When Children Grieve

When a child experiences the death of a loved one, divorce, moving, or some other traumatic event, parents and caregivers want to help the child through the grieving process, but often don't know how to go about it.

A new book, When Children Grieve, by John W. James and Russell Friedman with Leslie Landon Matthews, PhD, addresses this issue and tries to give adults tools to help children deal with loss.

Matthews, a psychologist, is the daughter of actor Michael Landon, who died 10 years ago at the age of 54. Landon had nine children, including Matthews. John W. James and Russell Friedman run the Grief Recovery Institute in Sherman Oaks, California.

James came to the subject of grief recovery after the loss of his 3-day-old son in 1977, which sent him into a tailspin of despair, and even thoughts of suicide. He tried to find books to help himself and discovered there weren't any, so he developed his own ideas. As people turned to him for help, he wrote The Grief Recovery Handbook and founded the Grief Recovery Institute.

Friedman arrived at the Grief Recovery Institute in 1986 after his second divorce and a major financial disaster. He began as a volunteer and stayed on to work there.

Matthews attended a Grief Recovery Personal Workshop after her father died and now helps out at the Institute.

When Children Grieve is an outgrowth of the first book. The Grief Recovery Handbook was written to help adults. This book helps adults learn how to help children.
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