Book Reviews
Children's Books
Here are some of the books about loss and grief I've read and loved; children's books at the top, adult books further below. They are all available at my local library, why not check out yours? I have included a few links to local bookshops because I believe in supporting small businesses, but you will certainly find them at all major bookshops too. Click the button to find some of my favourite quotes.
SAD BOOK
Michael Rosen and Quentin Blake
I loved the gentle pace of this book, inviting us to stop on each page and reflect. It is honest, because "It is his", helping readers to see and accept their own truth. A book for children and their parents. I could relate to every page, from his happy/sad face, to the screaming in the shower, the memory triggers to the birthday candles. I would certainly recommend this beautiful book.
The Boy and the Gorilla
Jackie Azúa Kramer and Cindy Derby
A gentle book that affirms a little boy's feelings of loss in an uncomplicated way. Searching for symbols of his mother, places where she can still exist, the gorilla gently guides the boy home. I love that the complexity of feelings are normalised, and that building connections with his mother is a focus.
DADAJI'S PAINTBRUSH
RASHMI SIRDESHPANDE AND RUCHI MHASANE
A sweet book that explores loss of a grandfather through the lens of paint and colour. There is a lovely symmetry to it which feels satisfying, as well as a sense of the inevitability of passing time. It shows how helping others can help ourselves. It is lovely to have diversity in voices.
Elegy for an Elephant
Ryan Abramowitz
Absolutely beautiful!! A story for "the souls who left this earth, believing they had no choice, and for the bereaved they left behind".
Suicide is a sensitive topic, particularly with children, and yet it happens. This beautiful book approaches the death of a loved father through the eyes of animals, Wonder, Grace and Hope. They find meaning, hope and understanding through gentle conversations with their father, the elephant, Elysium.
Duck, Death and the Tulip
Wolf Erlbruch
This book is refreshing and surprising, right from its cover. Who puts 'Death' on the cover of a children's picture book? Surely that is unmarketable.
Yet this brave little book does that, and continues to surprise throughout. Death is a character, a very sweet, wise and comforting presence. He joins the duck in the pond, up a tree and even gets a nice warming hug when cold. There is nothing uncomfortable or scary about death, and that is the point. I really loved this one.
the light in me sees the light in you
Lori Nichols
A simple, gentle book about death that helps children visualise their loved one as a light. Drawing a thread between the light in their old life, and in the new one after their loss, this story gives children a way to make sense of death and their feelings in an uncomplicated, accessible way.
Awesome Book
Talented Author
I'm reading this book right now and will tell you all about it soon.
Awesome Book
Talented Author
I'm reading this book right now and will tell you all about it soon.
Book Reviews
Adult books
Every Day, Forever
Molly Mattocks
This book has helped me so much! After losing her daughter to cancer, Molly reflects on the journey and her grief. Her writing is so honest, so brimming with love for her daughter, it is an honour to read.
Gabriel
Edward Hirsch
There is a relationship between words and the reader that gives poetry an extra dimension of meaning. For me at least.
I simply loved this book of love and suffering as told by David Hirsh, writing about the loss of his son, Gabriel. It's direct, painful and incredibly moving.
"The funeral director opened the coffin
And there he was alone
From the waist up"
Fun Home
Alison Bechdel
Ok, this one is a very different book and certainly not for everyone. It's a graphic memoir that is at times funny, punchy, powerful and poignant. It deals with gender identity, suicide, death and relationships and, while at times very confronting, is also beautifully told with a vulnerable honesty. The illustrations are incredible and add a lot to the story. Well worth the read.
Tangles
Sarah Leavitt
This graphic memoir is a wonderful work of respect, love and beauty. The author shares her journey with her mother as she descends into the grips of alzheimers. Assembled from a tangle of notes she wrote to herself in an effort to hang onto and treasure her time with her mother, this is a poignant and at times very funny account of life with alzheimers. Leavitt seeks to untangle the disparate and sometimes almost meaningless snippets, giving them an order and context. And yet, it remains a very tangled, messy book, one that gently follows the many directions her mother's disease takes them. The candid illustrations contain exactly what is essential, with the spaces sometimes as meaningful as the images themselves. A raw, honest book about love and a bond that will never be lost.
Postcards From No Man's Land
Aidan Chambers
A biography of sorts, Postcards From No Man's Land is the story of Jacob, a boy on the cusp of adulthood who travels to Amsterdam to learn about his family, and in the process, himself. I enjoyed the thoughtfulness of this book; it wasn't a trite coming of age story, but a more searching, explorative journey. It is very slow moving and at times caught up in the minutiae of daily mundanities, but it is this space that allows the character, and reader to contemplate. It allows the reader to sit with the discomfort, the solitude of adulthood and the Darwinian origins of a kiss. Thoughtful.
Speak
Laurie Halse Anderson
What assumptions do we make about the faces we see? Do we know what goes on behind? Of course not. On one level, Speak is a quick, easy read. It is the story of teenager Melinda Sordino, and it follows her angsty adolescent trials and tribulations as she navigates friendships and school. However, it is also the gentle unravelling of a story of rape, and how Melinda has to find her own pathway and strength. My heart aches for the irritable, socially expendable girl, wanting so much to be heard and valued. This story says 'stop and listen'.
Catching Teller Crow
Ambelin Kwaymullina and Ezekiel Kwaymullina
I really didn't like this story at the start. I felt it was telling me that there was something wrong with grieving, that it was something to be fixed. However I persisted as I found the relationship between the principal character, Beth Teller, and her father fascinating. You see, Beth died in a car accident but maintains a presence that her father sees and hears. Together they work on a local murder mystery and in the process meet the girl Isobel Catching, who can also see Beth. I loved the way the story sensitively, yet incredibly powerfully deals with grief, tragedy and violence. There is a beautiful artistry and spiritual aspect to this evocative story. I loved it, although it did still leave a sour taste- why is it better to move on?
Next Book Adventure
Talented Author
I'm reading this book right now and will tell you all about it soon.
