Many parents go speechless when faced with the thought of losing a child. What words could possibly describe the fear, anxiety, agony, and grief associated with such a loss?
When Emily Laitmon asked members of her Child Loss Support Group to spell out their feelings, they exploded with ideas. Their outpourings led to “Our Children, Our Hearts,” a collection of essays about 25 children who died much too young, and about the ways their loved ones grieve and remember them.
With passion, rage, longing, sorrow, humor, and hope, writers memorialize their children. They describe their personal struggles with loss, and the solace to be found with other grieving parents. On these journeys we meet mothers, fathers, couples, and also siblings from many walks of life and faiths. For some, bereavement is recent. For others, the loss began 10, or even 30 years ago.
Grief steals like a thief, and makes the heart a lonely hunter. But as these essays show, grief shared is grief diminished. Getting through its maze changes you forever. But death does not end your relationship with your child. Memorial candles, plaques, poems, scholarships, websites, and acts of loving kindness are a few of the tools with which families who lose a child, keep them in their hearts forever.
Contents
Emily & Terry
