The WiSSP Resource Library

 Wisconsin Stillbirth Service Program

GRIEF AROUND THE HOLIDAYS

1.   One Holiday at a Time, by Mask Publications, Inc, 1990.

    This booklet is intended for anyone dealing with the grief of a spouse, child, parent, or loved one around the holidays.  It describes the meaning that holidays can hold for individuals and shares useful coping skills for each holiday and significant times of the year such as New Year's Day, Valentine's Day, Arrival of Spring, Mother's Day, Memorial Day, Father's Day, Beginning of Summer, Fourth of July, Labor Day, Beginning of Autumn, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Halloween, Veteran's Day, Thanksgiving, Beginning of Winter, Hanukkah, Christmas and New Year's Eve.

2.    Handling the Holidays, by Bruce H. Conley; Thum Printing, Elburn, IL, 1979.

    A practical guide committed to helping bereaved persons cope constructively with the holidays. Includes personal experiences, practical suggestions and a resource list.

3.   Not Just Another Day - Families, Grief, and Special Days, by Missy Lowery, Centering Corporation, 1992.

    This booklet is intended for anyone dealing with the grief of a parent, spouse, child or loved one around the holidays. It is family-oriented and includes personalized accounts of events and memories surrounding loved ones. Numerous, helpful ideas for taking care of yourself, dealing with family traditions, creating new family traditions, children's questions about death, an anniversary of a death, and support for children. This resource briefly describes children's understanding of death for ages 0-18.

4.   Coping with Holidays and Celebrations by Sherokee Isle; deRuyter Nelson Publications, Inc., 1993.

    This pamphlet (7 pages) offers suggestions for coping with grief after the loss of a child, which resurfaces or intensifies during holidays and special family events. It explains 39 different approaches that other parents have used to survive the holidays, their child's birthday or anniversary of death, and other family celebrations.

5.   Making It Through The Toughest Days of Grief by Meg Woodson; Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1994.

    An intimate account of how to ease the pain of death or divorce during particular events such as Christmas, your Birthday, Lonely Days etc. written by an award-winning writer, speaker and grief counselor who has experienced the deaths of her son and daughter with cystic fibrosis.  The unique, flowing, very personal style utilizes examples in order to give practical advice on grieving with some, but not exclusive, focus on Christian beliefs. 

6.   Getting Past Christmas, by Carlene Vester Eneroth; Centering Corporation, Omaha, Nebraska.

     As its title suggests, this simple four page vignette is devoted to the Christmas holiday.  As with the other Centering Corporation vignettes, it includes a lot of information and suggestions in a small format.  At 45˘ each it may be possible for a hospital to buy multiple copies to give away as appropriate.

7.   Helping the Bereaved Celebrate the Holidays:  A Sourcebook for Planning Instructional and Remembrance Events by Dr. James E. Miller; Willowgreen Productions, Fort Wayne, Indiana, 1992.

     If you have ever planned any event, large or small, you probably wished you had a workbook to help remember all the details.  Miller’s Helping the Bereaved Celebrate the Holidays is just such a book.  A wonderful and thorough resource, it takes you through event planning, from helping define goals and the who, what and where of any program to how to build on this year’s event to help next year’s effort.