What is Grief? Children’s Book Launched Nationally
Have you ever lost something or someone important to you? If so, you’ve felt grief – a universal experience that affects us all, especially children.
1 in 20 Australian children will experience the death of a parent before their 18th birthday. The remaining 19 will grieve a grandparent, classmate, neighbour, pet, friendship, school, or how their family used to look. Loss is an inescapable part of life for children and young people.
A new book to help children feel comfortable expressing their feelings about grief and loss was launched nationally with events in Hobart and Launceston.
‘What is Grief?’ has been created by Palliative Care Tasmania (PCT) and penned by Jess Sanders, an award-winning, best-selling author, who is also the Manager of Grief and Loss Programs at PCT.
‘What is Grief? aims to normalise grief by exploring common forms, such as the death of a loved one or pet, family separation, or the loss of a friendship. Through engaging storytelling, the book shows that there is no right or wrong way to grieve and there are a range of emotions that can be felt as part of the grieving process.
To coincide with the launch, we visited St Michael’s Collegiate Junior School, where a teacher read ‘What is Grief?’ to their class. The students had meaningful discussions about the book’s themes and shared their own experiences of grief and loss.
Author, Jess Sanders, said the book gives children the language and tools to grieve in a way that is healthy for them.
“Children and young people should feel comfortable experiencing and sharing their feelings of grief and loss as they would any other feeling,” said Ms Sanders.
“Grieving is a part of being human. Children feel loss and grief like anyone else, but sometimes they don’t have a word for it. ‘What is Grief?’ names it up and shows them, and the adults in their lives, that it is ok to feel a range of emotions when grieving the loss of someone or something.”
‘What is Grief?’ is one of the few books dedicated to the spectrum of grief and loss experienced by children.
The book is a resource from PCT’s ‘Learning Through Loss’ program which aims to create grief literate communities through evidence-based resources and education in schools and youth facing organisations across Tasmania.
Ms. Veney Hiller, the CEO of Palliative Care Tasmania said:
“Tasmania is leading the way in grief literacy for our young people, but we know that there is always more work to be done,” Ms Hiller said.
“Since October 2022, Learning Through Loss has trained more than 860 professionals across 90 schools and organisations, equipping them with tools and resources to support young people navigate grief and loss.
“What is Grief? is a beautifully written and illustrated book, helping young people aged 4- 12 years understand grief and open up conversations with adults about their feelings.”
“Through Learning Through Loss and this book, we want to help prevent the development of mental ill health in those affected by grief and loss. We know that from the interest we have received in the book so far, that there is a real need for it in Tasmania and the rest of Australia.”
Learning Through Loss and ‘What is Grief?’ has been funded by the Tasmanian Government and Healthy Tasmania.
A soft cover book of ‘What is Grief?’ is available free to Tasmanians and more than 3,000 copies have been distributed so far.
Hard cover copies of ‘What is Grief?’ are $25 and available here
Every sale of the hard cover book will allow Palliative Care Tasmania to provide 10 soft-cover copies free of charge to Tasmanian communities.
Learn more about our Learning Through Loss program
