Resources and Support

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

Upon the Death of Your Loved One packet: This packet includes information on funeral planning, alternative funeral arrangements, financial questions, charitable donations, talking with and planning for other children, autopsy report follow up, grief reactions, and special days. The packet is available in the following languages:           

• English
• Arabic
• Spanish

This non-denominational memorial service honors and remembers children who received care at Mott from birth to young adulthood. This memorial service is held each spring and families are invited to attend. For additional information, contact the Office of Decedent Affairs 734-232-4919 or the Spiritual Care Department at 734-936-4041

This non-denominational memorial service is used as a time for families and friends to join with others who share a similar journey; a time to come together to honor hopes, dreams and memories. This walk is held each October during National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month. For more information, contact the Office of Decedent Affairs at 734-232-4919 or Brandon NICU at 734-232-7887

A Bereavement Giving Library: The library is a program created by the Mott Bereavement Committee and financially supported by various donors. Story and activity books addressing death have been selected to be provided to the siblings of pediatric patients who have died at Mott Hospital.           

Developmental needs of children at various ages were considered in the selection of the books and family members who have experienced the loss of a child were involved in the selection. Books for siblings are provided to families following a death while they are still at the hospital, but are also available to siblings of our Mott patients who die outside of the hospital. For more information, please contact the Office of Decedent Affairs #734-232-4919.

Arbor Hospice provides range of expert support services to help explore, understand and express the grief that is exclusively yours. Arbor Hospice also features specialized grief support for children and teens.                   

• Services provided: In-person support groups, one-time support programs, and virtual support groups 
• Located in: Washtenaw County

Compassionate Friends provides support to people who have had a child die at any age, from any cause, or for people who are trying to help those who have gone through this life-altering experience.                    

• Services provided: support groups, crisis hotline, private Facebook groups, online communities, family support, and general supportive information 
• Located in: Chapters of Compassionate Friends exist throughout the country. Use the chapter navigator to find a chapter near your city.

Ele’s Place is dedicated solely to helping children and teens work with and through grief. Groups for adults are available for those whose children are receiving services.                    

• Services provided: bereavement support groups, school-based support, and additional help for parents 
• Located in: Ann Arbor, Lansing, Flint, and Grand Rapids

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.                    

• Services provided: Peer counseling and workshops 
• Located in: Washtenaw County 

New Hope is charitable organization dedicated to bringing hope, healing, and new beginnings to adults and children grieving the death of a loved one.  A Christian organization whose programs are open to everyone regardless of beliefs. 

Proud Parents of Loss: Provides stigma-free support to parents who have lost a child.;

Remembering Cherubs: A nonprofit pregnancy loss resource center, serving Southeast Michigan.  Services are carried out online and events are held virtually and at local partnering venues. 

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

• 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 

• 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.

What's 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. 

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

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 NcInerny asks real people to share their complicated and honest feelings about how they really are. It’s sometimes sad, sometimes funny, and often both.