ABSTRACT

The analogy of the torn fabric was first used by the author in response to a bereaved mother's cry: "I know what grief feels like; I don't know what it looks like." In "Mending the Torn Fabric: For Those Who Grieve and Those Who Want to Help Them", the author expands the metaphor to include earlier and future or potential losses as well as losses associated with the death that may be unrecognized or minimized. This book includes chapters that examine complications that may be present or may arise, suggestions for mending even the most torn fabric, and a chapter dedicated to friends who want to help. Stories bereaved persons have shared with the author through the years are interspersed throughout the book to provide examples of loss and mending.

chapter 1|8 pages

The Torn Fabric

chapter 2|18 pages

Places To Mend

chapter 3|18 pages

Places To Avoid

chapter 4|8 pages

How Many Tears?

chapter 5|6 pages

Earlier Tears

chapter 6|6 pages

Future Tears

chapter 7|28 pages

Needles And Threads

chapter 8|18 pages

Complicated Mending

chapter 9|8 pages

The Mended Fabric

chapter 10|8 pages

Guidelines For Those Who Want to Help