Rating: 
Summary: Hope and Help for Grieving Parents
Review: As a bereaved parent I know only too well the pain and suffering associated with the death of a child. Elaine Stillwell has written a magnificent book filled with understanding, hope, encouragement, and the power of healing for bereaved parents. Starting with her three reasons to get up in the morning, moving to her suggestions about surrounding the bereaved with "loving listeners", and finally ending with her description of the love and affection afforded to her by her loving dog Mickey, Stillwell's writing gives voice and validation to the special needs of bereaved parents and reflects her keen desire to tell her children's stories to the world. This is a "must read" for all bereaved parents and is destined to become one of those rare books that provide comfort as they are read again and again.
Rating:
Summary: An Outstanding Book for ALL Grievers
Review: As a Pastoral Bereavement Educator and Companion, I had stopped recommending books because there are so many good ones being offered.With Elaine Stillwell's book, I have changed my thoughts and will now recommend "The Death of a Child" to anyone suffering a loss of any kind. A truly outstanding aid for grievers and their caregivers!
Rating:
Summary: Sure to be a Classic
Review: Elaine Stillwell's new book is destined to become a classic in the field of bereavement. Comprehensive, educational, compassionate and written through experience, Stillwell's book resonates with wisdom and comfort. For the newly bereaved, it offers a guiding presence through 'excruciating pain, horrendous shock and unquenchable grief.' Stillwell's professionalism and years of dedication to reaching out and supporting bereaved parents across the country serves as a firm foundation that carries a message of hope from beginning to end.
Throughout the pages, Stillwell uses her unique gifts of caring and warmth to offer peace for the heart, ideas on how to cope and survive---teaching that grief work demands action, creating a new normal and 'reinvestment' in order for those grieving to grow fully into the new identity losing a child brings. Readers will find The Death of a Child intimate, empowering, expansive, and one of the most outstanding, new contemporary books available today for parents who have lost a child. Highly recommended, well-researched and leaving nothing out, it also serves as an excellent resource for those who minister to the bereaved.
Rating: 
Summary: Practical Tools for Grieving Parents
Review: Elaine Stillwell, mother of two young adults killed in a car accident 15 years, ago has spent many years since as the Bereavement Coordinator of the Diocese of Rockville Center, N.Y. In Death of a Child she offers support and advice to parents dealing with the whole spectrum of loss: children who die suddenly, after extended illness, before or soon after birth, and even death that involves war on terrorism. Topics include anger with God, communicating with a spouse, voicing emotions, and coping with holidays and anniversaries. Stillwell does a good job addressing specific issues for each of these losses.
Rating:
Summary: The Death of a Child -Capturing All Emotions
Review: I am a Bereaved Mom whose 26 year old Son/Sun Paul was killed by a drunk driver. This Book Brought Me Face to Face with Life!
God sends the Bereaved to Touch the Lives of Others in order that we Become Touched. I loved the Key Points highlighted in large print boxes on many of the pages. I felt it Set a Mood of Vision and Inspiration. As Elaine so eloquently shows us, there is a constant Periphery of Life After the Death of a Child. We have endured Great Grief and Sorrow, yet we Tap into Our Courage and find out who we really are.
Hope is great and this book Validates and Motivates us toward Circles of Community. We are held in Deep Moments reading this book in that Sacred Silence of Unconditional Love. The words teach us that we have the Skills to Give Our Suffering a Sense of Meaning and Purpose by the way we Embrace the Death of Our Child and Life's Adversities in general as a result of their death. This Wonderful Book is a Proof Positive Journey that those who 'Lose A Child' do not lose sight of the big picture.
Some parts of our Life Are Treacherous Arduous Passageways
but Communication moves us toward Communion with one another.
Grief has no agenda. The very Wisdom of Elaine's words Purges and the reader is Purified within the furnace of Grief. Each chapter enters into a place of wounded souls and this integrates us into the Fabric of Who We Are. Each paragraph has a Musical Quality and Ecumenical Tone as it Rhythmically flows in Reality that there is Faith in all of our own 'Ground Zero'. Our thought process focuses on how to Honor our child through Our Own Life.
Our Emotional Energy now is 'Who We Become' in our new life without our child. Reading the stories of others reveal also an inner strength that we didn't know was there. The Scripture Quotes at the beginning and end of each chapter set a Mood of Celebration and Holiness, wrapping us in an imaginary blanket of Sacred Warmth and Security. 'We Have Not Chose Loss' but Loss Opens Up Alternatives. Healing is enhanced because as Elaine teaches us ...we can all assign Meaning and Purpose to the death of our child. We can also Give meaning and purpose to our own life. The fruits of Elaine's tears speak volumes of Courage in the Aftermath and give brighter light to the Eye of the bereaved.
