In 1968, Dougy Turno was born in Aiken, South Carolina. In his brief 13 years of life, Dougy Turno would inspire a new model of care, The Dougy Center Model, which would serve thousands of children, teens, young adults, and parents throughout the world. Diagnosed and living with an advanced serious illness, Dougy's bravery and compassion for children and teens who were also living with advanced serious illnesses initiated the first peer grief support program for children and their families grieving a death. Dougy Center, respectfully and affectionately named after Dougy Turno, offered its first group in 1982 to 4 children at our founder's home. Since that first group on December 29, 1982, to the present day, we have used The Dougy Center Model to provide support in a safe place for thousands of children, teens, young adults, and their families who are grieving. This book explains Dougy Center's history and the model that has been used to build and grow more than 500 programs throughout North America and into other continents as well.

Start the conversation around grief--a normal and healthy experience we all share as human beings. Grief is a small word for a BIG experience. Grief affects us emotionally, but also physically, socially, spiritually, and really in every part of our lives. But the important thing to know is that grief is natural, normal, and healthy, and it's an experience we all have because we're human.

This guidebook presents 35 simple and practical suggestions for supporting a child who is grieving. Drawn from stories, suggestions and insight shared by children and their family members at Dougy Center: The National Grief Center for Children & Families, this book explores behaviors and reactions of children at different ages and stages of development; outlets for children to safely express their thoughts and feelings; and ways to be supportive during difficult times, such as a memorial service, anniversary or holiday.

A brilliant, genre-defying work—both memoir and epic poem—about the struggle for wisdom, grace, and ritual in the face of unspeakable loss “A bruised and brave love letter from a brother right here to a brother now gone . . . a soaring, unblinking gaze into the meaning of life itself.”—Marlon James, author of Black Leopard, Red Wolf my father said david has taken his own life Adam is in the middle of his own busy life, and approaching a career high in the form of a #1 New York Times bestselling book—when these words from his father open a chasm beneath his feet. I Had a Brother Once is the story of everything that comes after. In the shadow of David’s inexplicable death, Adam is forced to re-remember a brother he thought he knew and to reckon with a ghost, confronting his unsettled family history, his distant relationship with tradition and faith, and his desperate need to understand an event that always slides just out of his grasp. This is an expansive and deeply thoughtful poetic meditation on loss and a raw, darkly funny, human story of trying to create a ritual—of remembrance, mourning, forgiveness, and acceptance—where once there was a life.

Through the stories, thoughts and feelings of other kids who have experienced a murder, this hands-on- workbook allows children to see that they are not alone in their feelings and experiences. Includes drawing activities, puzzles and word games to help explain confusing elements specific to a murder, such as the police, media and legal system.

This guidebook outlines the many thoughts, challenges and reactions unique to grieving teens. Drawn from stories, suggestions and insight shared by teens and family members, it explores how teens view death and how it impacts their lives as well as offering suggestions as to ways of support and understanding.

Superhero Grief uses modern superhero narratives to teach the principles of grief theories and concepts and provide practical ideas for promoting healing. Chapters offer clinical strategies, approaches, and interventions, including strategies based in expressive arts and complementary therapies. Leading researchers, clinicians, and professionals address major topics in death, dying, and bereavement, using superhero narratives to explore loss in the context of bereavement and to promote a contextual view of issues and relationship types that can improve coping skills. This volume provides support and psychoeducation to students, clinicians, educators, researchers, and the bereaved while contributing significantly to the literature on the intersection of death, grief, and trauma.