CaregivingResourcesGriefLoss

Books

A Good Friend for Bad Times

Helping others through grief

Authors: Deborah E. Bowen, Susan L. Strickler

"What should I say? What should I do? How can I help?" A Good Friend for Bad Times offers readers a better understanding of the grief process and provides insight and practical advice for expressing concern to a friend.

Deborah Bowen and Susan Strickler address how to support a family before and immediately after a death and in the weeks and years beyond. They also provide insight for situations involving Alzheimer's disease, cancer, AIDS, suicide, and the death of a child, among others. In addition, they give attention to supporting children through grief and suggest ways to help individuals through holidays and remembrance days.

Military Widow: A Survival Guide

Authors: Joanne M. Steen, M. Regina Asaro

This survival guide for widows of service personnel, a first-of-its-kind, tackles the unique and complex issues arising from the death of a spouse in the military. It speaks to loss in each of the service branches, across the span of rank and rates, and offers invaluable insights and practical strategies for dealing with this life-altering tragedy. The authors expertly blend personal experience with guidance from leading experts on grief and traumatic loss and translate ten years of lessons learned into an effective guide. Short, easy-to-read chapters provide realistic profiles of widows and their responses to loss and the complications generated in the unique world of the military, as well as insight on how to make difficult decisions and cope with everyday situations. Although written primarily for the widow, this book will also prove useful to other family members, friends, and military professionals.

Surviving the Folded Flag

Parents of war share stories of coping, courage, and faith

Author: Deborah H. Tainsh

Author and Gold Star mom Deborah Tainsh has gathered essays from more than twenty-five parents who received the dreaded news that their child had died in military service. These invaluable stories show how today's military families are surviving the folded flag and give a glimpse into the lives of fallen service members and their families. Also includes advice for other Gold Star families, their friends, and family members.

Bonus essays from a casualty notification officer and a former soldier give deeper insight into how wartime death affects comrades left behind.

The Art of Helping

What to say and do when someone is hurting

Author: Lauren Littauer Briggs

All of us have wanted to offer comfort and support to someone experiencing intense pain or loss, but we often don't know what to say. We often pull away and do nothing, although we know our close friend, family member, neighbor, or even casual acquaintance needs us more than ever.

With those times in mind, Lauren Littauer Briggs addresses thirty of the most common heartaches people face. She takes away our fear of involvement by helping us understand what that person is going through and provides us with a practical list of what to say--and not to say--whether it be in a face-to-face conversation with the person or through a written note or card.

Briggs also gives examples of ways other shave offered creative forms of support and comfort. Most importantly, she shares sample prayers that help the brokenhearted feel and experience the grace, healing, and comfort of a loving and compassionate God.

Walking through the Valley of the Shadow of Death

Understanding Life after a Loved One's Death & Understanding How

to Help the Bereaved Around Us

Author: Kimberly Rose Carolan

Walking through the Valley of the Shadow of Death is a book about one of the most uncomfortable subjects people will face--death. Written from a Christian perspective, it relates to the anatomy of grief, bereavement, and what people around those who have tasted the death of a loved one may be looking for from their friends. Delving into what the Bible says about grief and what friends and survivors can do to effectively minister to those grieving, the books practical guidelines will help both grievers and those trying to help their bereaved friends and family overcome their loss.

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Movies

Taking Chance

When one falls, another brings him home

HBO Home Video, Writer: Michael Strobl, Actor: Kevin Bacon

Based on the true experiences of Lt. Colonel Michael Strobl, who wrote eloquently of them in a widely circulated 2004 article, Taking Chance is a profoundly emotional look at the military rituals taken to honor its war dead, as represented by a fallen Marine killed in Iraq, Lance Corporal Chance Phelps. Working as a strategic analyst at Marine Corps Base Quantico in VA, Lt. Col. Strobl (Kevin Bacon) learns that Phelps had once lived in his hometown, and volunteers to escort the body to its final resting place in Wyoming. As Strobl journeys across America, he discovers the great diligence and dignity in how the military, and all those involved with preparing and transporting the body, handle their duties. Equally important, he encounters hundreds of people affected by Chances death, a vast majority of whom never knew him. This collective grieving eventually causes Lt. Col. Strobl, a veteran of Desert Storm now assigned to office duty, to probe his own guilt about not re-deploying to Iraq for the current conflict. Arriving in Wyoming, Lt. Col. Strobl completes his catharsis when he encounters Chances gracious family and friends, and discovers an extraordinary outpouring of community support.

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