A guide to hope and healing after the death of a child, from a grief counselor and psychotherapist who has been there. Nisha Zenoff lost her son in a tragic accident when he was just seventeen years old. Now, with decades of experience as a grief counselor and psychotherapist, she offers support and guidance from her own journey and from others who have experienced the death of a child. The Unspeakable Loss helps those who mourn to face the urgent questions that accompany loss: "Will my tears ever stop?" "Who am I now without my child?" "How can I help my other children cope?" "I lost my only child, how do I live?" "Will my marriage survive?" "Will life ever feel worth living again?" No matter where you are in your grieving process, The Unspeakable Loss provides a space to mourn in your own way, and helps you understand how the death of a child affects siblings, other family members and friends, recognizing that we each grieve differently. And while there is no one prescription for healing, Zenoff provides tools to practice the important aspects of grieving that are easily forgotten -- self-compassion and self-care. The Unspeakable Loss doesn't flinch from the reality or pain caused by the death of a child, yet ultimately it is a book about the choice to embrace life, love, and joy again. As Zenoff writes in the Preface: "Our relationships with our children do not end with their deaths. Our relationships change, they're transformed, but our children will always be with us."

This comforting and healing book is a must--not only for women who have at one time experienced pregnancy loss but also for their parents, sisters, daughters, brothers, and friends. Kim Kluger-Bell's extensive fieldwork as a therapist specializing in the psychodynamics of reproductive crises strips away the shrouds of silence surrounding pregnancy losses and abortions, giving new voice to these "unspeakable losses." Filled with in-depth stories of those who have experienced losses and solid, practical advice with mourning rituals and services, Unspeakable Losses is a necessary companion to all those who have experienced pregnancy loss and those who care about them. This soothing book is a must--not simply for women who have experienced pregnancy loss, but also for their partners and those who care about them. Kim Kluger-Bell, a therapist specializing in the psychodynamics of losing a child before birth--whether to abortion, miscarriage, or other loss--strips away the shrouds of silence surrounding this unique pain. She gives new voice to these "unspeakable losses," in a culture that has rendered its discussion taboo. Combining in-depth stories with solid, practical advice, Unspeakable Losses articulates the myriad emotional stages that arise from pregnancy loss and validates what can otherwise be a terribly lonely experience. This book is a vital companion for women and men in comprehending--and recovering from--their own experience with reproductive crisis.This soothing book is a must--not simply for women who have experienced pregnancy loss, but also for their partners and those who care about them. Kim Kluger-Bell, a therapist specializing in the psychodynamics of losing a child before birth--whether to abortion, miscarriage, or other loss--strips away the shrouds of silence surrounding this unique pain. She gives new voice to these "unspeakable losses," in a culture that has rendered its discussion taboo. Combining in-depth stories with solid, practical advice, Unspeakable Losses articulates the myriad emotional stages that arise from pregnancy loss and validates what can otherwise be a terribly lonely experience. This book is a vital companion for women and men in comprehending--and recovering from--their own experience with reproductive crisis.

Nothing can steal peace and joy and undermine the very foundation of someone's life like losing a child. It is devastating on a level that most of us can't imagine. Written after the loss of the author's own child, Surviving the Loss of a Child offers encouragement and hope to those who may think they will never be able to live fully after such tragedy. Bereaved parents, as well as friends, counselors, pastors, and caregivers, will find this book a source of comfort and discover coping mechanisms as they move through their grief. Revised and updated, it has short chapters that are easy to take in, perfect for people going through this difficult time.

"Thank you, Catherine Sanders, for giving us a book that few others could have written. Every page speaks both the depth of your compassion and the breadth of your knowledge. This book will be a wise companion on the difficult journey from loss to recovery." — Robert Kastenbaum, Ph.D., author of The Psychology of Death "How to Survive the Loss of a Child is a godsend to those in the field as well as to those of us in need of such a resource for our own mourning." — Eugene Knott, Ph.D., University of Rhode Island "Dr. Sanders' insights are profound and poignant." — Patricia Geiger, M.D., pediatrician, Boone, North Carolina "Thank you so much for all that you do for bereaved parents but especially for writing How to Survive the Loss of a Child. I know that it has changed lives. It changed mine!" — Nancy Ulmer, bereaved parent, Kindermourn, Charlotte, North Carolina 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.

Contributions from numerous families who have lost a child. Also includes contributions from siblings.

A master of the personal essay candidly explores love, death, and the counterfeit rituals of American life in this "brave, funny compendium" (Slate) Nearly fifteen years after her debut collection, My Misspent Youth, captured the ambitions and anxieties of a generation, Meghan Daum returns to the personal essay with The Unspeakable, a powerful collection of ten new works. Where her previous collection explores what it is to be a struggling twenty-something urban dweller with an overdrawn bank account and oversized ambition, The Unspeakable contends with parental death, the decision not to have children, and more-a new set of challenges tackled by a writer at her best, investigated in the same uncompromising voice that made Daum one of the most engaging thinkers writing today. In The Unspeakable, Daum pushes back against the false sentimentality and shrink-wrapped platitudes that surround so much of the contemporary American experience. But Daum also operates in a comic register. With perfect precision, she reveals the absurdities of the New Age search for the "Best Possible Experience," champions the merits of cream-of-mushroom-soup casserole, and gleefully recounts a quintessential "only-in-L.A." story of playing charades at a famous person's home. Combining the piercing insight of Joan Didion with humor reminiscent of Nora Ephron's, Daum dissects our culture's most dangerous illusions while retaining her own joy and compassion. Through it all, she dramatizes the search for an authentic self in a world where achieving an identity is never simple and never complete.

A fearless writer confronts grief and transforms it into art, in a book of surprising beauty and love, "a masterpiece by a master” (Elizabeth McCracken, Vanity Fair). "Li has converted the messy and devastating stuff of life into a remarkable work of art.”—The Wall Street Journal WINNER OF THE PEN/JEAN STEIN AWARD • LONGLISTED FOR THE PEN/FAULKNER AWARD • NAMED ONE OF THE TEN BEST FICTION BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY TIME AND ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY Parul Seghal, The New York Times • NPR • The Guardian • The Paris Review The narrator of Where Reasons End writes, “I had but one delusion, which I held on to with all my willpower: We once gave Nikolai a life of flesh and blood; and I’m doing it over again, this time by words.” Yiyun Li meets life’s deepest sorrows as she imagines a conversation between a mother and child in a timeless world. Composed in the months after she lost a child to suicide, Where Reasons End trespasses into the space between life and death as mother and child talk, free from old images and narratives. Deeply moving, these conversations portray the love and complexity of a relationship. Written with originality, precision, and poise, Where Reasons End is suffused with intimacy, inescapable pain, and fierce love.