When A Child Dies, Footsteps of a Grieving Family. (Veritas Publications, Dublin, 2008.)
DEATH OF A CHILD
This is a book about the death of a child and was published in February 2008. Due to heavy demand it was reprinted in July 2008. Because the death of a child evokes widespread sympathy, the Irish Examiner and the Farmers Journal devoted a full feature to the book. The trauma following the death of a child was discussed for an hour on the Gerry Ryan Show by Jim O’Shea and his son, Bill.
The royalties from this book are given to the Children’s Hospital in Crumlin.
DEATH OF A CHILD
When a Child Dies is an experiential book in which the reader is invited into the minds and hearts of a family devastated by the death of their youngest member. Through the voices of the child’s parents and siblings, this book explores the many feelings and thoughts experienced following the death of a child. The feelings of shock, anger, rage, sadness, fear, terror, denial, yearning, guilt and loneliness are palpable throughout, showing how the family coped, and what helped them to come to terms with their loss. When a Child Dies ultimately uncovers a family slowly emerging from darkness and chaos to reach some kind of acceptance, and to make the decision to live rather than to merely exist after the death of a child.
The book is valuable because the focus is not only on the parents, but also upon the siblings. All too often brothers and sisters are sidelined, while public sympathy is focused on the parents following the death of a child. Having read his adult children’s accounts of how the loss of their brother affected them at the time and in the long term, Jim O’Shea would now hold that siblings suffer as much as parents.
Ordering Information
When A Child Dies, Footsteps of a Grieving Family
DEATH OF A CHILD
You can order this book from Veritas or by calling 01 8788177. You can also get it from Bookworm or Amazon.
