When God Became Apparent

Rating:
Summary: Wow
Review: Having lost my father when I was young, this book caught my interest. As I read it, I was touched by the insights of the author and people in the book. There were things about me that I had never thought about before. The descriptions on the back about being "heart felt" and "bringing tears to your eyes" are true. This book is great! Everyone who lost a parent at a young age should read this book, and every parent who lost a spouse should read it. In fact, anyone who knows someone who lost a parent at a young age should read it. Now the author needs to write one for children and teens.

Rating:
Summary: Incredibly Insightful - Highest Recommendation!
Review: I've been in children's ministry for a few years, doing my best to help kids and families in times of loss. This book has given me so many important insights into a child's loss of a parent and any other type of loss that a child may face. The end of each chapter is especially helpful for those of us in children's ministry. Children's pastors, youth pastors and senior pastors, you need this book!

Rating:
Summary: Great for pastors
Review: I've been in children's ministry for a few years, doing my best to help kids and families in times of loss. This book has given me so many important insights into a child's loss of a parent and any other type of loss that a child may face. The end of each chapter is especially helpful for those of us in children's ministry. Children's pastors, youth pastors and senior pastors, you need this book!

Rating:
Summary: Lost a parent, lost a spouse, get this book
Review: This is one of the most touching books I've read - full of life experiences and practical insights. As one who's life has been touched by loss, I recommend this book. Although a small % of children experience the death of a parent, many lose a parent in other ways. This is for them too.

Rating:
Summary: Incredibly Insightful - Highest Recommendation!
Review: Well researched and well thought out from cover to cover, this book gives an incredibly clear picture of what the childhood loss of a parent is like for those who have experienced it, and what can be done to find hope and healing.
While this book may seem obscure in that relatively few people lose parents at an early age, I have been amazed at the number of people I know who have lived through this experience - my boss at work, several friends, an old high school buddy, numerous acquaintances. It actually took me several months to finish the book, because as I was reading it I kept running into people who had experienced this kind of loss. I read portions of about eight different copies of the book by the time I finished it - I gave so many away and bought replacements. I'm giving the copy I just finished to an old friend who lost his father when he was in the 5th grade.
This book is ideal for a large number of people beyond the average individual desiring to understand the childhood loss of a parent - surviving spouses, counselors, pastors, grief recovery groups, foster parents, social workers, college students, those who want to better understand the loss experiences of friends and relatives, and there are certainly others I can't think of right now.
This one is well worth reading, even at ten times the price.

Rating:
Summary: Description from the back of the book
Review: When GOD Became ApParent: The Early Death of a Parent and the Lifelong Journey Without a Mother or Father

When a parent dies during a child's growing-up years, the change is monumental. An alternate shaping of life and self begins; an influence is lost; the creation of memories is halted. Living with the loss from that point on means living a new way of life. Life is so significantly shaped by the loss that other forces often pale by comparison.

The reader will often be moved to tears by the heartfelt insights of adults who experienced the early death of a parent-a parent that cannot be present at graduations, weddings, births, and everyday conversations - a parent that is not available to give advice or be a grandparent.

Woven throughout this very personal book are Dr. Darren Daugherty's own insights from the early loss of his father and the recognition of God's grace. Darren's book will help readers to understand this loss and those who live with it. It also offers hope to anyone connected to the early loss of a parent. Included at the end of each chapter are suggestions for surviving parents who desire to help their children through the loss.

Darren Daugherty has a B.A. in Pastoral Ministry, a M.A. in Elementary Education, and a Ph.D. in Family Education.