Helpful Resources

Resources about Death & Grief

The Pediatric Bereavement Committee
Mission: To provide resources, education and support for bereaved children, families and staff in a caring, family-centered environment with a focus on grieving the loss and honoring the life.

Elliot Health System offers a Pediatric Bereavement Committee for families who have lost a child. The program is designed to offer you support since we last saw you. Our team of providers at Elliot Hospital believes that it is important to continue to support families even after they have left the hospital. In the future, we may contact you to invite you to remembrance events or just to see if you need anything.

We understand that for some families, ongoing contact with us may be a difficult reminder of your loss. If you do not want to receive calls or information about future pediatric bereavement activities, kindly reach out to us so that we may respect your wishes.

For more information, please contact LacyJane Cremmen, MS, CCLS via phone (603-663-3416) or email (lcremmen@elliot-hs.org).

For more information on grief, check out the resources listed below.

• Dougy Center: The National Center for Grieving Children and Families (https://www.dougy.org/)
• Friends of Aine Center for Grieving Children (A local organization) (https://www.friendsofaine.com/)
• National Alliance for Grieving Children (https://childrengrieve.org/)
  • NAGC Understanding Grief (https://nacg.org/resources-and-support/)
• Sesame Street in Community (https://sesamestreetincommunities.org/topics/grief/)
• What’s your grief?
  (http://whatsyourgrief.com/supporting-a-grieving-child)

Recommended Books about Death and Grief for Children:

For Toddlers/ Preschoolers:

• The Goodbye Book – by Todd Parr
• Something Very Sad Happened: A Toddler’s Guide to Understand Death – by Bonnie Zucker
• The Way I Feel – by Janan Cain
• Tough Boris – by Mem Fox

For School-Aged Children:

• Badger’s Parting Gifts – by Susan Varley
• Help Me Say Goodbye: Activities for Helping Kids Cope When a Special Person Dies – by Janis Silverman
• Ida, Always – by Caron Levis
• I Miss You: A First Look at Death – by Pat Thomas
• Lifetimes: The Beautiful Way to Explain Death to Children – by Bryan Mellonie & Robert Ingpen
• Tear Soup – by Pat Schwebert and Chuck DeKlyen
• Tell Me, Papa – by Dr. Marvin Johnson and Joy Johnson
• The Invisible String – by Patrice Karst
• The Kissing Hand – by Audrey Penn
• The Next Place – Warren Hanson
• When Dinosaurs Die: A Guide to Understanding Death – by Laurie Kransy Brown & Marc Brown
• Why Did You Die?: Activities to Help Children – by Erica Leeuwenburgh

For Teens:

• Fire In My heart, Ice In My Veins – by Enid Samuel- Traisman, MSW (Activity book)
• Healing Your Grieving Heart for Teens: 100 Practical Ideas, by Alan D. Wolfelt, PhD
• When a Friend Dies: A Book for Teens about Grieving and Healing – by Marilyn E. Gootman, Ed. D.