Always With Me: Parents Talk About the Death of a Child





Price: $29.95

Page Count: 198

Publication Date: August 2018

ISBN: 978-1-77258-169-0

DEMETER READER’S PIC;

Demeter Press’s new anthology Always With Me is a unique break-though book.  The courage it took for the twenty-six parental contributors, including the anthology’s editor, Dr. Donna Sharkey, to write about the deaths of their adult children is completely transparent and heart-rending.  For everyone who has ever had to deal with the death of an adult child, or grandchild, or niece or nephew, this book is a kindly support, a way of knowing one is not alone in the struggle to make sense of the world.  There is no book like: it is personal and universal, tragic and uplifting, sorrowful and yet it brings peace.  I recommend it highly.  
Arleen Paré
Poet

   

How does a parent cope after the death of a child? Each essay in Always With Me: Parents Talk about the Death of a Child reveals the experiences of parents who have lived through the devastation and upheaval of their child’s death. Parents describe the maelstrom they face in their inner landscapes, coping strategies, and realigned place in the world. The writers in this collection of stories take on such topics as shock and isolation, despair, guilt, and how they attempt to make sense of their shattered lives. They offer insights into how their grief and loss are worked through, and why certain personal connections are severed, others strengthened. Importantly, they describe how, with lives altered indelibly, they try to press forward to find a new place in the world.

“The death of one’s child is possibly the harshest blow life can deliver. This extraordinary anthology offers diverse perspectives on how and why parents survive the pain of their child’s death. It is aimed at general readers, other survivors, and those who work with grieving families. The book is sad but not depressing. Read it in small doses to fully appreciate the depths of parental love, sorrow, remorse, and yearning represented here.”
—DEBORAH YAFFE, Senior Instructor Emerita, University of Victoria

“This book is a gift to all of us. The collection of vignettes takes us into the centre of the heartbreaking and unimaginable pain that parents who have lost children live through as they try to make sense of a world where the natural order of things is gone. Raw, honest, and powerful, the stories cannot but make an impression on the reader. The book is instructive and filled with valuable lessons not only for those in the helping professions—social workers, nurses, physicians, teachers, therapists—but also for the general public that needs to get past its discomfort with all parents’ worst nightmare and learn how better to provide compassionate support to bereaved parents and their families.” 
—THERESE JENNISSEN, Professor, School of Social Work, Carleton University

“I was deeply moved by the immediacy of this book’s stories, the candour of the writing. Between its pages, I found important insights on the nature of loss, grief, and hope. These heartfelt testimonies, so representative of what it means to be human, provide a close understanding of grieving. One by one, these stories change us for the better. As a health professional, I now feel closer to my fellow humans and more skilled to be there for them in times of profound pain. After the last word was read, I was left with a deep sense of compassion and gratitude for those who so generously shared their journey. True to its title, this book will always be with me.”
—RACHEL THIBEAULT, Ph.D. FCAOT, O.C., Sisyphus Resilience Consulting

Acknowledgments

Introduction
Donna McCart Sharkey

Objects We Hold
Martha Royea

Jesse’s Story 
Stephanie Gilman

Different Worlds 
Suzanne Corbeil 

I Can’t Imagine It 
Lorna Thomas 

Crash Lisa 
Whiteside

Alessandra 
Donna McCart Sharkey

Airborne 
Martha Royea 

Something I Want You to Know 
Martha Royea

Ten Days Apart 
Jacquelyn Johnston

Kevin 
Roy Patterson

Sorrow Seasons 
Tara McGuire 

Worlds Apart 
Becky Livingston 

Christmases
Jane Davey-Keogh 

Memory Box 
Judy Lynne 

When David Was Killed 
Randie Clark

What I Never Knew 
Antoine Babinsky

Four Poems 
Laura Apol

Randy 
Bonnie Hardy 

Guess It’s Time to Put it Down 
Barb Duncan

Hole in My Heart 
Micheline Lepage 

Still 
Linda Turner 

Living My Best Life for My Son, Chris 
Elaine Dean

Goodnight Irene 
Susan Doyle Lawrence 

Life after Losing My Son 
Ingrid Draayer

Evensong 
Martha Royea 

Don’t Worry about Getting Old, Mum 
Bonnie Waterstone

Joy Reclaimed—Twenty Years After 
Cathy Sosnowsky

In Memory 
Barb Hayduk 

However Did We Survive? 
Andy Bond

Daniel 
Sylvia Pasher 

The Bird 
Judith Maguet 

About the Contributors 

Donna McCart Sharkey grew up in Montreal and now lives in Ottawa. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Ottawa and her research includes studies conducted with war affected girls and young women. Her research has been published in numerous academic journals and she has contributed to various anthologies. Prior to retirement, she was a professor at The State University of New York. She is the mother of Alessandra and Renata.