ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book helps children with the pain of loss. It supports us with many images to help children talk about their feelings. Children need this help just as much as adults, because often they don't know how to grieve - they need an adult in their life who is emotionally literate and can help them put their sorrow into words. Research shows that children who feel miserable but cannot say why are far more likely to become depressed than children who are able to accurately label their painful feelings. A vast body of research shows that, for children, talking about traumatic loss to an adult trained to listen, trained to help them think about their mental states instead of just experiencing their mental states, is extremely protective against both long-term physical and mental ill-health.
