Always in My Heart: A book for children about grieving is a new publication from the social work team in St Francis Hospice Dublin.
Aimed towards children aged 9-12, the book is designed to be used by parents and guardians to support and guide a child as they grieve.
The book was developed to help answer some of the questions that many children have about what grief is and how they can navigate their way through it.
Real stories shared by children accessing bereavement support in St Francis Hospice have been included to help illustrate the kinds of thoughts and feelings that children might experience during grief.
All names and situations have been adapted, so it is no one child’s story, but rather an amalgamation of the worries and experiences that many children have described to the hospice’s social workers.
St Francis Hospice Dublin provides specialist palliative care and bereavement support for the people of North Dublin and surrounding counties. Founded in 1989, they have two hospice facilities in Raheny and Blanchardstown, provided specialist palliative care to hundreds of patients every year.
grief after losing a loved one."
The book's ambassador, social media influencer and primary school teacher Sinead Kavanagh, said, "The staff at St Francis hospice have produced this beautiful resource to help guide families with children experiencing grief. As a mom and a teacher, I know how every child is different and experiences difficult situations in their own way. This book helps to show children, no matter what they are feeling, it is all normal! It allows them to see that even if the people around them are dealing with their grief differently, they are not alone in how they are feeling.
"There is no one size fits all when it comes to grief after losing a loved one. This book also has a wonderful resource at the back of the book to help parents and guardians guide the children through what is a very challenging time."
Always in My Heart: A book for children about grieving is available free of charge from St Francis Hospice Dublin’s online shop, with support from AWS in Communities - find out more here.
