GIVING SORROW WORDS: How to Cope with Grief and Get on with Your Life

by Candy & Nancy Hathaway Lightner ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 17, 1990

Lightner founded M.A.D.D.--Mothers Against Drunk Driving--after her 13-year-old daughter Cari was killed by a drunk driver. Here, writing with Hathaway, she offers an honest account of her progress through the grieving cycle, and sound, general advice on how to help the bereaved. She taps into the experience of others who also have suffered losses (the death of a spouse, a loved one's suicide, the death of a friend) for useful information about what to expect during the grieving process; and her advice, while perhaps obvious, may still prove useful to some (e.g., don't offer reassurances like ""At least you have another child,"" or ""Stop dwelling on the past and try to get on with your life""). Lightner also includes some information about mourning and funeral customs throughout history and in other cultures that, while of esoteric interest, seems out of place in this personal and practical--if flatly written--book. No standout like Harold Kushner's When Bad Things Happen to Good People, then, but of use for its sympathetic, practical support, informed by Lightner's own personal tragedy.

Pub Date: Sept. 17, 1990

ISBN: 0446392901

Page Count: -

Publisher: Warner

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1990

Categories: NONFICTION