Finding Hope When a Child Dies

The death of a child is an overwhelming loss. "Why did my child die?" and "Is my child suffering now?" are questions that all people, of all cultures and backgrounds, ask. But characteristic of Western culture is a limited language for expressing grief, and a consuming guilt that undermines the recovery process. Dr. Sukie Miller, author of the landmark work "After Death," turns to the beliefs and healing stories of other cultures to present a unique perspective that is both surprising and comforting. Sharing her research with a compassionate and grounded voice, she offers hope to those seeking meaning in what seems senseless, and heartening possibilities for returning to wholeness, even if we feel life cannot ever be the same.

CONTENTS

Acknowledgments

Introduction: Questions When a Child Dies

PART ONE

1. We Have No Language

2. Our Mirror of God

3. The Seventh Guilt

4. Freezing in Time

PART TWO

Introduction to Part Two: Answers When a Child Dies

5. Why Did My Child Die?

Destiny and the Seventh Guilt

6. Where Is My Child Now? Will I Ever See Him Again?

Life After Death, a Counterforce to Freezing in Time

7. Are the Unborn Real?

Death before Life, Expanding the Language after Death

8. Can I Help My Child Where She's Gone?

Helping Rituals, Reasserting Our Power

9. Can My Child Hear Me?

Calling the Children

PART THREE

Introduction to Part Three: Language When a Child Dies

10. The Other Side of Our Mirror of God

11. Initiation

12. Life As an Initiate

Appendix A: Self-Help Resources

Appendix B: About the Senior Researchers for the Institute for the Study of the Afterdeath

Appendix C: About the Institute for the Study of the Afterdeath

Endnotes

Bibliography

Index