Grief Education

Children & Grief

Coping with Grief

About the Author--Yvonne Butler Clark

Yvonne Butler Clark, the author of It's Okay to Cry, developed the guide to be a user-friendly self-help book. The book's not based on historical, empirical, or clinical studies--it's based on experience.

It's designed to help a child or adolescent cope with the strong emotional responses to the loss of a loved one through death or separation. The process is intended to work and show love and support without overwhelming the caregiver or the grieving child. Loss and grief through the eyes of a child/adolescent is an intricate part of her life experience.

Why did she get involved with this topic? Her sons were 14 and 18 years old when they lost their father. Clark says she found limited grief support that addressed adolescents through school counseling, literature, or religious ministries.

Clark says her younger son was very angry, withdrawn, and struggling in school. He needed help, and she felt helpless, so she went back to college and got her master's degree in counseling. She says "I was on a mission; my focus was to help parents help their children through their grief from the loss of any special person in their lives. Therefore, my husband's death was the catalyst that prompted me to address a component of life that's being ignored--dying, death, and grief are a part of life."

She believes as a parent, educator, and spiritual being that there are three teaching agencies: home, church, and school. When our children are experiencing pain from the loss of a loved one, there should be a guided healing process in place, either through the school system, a religious environment, and on the home front to help them through their pain, anger, denial, and depression.

It's Okay to Cry lets a child or adolescent know that someone understands and acknowledges their emotional distress.

For more information, or to order It's Okay to Cry, please see the order form.