Books and Resources on Grief, Caregiving and Pediatric Cancer
This list was put together by the Austin Hatcher Foundation clinical staff:
For Parents with the Death of a Child:
1. The Bereaved Parent - Harriet Sarnoff Schiff
2. The Grief of Parents When a Child Dies - The Compassionate Friends
3. We Need Not Walk Alone: After the Death of a Child - Mary Cleckley, Elizabeth Estes and Priscilla Norton
4. A Grief Unveiled: One Father’s Journey Through the Death of a Child - Gregory Floyd
5. Grieving Dads: To the Brink and Back - Kelly Farley
6. From Mother to Mother: On the Loss of a Child - Emily Long
7. Hope Springs from a Mother’s Broken Heart: 11 Mothers Share How They Survived the Loss of a Child - Theresa Anthony
8. Surviving Sorrow: A Mother’s Guide to Living with Loss - Kim Erickson
9. Comfort for the Grieving Parents Heart: Hope and Healing After the Loss of your Child - Gary Roe
10.Beyond Tears: Living After Losing a Child - Ellen Mitchell
11.Shattered: Surviving the Loss of a Child - Gary Roe
12.A Broken Heart Still Beats: After your Child Dies - Anne McCracken and Mary Semel
13.The Worst Loss: How Families Heal from the Death of a Child - Barbara Rosof
14.Surviving the Loss of a Child - Elizabeth Brown
15.Bearing the Unbearable: Love, Loss and the Heartbreaking Path of Grief - Joanne Cacciatore
For Children who have Experienced a Death:
1. When Dinosaurs Die: A Guide to Understanding Death - Laurene Brown
2. Sad Ninja - Mary Nhin
3. A Terrible Thing Happened - Margaret Holmes
4. Goodbye Book - Todd Harr
5. I Miss You: A First Look at Death - Pat Thomas
6. The Emotions Book: A Little Story about BIG Feelings - Liz Fletcher
7. Always Remember - Cece Meng
8. Badgers Parting Gifts - Susan Yarley
9. Chester Raccoon and the Acorn Full of Memories - Audrey Penn
10.Always and Forever - Debi Gliori and Alan Durmant
11.The Invisible String - Patrice Karst
12.The Memory Box: A Book about Grief - Joanna Rowland
13.Bear’s Last Journey - Udo Weigelt and Christina Kadmon
14.The Worried Child: Recognizing Anxiety in Children and Helping Them Heal - Paul Foxman Ph.D.
15. God Gave Us Heaven - Lisa Tawn Bergren
For Teens Who Have Experienced Death
1. Death is Stupid - Anastasia Rigginbotham
2. When Death Walks In: For Teenagers Facing Grief - Mark Scrivani
3. Straight Talk about Death for Teenagers: How to Cope with Losing Someone that you Love - Earl Grollman
4. The Grieving Teen: A Guide for Teenagers and Their Friends - Helen Fitzgerald
5. Grief Recovery for Teens - Coral Popowitz
6. Navigating Grief: A Guided Journal: Prompts and Exercises for Reflection - Mia Rolden
7. One Minute Gratitude Journal for Teens - Brenda Natan
8. Puggy Brown Ears Purr Song - Linda Fausey
9. Beat the Turtle Drum - C. Greene
10.A Matter of Time - R. Schotter
11.Bereaved Children and Teens - Earl Grollman
Sibling Loss:
1. The Empty Room: Understanding Sibling Loss - Elizabeth DeVita-Raeburn
2. Sibling Grief: After the Death of a Sister or Brother - P. Gill White
3. Dear Sibling, I want to Say...: Grief Journal Healing After the Loss of a Brother or Sister - Bando Press
General Grief Books:
