A man and two men sit together and support one another.

Grief Support & Resources for After a Child's Death

This page is intended to provide information on grief resources and support available through University of Michigan Health, in the broader community, and online, to assist individuals coping with the death of your child. Our goal is to offer a comprehensive guide to help you navigate the challenges of grief, whether the loss occurred in our hospital or elsewhere. Here you can find material such as downloadable packets, recommended reading, support group information, online communities, and podcasts that can support you through this difficult time. 

Community Resources

Arbor Hospice

Arbor Hospice provides a range of expert support services to help explore, understand and express the grief that is exclusively yours. We also feature specialized grief support for children and teens. Located in: Washtenaw County.

Compassionate Friends

Compassionate Friends offers support for child loss at all ages, with groups, hotlines, and online communities. Find local chapters nationwide.

Ele's Place

Ele’s Place is dedicated solely to helping children and teens work with and through grief. Services provided: Bereavement support groups, school-based support, and additional help for parents. Located in: Ann Arbor, Lansing, Flint, and Grand Rapids.

New Hope

New Hope Center for Grief Support is a 501c3 charitable organization dedicated to bringing  hope, healing, and new beginnings to adults and children grieving the death of a loved one. Located in: Northville, MI, and serves all of southeastern Michigan with groups held at various locations.

Grievewell

GrieveWell’s mission is to provide resources and support to individuals in grief — as well as those who surround them — in order to build a community that promotes healthy grieving and healing. Located in: Washtenaw County.

Remembering Cherubs

Remembering Cherubs offers wraparound bereavement support for parents experiencing pregnancy or infant loss through original resources, peer-to-peer and group support, and community events.

Return to Zero

A national organization working to transform the culture of silence and isolation around pregnancy and infant loss.

Recommended Reading

These lists of books and other resources were compiled by the Mott Bereavement Committee, a multi-disciplinary team of Mott staff and families dedicated to supporting bereaved families. Mott staff, as well as parents who have experienced a loss, have carefully reviewed the books on these lists. We encourage you to review these resources before reading or giving a book to a child to be certain the story and content are in line with your family’s values and beliefs. 

  • After the Darkest Hour the Sun Will Shine Again, by Elizabeth Mehren
  • A Decembered Grief: Living with Loss While Others are Celebrating, by Harold Ivan Smith
  • Empty Cradle, Broken Heart—Surviving the Death of Your Baby, by Deborah L. Davis, Ph.D.
  • Gone but Not Lost, Grieving the Death of a Child, by David W. Wiersbe
  • Guiding Your Child Through Grief, by James Emswiler and Mary Ann Emswiler
  • Healing a Child’s Grieving Heart: 100 Practical Ideas for Families, Friends and Caregivers, by Alan D. Wolfelt
  • Healing After Loss, by Martha Whitmore Hickman
  • Holiday Hope: Remembering Loved Ones During Special Times of the Year, by Fairview Press
  • Knowing Jesse: A Mother’s Story of Grief, Grace and Everyday Bliss, by Marianne Leone
  • Lessons in Loss and Living: Hope and Guidance for Confronting Serious Illness and Grief, by Michele A. Reiss, PhD
  • On Children and Death: How Children and Their Parents Can and Do Cope with Death, by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross
  • The Other Side of Sadness: What the New Science of Bereavement Tells Us About Life After Loss, by George A. Bonanno
  • Talking About Death, A Dialog Between Parent and Child, by Earl A. Grollman
  • Teenagers Face to Face with Bereavement, by Karen Gravelle and Charles Haskins
  • When We Must Say Farewell, by Karl E. Jennings
  • The Worst Loss: How Families Heal from the Death of a Child, by Barbara D. Rosof  

Universal Loss                   

  • The Goodbye Book, by Todd Parr
  • Always and Forever, by Alan Durant
  • I Miss You: A First Look at Death, by Pat Thomas
  • Ida, Always, by Caron Levis
  • Someone I Love Died, by Christine Harder Tangvald
  • Wherever You Are: My Love Will Find You, by Nancy Tillman
  • What’s Heaven, by Maria Shriver
  • Healing Your Grieving Heart for Kids 100 Practical Ideas, by Alan D. Wolfelt Ph.D.
  • Sad Isn’t Bad: A Good-Grief Guidebook for Kids Dealing with Loss, by Michaelene Mundy
  • What on Earth Do You Do When Some Dies, by Trevor Romain
  • Gentle Willow, by Joyce C. Mills
  • Teenagers Face to Face with Bereavement, by Karen Gravelle and Charles Haskins
  • Healing Your Grieving Heart for Teens: 100 Practical Ideas, by Alan Wolfelt
  • Aarvy Aardvark Finds Hope, by Donna O’Toole
  • Lifetimes--The Beautiful Way to Explain Death to Children, by Bryan Mellonie and Robert Ingpen 

Universal Loss Activity Books

  • Muddles, Puddles, and Sunshine: Your Activity Book to Help When Someone Has Died (Early Years), by Diana Crossley
  • When Someone Very Special Dies: Children Can Learn to Cope With Grief, by Marge Heegaard
  • Help Me Say Goodbye: Activities for Helping Kids Cope When a Special Person Dies, by Janis Silverman
  • Healing Your Grieving Heart JOURNAL for Teens, by Alan Wolfelt, Ph.D. and Megan E. Wolfelt
  • Help Me Say Goodbye, by Janice Silverman 

Loss of Sibling

  • Where’s Jess, by Joy and Marv Johnson with the Goldsteins-Heather, Ray and Jody
  • Lost and Found—Remembering a Sister, by Ellen Yeomans 

Infant Loss

  • Something Happened, by Cathy Blanford
  • We Were Gonna Have a Baby, But We Had an Angel Instead, by Pat Schwiebert 

Traumatic Loss

  • When Dinosaurs Die, by Laurie Krasny and Marc Brown 

Loss of Classmate

  • The Class in Room 44, by Lynn Bennett Blackburn 

Upon the Death of Your Child

This is a book written in large part by bereaved parents. The book includes information on first steps, living with grief, remembering your child, medical information and supportive resources. The book is available as PDF in multiple languages:    
  • English
  • Arabic
  • Chinese
  • Japanese
  • Korean
  • Spanish

    • Online Resources

    Modern Loss

    Modern Loss is a place to share the unspeakably taboo, unbelievably hilarious, and unexpectedly beautiful terrain of navigating your life after a death. Beginners welcome.

    Whats Your Grief

    Promoting grief education, exploration, and expression in both practical and creative ways.

    Refuge in Grief

    An online community and resource that helps people survive some of the hardest experiences of their lives.

    Dougy Center for Grieving Children

    The Dougy Center provides support in a safe place where children, teens, young adults, and their families grieving a death can share their experiences.

    Hospice of Michigan

    Hospice of Michigan provides ongoing grief support even if your loved one was not enrolled in Hospice. Find grief support groups throughout Michigan’s lower peninsula on their website.

    Podcasts
    • What’s Your Grief Podcast: An occasional podcast by hosts Litsa Williams and Eleanor Haley, covering everything from the holidays to dating after bereavement.
    • Grief Out Loud: This podcast comes from The Dougy Center, one of the best centers serving bereaved children and adults in the U.S.
    • Terrible Thanks for Asking: Nora McInerny asks real people to share their complicated and honest feelings about how they really are. It’s sometimes sad, sometimes funny, and often both.

    Contact Us
    Office of Decedent Affairs

    Monday-Friday, 8 am-5 pm

    Phone: 734-232-4919