ABSTRACT
Chapter 6 takes a closer look at how the loss of a child impacts different members of the family. The concept is introduced that the main challenge for these families is adapting to a life without the deceased child. The author identifies how children can be tremendously affected by the way in which parents construct meaning around their child’s death and manage their grief. Surviving siblings often become the focus of their parents’ unconscious attempts to protect them from feelings of pain, discomfort, or any adverse consequences of the loss. These adaptations and responses by parents to their perceived powerlessness can precede an alteration in the quality of the communication between them and their surviving children. This chapter attempts to drive home the core challenge for parents and their remaining family members, that is, speaking openly and making this journey together. The author maintains that assistance, support, and communication are vital, while each individual makes his or her own journey through grief. In particular, parents, who may be incredibly overwhelmed by their own and each other’s grief, must attempt to sit and listen empathically and non-judgmentally to one another and their children.
