Nobody's Child Anymore »

Ed, a 38-year-old hard-charging manager, did not expect to fall apart when his mother died. "It s like I see myself as this little boy, lost in a crowded store, calling for mommy," he said. Feeling angry, guilty, even selfish after the loss of a parent is perfectly normal, says Barbara Bartocci, author of Nobody s Child Anymore. Bartocci shows the unspoken and often underestimated effect of losing a parent -- not only the grief it causes but the unresolved issues, from sibling conflicts to fear to vulnerability, it raises.

Using the loss of her parents as a backdrop, Bartocci explores the four stages of losing a parent. Children often must endure the painful final stages of a parent s life, the finality of their death, and their own grief while offering support for a surviving parent.

In Nobody s Child Anymore, Bartocci shares stories -- from her own life and from those she interviewed -- that reveal a variety of experiences and emotions surrounding a parent s death. Like feeling envious that your sister s kids had an active grandmother, while your own will never remember trips with her to the zoo. Or dealing with your father s Alzheimer s, mourning him long before his physical passing.

Losing a parent is a rite of passage we all go through but rarely discuss. Nobody s Child Anymore helps adults realize they are not alone, that there is nothing wrong with them if they experience prolonged grief for a parent. On the other hand, it doesn t mean you loved your parent any less if you find quick closure. Bartocci helps us acknowledge and respect the differences in how different people process pain, explaining why all people do not feel the same after such a loss.

Nobody s Child Anymore assists us all in navigating our own unique grieving process until memories of parents lost weave themselves into a tapestry where the happy and sad, light and dark, can create a beautiful pattern.