Linus Mundy - Being Sad When Someone Dies: A Book about Grief

Being Sad When Someone Dies

A Book about Grief

Written by Linus Mundy
Illustrated by Anne FitzGerald

All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this ebook or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Copyright 2012 Linus Mundy

Illustrations 2012 St. Meinrad Archabbey

ISBN:978-1-4976-8121-7

Abbey Press Publications

1 Hill Drive

St. Meinrad, Indiana 47577

www.abbeypress.com

Distributed by Open Road Distribution

345 Hudson Street

New York, NY 10014

www.openroadmedia.com

All of life is so precious that we are saddened when any of it ends. When someone we care about dies, we can feel lost, confused, and deeply grieved.

For children, who are new at so many things, it can be a very difficult experience to lose a loved one. For the very young, the finality of death is hard to understand. How, after all, could something like this happen? Where is this person? Will they be back? Who is going to take care of me now? The questions and the sadness, whether they are voiced or not, can go on and on.

It is for us to be there for these young people going through a loss. They need all the support and concern we can muster. They will work through some of the experience in their own way and in their own time, of course. But we can take them by the hand and share what we know about getting through such a difficult time. We can reassure them that, some way, somehow, things can be good again.

Being Sad When Someone Dies can help you and your grieving child or grandchild or young friend. It attempts to speak not in allegories or story, but directly to the child in words he or she can understand. It offers practical coping skills as well as perhaps a better understanding of the circle of life itself. May the words and pictures in this book bring comfort and support to you and your grieving child.

Linus Mundy

W hen someone you love dies, you have so many feelingsfeelings that you dont like. You may feel sad. You might also feel a little bit scared, mixed-up, lost, yucky in the stomach, angry, or worried. You may even feel numbno feelings inside, at allbecause you are so surprised that this happened.

Y ou might even have all of these feelings at the same time.

S ome people think they should pretend that nothing bad happened when someone dies. They think that if they dont cry or say or do anything different, maybe things will be better.

B ut you cant just forget that a person you loved died. Because you loved that person.

O ne good thing that happens when someone you love dies, is that people want to help each other at this time. They want to make the sadness not quite so bad, the badness not quite so sad. They want to be with people who know how theyre feeling.

T alking to a grown-up or a friend can really help with your sad feelings. Your parent or grandparent or teacher might be the best persons to talk with.

S ome of the people they have loved have died in the past, and so they know some of the things that can help.

Y ou may hear people saying nice things about the person who died, and telling stories and maybe even laughing. It is good to remember the good things about this person and to talk about him or her.

Y ou may want to try copying some of the good things this person did. If your loved one had a garden or a special plant, you may want to plant a garden or take care of a plant, too.

O ur religion teaches us that only a persons body dies. We all have a soul that never dies. Our souls go to heaven to be with God who loves the one who has died as much as you do.

I t helps to know this. But it still hurts that our friend or family member died and we cant hug them or talk to them anymore.

T hinking about the good things you did when the person was alive can help a lot.

Y es, it may make you sad to think that you cant do more good things with that person. But remembering the happy times you had together can make you very glad that this person was alive and shared with you.

M aybe you can ask your mom or dad to get you a reminder of the person who died. It might be a wooden spoon that your grandparent let you use to help cook, or a book that your uncle really liked, or maybe a happy picture of the person that you can frame and put in your room.

W hen you are really tired at night, you may have sad thoughts as you lie in bed and everything is quiet.

R emember that even though you are sad now, there will be many happy times ahead. Life will be different, and you will definitely miss this person who died, but God and the people you love will be near you.

M aybe you can draw pictures of yourself playing or talking with the person when he or she was alive. Or maybe you can help your mom or dad bake and eat a pie that you used to make together. Or make a scrapbook of drawings and pictures that remind you of how wonderful this person was and the things you did together.