comforting to my 4 year old after the death of her great grandmother.No, it does not go into religious beliefs. Yes, there are some far fetched things in the book like animals being seperated by a white picket fence, but for very young children, the most important thing is that they are comforted and not scared about what happens to a loved one after they die.This book accomplishes that.

A good book to share with your children
Maria Shriver does a beautiful job of putting together a story that helps explain loss to children...and she should know. She has lost many loved ones in her life, among them our country's president, her Uncle Jack (Kennedy), when she was eight. Her family had to endure much intrusion into their private grief during that difficult time for our nation.
Truly helpful for such a painful time
My grandmother died unexpectedly last month. It was difficult enough dealing with my own grief, much less to comfort my daughters as much as they need. Sometimes I feel quite sad and overwhelmed. My middle daughter is a great deal like Kate, you answer one question and many more pour out. This book has been a much needed comfort to us. It helped us to open up and discuss what Heaven could be like and to emphasize to my daughters that we are deeply sad but we will be ok. I'd recommend this to other families who are trying to cope with their grief. I'm sorry that some specific reviewers are offended by the open interpretations of Heaven but I think it's really important to remember that individuals and families from all cultures and religions face the loss of a beloved family member. We should show respect for the different faiths and remember no one person holds all the answers. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Children's 4-8 - Picturebooks    2. Children's Books/Ages 4-8 Fiction    3. Children: Grades 1-2    4. Death    5. Death, Grief, Bereavement    6. Family & Relationships    7. Fiction    8. Great-grandmothers    9. Heaven    10. Social Issues - Death & Dying    11. Modern fiction    12. Social Situations - Death & Dying    13. Family - Multigenerational    14. Juvenile Fiction   

Reviews (22)

an amazing anthology
When my granddaughter was born still, I immediately turned to the solace offered by the written word, finding that to be much more helpful than the empty cliches and platitudes offered by acquaintances. This is an incredible collection of writing, both fiction and nonfiction, essay and poetry, on the subject of the loss of a child. Many, if not most, of the writers included have experienced this most devastating of all losses. The authors introduce each section with personal writing that forms an intimate connection. They draw from classic literature as well as modern, making this a book that offers something to everyone. I found myself re-reading sections in an attempt to hold off coming to the end of this sustaining book. I doubt this book will ever make it to my bookshelf, as I will be turning to it often for inspiration and comfort.

The one I still read...
It's been five years since the death of my precious son and although many books were helpful in the early months and years this is the one that has lingered with me the longest. I still turn to it from time to time, especially on the hard days.