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Still here with me: teenagers and children on losing a parent ISBN: 9781843105015
Sjoqvist, Suzanne (Ed)
Published by Jessica Kingsley, 2007
Thirty-one children and teenagers, some of them siblings, tell of their deep grief and how they came through losing a parent. The oldest is 20, though was much younger when the death occurred, and the youngest was only 1 when he saw his father die and was so traumatised that his psychologist helped him by writing down what had happened and readig it over and over to him. They are harrowing stories, simply told. Some of the deaths were sudden, others protracted due to cancer or other illness; three are suicides; two of the children's fathers murdered their mothers, and a brother and sister lost their parents in the Tsunami in Thailand. Suzanne Sjoqvist lost her own father when she was 10, and her three children lost their father at an early age too, so she is more than qualified to compile such a book. Some of the children need to talk about the lost parent; others prefer to handle things their own way. There is anger and guilt and admissions of bad behaviour due to a lack of understanding from those around them, and sometimes there is peace too, and a great strength from having come through. This is not an easy read, but children who share this tragedy in their lives will find hope in the experiences of those who have already been through it. The author and the children are Swedish; the grief is universal. Available from Amazon, from good bookshops, or from the publisher at www.jkp.com.
Age: 10+