North Shore-Boston Chapter
The Compassionate Friends
North Shore - Boston Chapter
Grief Support after the Death of a Child
This website is dedicated to the memory of all of our children.
Chapter Library
TCF North Shore-Boston Chapter
c/o Aldersgate United Methodist Church
235 Park Street
North Reading, MA 01864
For additional resources, including other support organizations, please visit our Local Resources Page
Recommended Reading
When Bad Things Happen to Good People
Harold S. Kushner
Schocken Books, 1989
Addresses the questions that are raised when tragedy occurs.
The Bereaved Parent
Harriet Sarnoff-Schiff
Penguin Books, 1977
The classic guide for bereaved parents and those who want to help them.
Awakening from Grief: Finding the Road Back to Joy
John Welshons
Open Heart Publications, 2000
Looks at the grief caused by various types of loss, and how we can learn from our experiences. No matter how difficult the journey, there is a “light at the end of the tunnel.”
Transcending Loss
Ashley David Prend, A.C.S.W.
The Berkley Publishing Company, 1997
A book about grief and death, love and hope, which describes the grief process and provides ways to get through it.
When the Bough Breaks: Forever After the Death of a Son or Daughter
Judith R. Bernstein, Ph.D.
Andrews McMeel Publishing, 1997
A psychological study of the long-term effects of parental grief. Includes interviews with parents and the author’s interpretations and insights about the ways we cope. This book is most appropriate a few years after losing a child.
Facing the Ultimate Loss: Coping With the Death of a Child
Robert J. Marx and Susan Wengerhoff Davidson
Champion Press Ltd., 2003
A compassionate guide to the grief process for parents who are mourning the death of a child. Also provides professionals with insights to help grieving parents.
Fifty-seven Fridays: Losing Our Daughter, Finding Our Way
Myra Sack
Monkfish Book Publishing Company, 2024
An inspirational memoir relating how Myra Sack and her husband, Matt Goldstein, coped with their grief and navigated through life after their 1-year-old daughter, Havi, was diagnosed with Tay-Sachs disease and given only a year to live.
How to Go on Living When Someone You Love Dies
Therese Rando
Lexington Books, 1988
A thorough overview of the grief process. Explains how grief is affected by the cause of death and by one's relationship with the loved one who has died. This book provides insight into the many different circumstances which may affect the grieving process.
We Don’t Die
Joel Martin and Patricia Romanowski
The Berkley Publishing Group, 1988
We Are Not Forgotten
Joel Martin and Patricia Romanowski
The Berkley Publishing Group, 1991
Our Children Forever
Joel Martin and Patricia Romanowski
The Berkley Publishing Group, 1994
All three books contain fascinating accounts of the work and experiences of George Anderson, a psychic medium who communicates with loved ones on the “other side.”
Walking in the Garden of Souls
George Anderson and Andrew Barone
G.P. Putnam Sons, 2001
The lessons George Anderson has learned during his contact with souls on the “other side.”
A Grace Disguised
Gerald L. Sittser
Zondervan Publishing House, 1996
An inspirational memoir of one man's experience after the accidental death of his mother, his wife and his daughter, and how he was ultimately transformed by his grief. Recommended for those who are a little further along in their grief journey.
The Road to Forgiveness: Hearts Shattered by Tragedy, Transformed by Love
Bill and Cindy Griffiths
Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2001
A Christian couple finds a way to forgive a drunk driver who causes the death of their mother and eleven-year-old daughter. The message in this book is universal, regardless of the reader’s own spiritual beliefs.
Sanity and Grace: A Journey of Suicide, Survival and Strength
Judy Collins
Tarcher/Penguin, 2003, 2006 (paperback)
The singer and songwriter shares her personal journey of survival after the suicide of her only son. Includes a list of books recommended for further reading.
Hour of Gold, Hour of Lead
Anne Morrow Lindberg
Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1973
"Hour of Lead" is Anne Morrow Lindbergh's personal diary and letters subsequent to the kidnap and murder of her 18-month-old son in 1932. In reading the author's memoirs of that tragic period of her life, one is struck by the universality and timelessness of the grief process.
A Broken Heart Still Beats: After Your Child Dies
Anne McCracken and Mary Semel
Editors Hazelden, 1998
A collection of fiction, poetry and essays about the search for meaning after the death of a child.
Tear Soup: A Recipe for Healing After Loss
Pat Schwiebert and Chuck DeKlyen
Grief Watch, 2005
A very simple book to provide comfort and healing after loss.
The Tenth Good Thing About Barney
Judith Viorst
Aladdin Paperbacks (Simon & Schuster), 1971
A book about loss to read to young children.
Gift From Within
An international non-profit organization for survivors of trauma and victimization
Holding Onto Love
A self-help forum for families who have experienced the death of a child
The Centering Corporation and Grief Digest Magazine
The Centering Corporation is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing education and
resources for the bereaved.
Center for Loss and Life Transition
Books, articles and other resources to help people who are grieving
Silent Grief
Support for those who have suffered miscarriage and later child loss. Silent Grief offers and extensive archive of articles about grief and child loss, written by the author and submitted by readers.
