When Your Family's Lost a Loved One: Finding Hope Together »

Someone’s missing.

When your family’s lost a loved one, the reminders are everywhere. An empty chair, a silent crib, an unused pillow. You long to return to “normal,” but you wonder how your family can live without the loved one you cherish.

Unfortunately, there’s no avoiding the pain; each family member will grieve in his or her own way and time. But there is light at the end of the tunnel—hope that you will find joy and unity again.

The journey may not be short or smooth, but David and Nancy Guthrie have traveled it—more than once. With empathy and honesty, they’ll guide you through the challenges of keeping your family together and strong. You’ll discover practical, compassionate answers to questions like these:

• How can I help my children cope with losing a parent?
• Can my marriage survive the loss of a child?
• When will the pain of losing my spouse stop?
• How can we honor our loved one’s memory—and still “move on”?
• What’s the secret of holding on to our faith—and each other?

At a time when nobody seems to understand, David and Nancy do. Let them, along with others who’ve walked this road, take your household from hurt to healing.

Foreword     xiii
Introduction     1
How Are You?     3
God Fills in the Gaps: Q&A with Angela Robbins     17
When People Add to Your Pain     23
What Kind of Grief Work Have You Done?: Q&A with Susan Shafer     31
Soothing the Hurt     37
Will a Pill Help?: Q&A with Richard C. Shelton, M.D.     45
Keeping Your Faith in the Midst of Loss     51
Seeing God's Goodness: Q&A with Gracia Burnham     59
Heaven Matters     63
The Long Goodbye of a Long-term Illness: Q&A with Max Lucado     69
Staying Together     73
Her Grief     83
His Grief     91
Grieving Alone Together: Another Couple's Story: Q&A with Rex and Connie Kennemer     100
Helping Kids Cope     107
Helping Kids Get Through Grief: Q&A with Anne Purdy     115
Helping Kids with Complicated Grief: Q&A with Katherine Koonce     119
Helping Boys Through Grief: Q&A with David Thomas     123
You Don't Have to Be Strong: Q&A with Rachel Robbins     128
Birthdays, Deathdays, and Holidays     135
Feeling Like a Family Again: Q&A with Bill Lee     144
Remembering     153
TheGrave     159
Going On     169
Notes     175