1. Grief Day by Day: Simple Practices and Daily Guidance for Living with Loss - Jan Warner
2. Grief is A Journey: Finding Your Path Through Loss - Dr. Kenneth Doka
3. Dream New Dreams: Reimagining my Life After Loss - Jai Pausch
4. Grief One Day at a Time: 365 Meditations to Help You Heal After Loss - Alan Wolfelt Ph.D.
5. Transforming Grief and Loss Workbook - Ligia Houben
6. How to Go on Living When Someone You Love Dies - Teresa Rando
7. I Wasn’t Ready to Say Goodbye - Brooke Noel
8. Living with Grief: Who We Are, How We Grieve - Kenneth Doka and Joyce Davidson
9. Chicken Soup for the Grieving Soul - Jack Canfield and Mark Hanson
10.Healing After Loss: Daily Meditations for Working Through Grief - Marthat Hickman
11.Courage to Grieve - Judy Tatelbaum
12.Life After Loss: A Practical Guide to Renewing Your Life After Experiencing a Major Loss - Bob Deits
13.Awakening from Grief: Finding the Way Back to Joy - John Welshons and Wayne Dyer
14.Living When a Loved One has Died - Earl Grollman
15.A Time to Grieve: Meditations for Healing After the Death of a Loved One - Carla Fine
Books for Grandparents who have had a Grandchild Die:
1. Forgotten Tears: A Grandmother’s Journey through Grief - Nina Bennett
2. Healing a Grandparents Grieving Heart: 100 Practical Ideas After Your Grandchild Dies - Alan Wolfelt Ph.D.
3. A Grandparent Sorrow - RN
Books for families with a Child who has a Diagnosis of Cancer:
1. What Happens When Someone I Love Has Cancer? -Sara Olsher
2. Cancer Party!: Explain Cancer, Chemo and Radiation to Kids in a Totally Not Scary Way - Sara Olsher
3. Nowhere Hair: Explains Your Cancer and Chemo to Kids - Sue Glader
4. Butterfly Kisses and Wishes on Wings – When Someone You Love has Cancer: A
Hopeful, Helpful Book for Kids - Ellen McVicker
5. How Do You Care for a Very Sick Bear? - Vanessa Boyer
6. When a Kid like Me Fights Cancer - Catherine Stier
7. The Puddle Jumper’s Guide to Kicking Cancer - Elizabeth Billups
8. Amazing Annabelle: A Story for Kids Fighting Cancer - Dyan Fox
9. Chemo to the Rescue: A Children’s Book about Leukemia - Mary Brent
10.Good Night, Hospital Room - Marilyn Luce Robertson
Resources and Organizations:
1. The Compassionate Friends: National Organization for Parents who have had a child Die.
- We have a local Chapter in Chattanooga that meets the 2nd Sunday of the Month from 3-5.
- www.thecompassionatefriends.org
2. NAGC.: National Alliance for Grieving Children.
- Great information about children and death.
- www.childrengrieve.org
3. Dougy Center. A Center in Portland OR that provides grief services for all.
- They have a number of books and workbooks for kids/teens on grief.
- www.dougy.org
4. Alan Wolfelt Ph.D. has written a number of books for kids, teens and parents on grief and loss. He has a grief center in Colorado.
- www.centerforloss.com
5. Cope Foundation.
- www.copefoundation.org
6. Bereaved Parents of the USA.
- www.bereavedparentsusa.org
7. MISS Foundation.
- www.missfoundation.org
8. Bereaved Parenting.
- www.bereavedparenting.org
9. AARP Foundation: Grief and Loss Programs
- www.aarp.org/families/grief_loss.org
Resources for Family Caregiving:
1. www.helpguide.org
2. www.caregiverstress.com
About the Austin Hatcher Foundation for Pediatric Cancer
The Austin Hatcher Foundation for Pediatric Cancer is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing a lifetime of free essential services to children and families affected by pediatric cancer. Through its various programs, the Foundation offers support, education, and hope to children battling cancer and their families, helping them navigate the challenges of diagnosis, treatment, and survivorship. For more information about the organization, visit www.HatcherFoundation.org.
Call/Text: 423-243-3471
Email: info@hatcherfoundation.org