Read Elaine's words out loud! To lose her precious children, Peggy and Denis so suddenly, is the very thing that plunders hope. Yet her broken heart was able to accomplish so much of God's work embracing others in their brokenness and that seems so fit and divine. How wonderful that a Wounded Soul when transformed, emerges as Suffering Embraced! It then becomes Celebration and Resurrection! The inviting cover of the book is beautifully designed and the flowers sizzle with the color of God's glory and promise in Life. The Gift of the Book hold's another profound pain. Like music of the heart, it transcends all barriers and languages. We grow and realize that the Gifts before us become unwrapped with sheer faith and we become aware that we exist in the 'Divine Presence' of our child and that there is 'Presence in their Absence'. :-) The Death of a Child: Reflections for Grieving Parents is a book of Discipleship in Grief and brings Peace through the Understanding. Elaine's narratives are Wise, Real, Palpable, Visible, Sometimes Raw, but they also Resonate long after the sentence is finished. They Affirm and Validate that We Are Resilient and We Will Survive!
This book teaches that we can reach out, support, comfort and hold dearly. It provides all with the opportunity to live more deeply and learn the meaning of Life After Life! Sometimes pain truly faced leads to untapped sources of grace. Grieving can be chaotic breathing but it is also an 'ART'. After reading this book, study it, absorb it, go back to it and a new creativity kicks in. We cannot reverse the death of our child but we will look at 'What was' and ask ourselves "What can come from this?"
The Death Of a Child is a Prophetic Source of Peace, Power, Wisdom and Grace.
Rating:
Summary: Book Review by Rosemary Smith
Review: In "The Death of a Child: Reflections for Grieving Parents", Elaine Stillwell offers you her hand. Reach out and grab it if you are a bereaved parent or anyone who has suffered a loss. Her powerful book will be a catalyst in your recovery. The loss of a child is the most terrifying of all human experiences. I know because my two oldest sons became angels eleven years ago at ages eighteen and fifteen. I remember feeling like I was standing at the edge of something much too deep. I felt completely alone in a darkness heretofore unimaginable. How I wish this book had been available back then. Thankfully I met Elaine Stillwell five months afterwards and we began our lifelong friendship. "The Death of a Child" is the most masterfully written book on the loss of a child ever published. Hope resounds on every page. The bereaved will see themselves mirrored in Elaine's description of her grief journey. Read her book and you will know you are not alone. Other fellow travelers have gone before you. Elaine's book focuses on positive action. Grief is not passive. As Elaine says, "We can't walk around grief; we have to walk through it." Most of us are ill prepared to do this, but having Elaine's grief guidebook can pave the way. She discusses support groups, journaling, reading, music, physical activity, nature,pets and reinvestment. Reading what others have done can be an inspiration for each of us to get out from under the covers. "The Death of a Child" is like a warm blanket on a snowy night. It envelops you with love, with knowledge, with warmth, and with confidence that you can face the cold. It is an expression of a mother's love that transcends any other written word on grief. Grab that hand and read as Elaine Stillwell "sings the song". Rosemary Smith
Author "Children of the Dome"
Rating:
Summary: Help and Hope
Review: This book is a must read if you have lost a child. Elaine gives every parent such hope to continue on your life's journey. I have learned so much from this book and how to keep my son's memory alive. As Elaine says we don't want our children erased we want their memory kept alive. As Elaine concludes her book she leaves us parents with the important message to live life it is the ultimate gift of love to your child.
Rating:
Summary: This book helps parents to continue on life's journey
Review: This book is a must read if you have lost a child. Elaine gives every parent such hope to continue on your life's journey. I have learned so much from this book and how to keep my son's memory alive. As Elaine says we don't want our children erased we want their memory kept alive. As Elaine concludes her book she leaves us parents with the important message to live life it is the ultimate gift of love to your child.
Rating:
Summary: Help and Hope
Review: This book is filled with insight,practical advice, and inspiration. I think it will help me be a better friend to my friends who have just suffered this terrible loss.
Rating:
Summary: She knows what I'm going through
Review: This is an amazing book that says everything I am currently feeling after the death of my 16 month old son in April 2004. She has a wonderful ability to cut to the heart of the matter- the insensitive comments from others, the unbearable-ness of your loss. Yet she offers hope for the future. She knows the second most horrible thing would be to have others forget your child, and offers ways to lovingly keep their song alive. My favorite part was the simple prayer she offers, those who have read the book know which one. The one that starts, Father, forgive them for they know not what they do, etc. Thank you Elaine for those five minutes of healing laughter. If you have to read this book, I am sorry for you, and I hope it helps you as much as it did me.
| 
