Wray - Surviving the Death of a Sibling: Living Through Grief When an Adult Brother or Sister Dies

I'm deeply grateful to my husband, Rob, for his love, emotional support, and editorial assistance. Thank you for always taking the time to affirm the importance of this work. I'm equally indebted to my children, Bob, Anne, and Jack, whose encouragement and hugs have sustained me throughout this process. Thank you for saying We're proud of you, Mom on those days when I needed to hear it most. Whatever else I may do in this world, it will pale in comparison to having had the honor of being your mother.

I'm also grateful to my parents, Valerie and Curt, and to my sisters, Linda, Robin, and Tracy, for their love and support, especially during that first terrible year without our beloved VJay.

I'd like to thank Walter Burr for believing in this project from the beginning and for helping me to take those first difficult steps necessary to make this book a reality. I'm also grateful to Anne McFadden, Nancy Rosenberg, Donna Bowen, Louise Doire, Regina Ballard, Jill Newman, Janet Alexander, Nancy Rockefeller, Elaine Macmillan, Jayme Hennessy, Judy Bailey, Claire Stanley, and all the other strong and beautiful women who have graced my life with love and friendship.

Thanks to my many wonderful students, friends, and colleagues at Salve Regina University. In particular, I'd like to recognize the members of the Religious Studies Department for their affirmation and support. I'm honored to be part of such a fine group of scholars and compassionate individuals. Thanks, also, to Earl Thompson and everyone at Andover Newton Theological School for their caring support and prayerful presence.

A special note of appreciation to my agent extraordinaire, Rob McQuilkin, who helped me to find my writer's voice and to my wonderfully talented editor, Orly Trieber, whose sensitivity to the material, invaluable suggestions, and friendship have been a special blessing. Thanks, also, to editorial director Becky Cabaza for her flexibility and understanding and to Betsy Rapoport for her early support of this project.

Many thanks to Laureen and Shell for their dedication to preserving the community spirit of the adult sibling grief website (www.adultsiblinggrief.com), and to my webmaster, Dave Castiglioni, for his creativity and friendship.

Finally, I'm profoundly grateful to the thousands of surviving siblings who have shared their journeys of loss with me. In particular, I'd like to recognize all those who contributed to this bookboth surviving siblings and their beloved brothers and sisters whose loss is deeply mourned. Their stories have helped me to better understand and articulate this particular type of grief and for that, I'm most humbly grateful to:

Andrea and Ed; Ann and Forest; Betty and Bill; B. G. and Allen; Brad and Bryan; Carl and Greg; Carol and Kathleen; Carolyn and Dougie, Denny; Clare and Andrew; Darcey and Donna; Dean and Stefani; Debra and Lori; Dorothy and Warren; Elise and Judith; Francesca and Larry; Frank and Marshall; Harri and Gail; Heidi and Michael; Helen and JoAnn; Jan and Eddie, Dennis, Dwayne; Janet and Jim; J. Elizabeth and Nancy; Jerry and Barbara; Jill and Debra; Judith and Suzanne; Julianne and Scott; Julie and Bill; Kathleen and Nora, Ricky; Kathryn and Scott; KathyAnne and Patsy; Kathy B. and Tommy; K. M. G. and Peter; L. B. and Paul; Linda and Pat; Linda-Lee and Danny; Lisa and Robert; Lisa-Marie and Andy; Marie and Doug, Tom; Martha and Paula, Michael, Patricia, Daniel; Mary and Kathleen; Marylin and Mary-Lee; Nadine and James; Nanci and Jeanne; Paul and Robert; Paula, Laura and Sarah; Rae Ellen and Lois; Renee and Chick; Ronna and Dana; Rosemary and Sean; Sean and Kelly; Sherry and Jimmy; Sunny and Robert; Tami and Robert; Theresa and Eddie; Tracy and Debra; and Victoria and Susan.

May their stories of loss and courage give comfort to all who mourn.