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Bereavement Support Guide
RESOURCES
The Jewish Bereavement Project
Provides links to websites designed to explore Jewish mourning rituals and traditions as well as general information for bereavement resources, books and other secular websites.
The following resources came from this site.
Bereavement Books (Jewish)
For Adults:
A Time to Mourn, A Time to Comfort: A Guide to Jewish Bereavement (The Art of Jewish Living)
Ron Wolfson. Combines laws and customs with personal experiences and practical advice.
To Comfort the Bereaved: A Guide for Mourners and Those Who Visit Them
Aaron Levine.
Consolation
Maurice Lamm. A thorough presentation of laws and customs related to death, funeral, and mourning. (Consolation is the updated book from the original - The Jewish Way in Death and Mourning)
Death and Bereavement: A Halachic Guide
Abner Weis.
Does the Soul Survive? A Jewish Journey to Belief in Afterlife, Past Lives & Living with Purpose
Rabbi Elie Kaplan Spitz.
Gesher Hachaim (The Bridge of Life): Life as a Bridge between Past and Future
Yechiel M. Tucazinsky.
Healing from Despair
Rabbi Elie Kaplan Spitz.
Healing of the Body, Healing of the Soul: Spiritual Leaders Unfold the Strength and Solace in the Psalms
Simkha Y. Weintraub, Ed.
Heavenly Hurts: Surviving AIDS-Related Deaths and Losses
Sandra Jacoby Klein.
The Kaddish Minyan: The Impact on Ten Lives
Herbert A. Yoskowitz.
Jewish Views of the Afterlife
Simcha Paull Raphael.
Kaddish
Leon Wieseltier. A narrative of author’s grief during the year following his father's death, delving into a range of texts describing the history and spiritual significance of the mourning prayers.
Lifecycles
Debra Orenstein, ed. Jewish women write on life passages and personal milestones, including sections on infertility and early losses, and death and mourning.
LifeLights
Jewish Lights Publishing. Various authors.
Inspirational, informational booklets about challenges to our emotional and spiritual lives and how to deal with them. Such titles as Coping with the Death of a Spouse, Mourning a Miscarriage, Talking to Children about Death and Taking the Time You Need to Mourn Your Loss. Order through http://jewishlights.com.
Living When a Loved One Has Died
Rabbi Earl A. Grollman.
Longing for Dawn
Nachman Bulman.
Making Sense of Suffering
Yitzchok Kirzner.
The Mitzvah of Healing
Hara E. Person, ed.
An anthology of essays, Jewish texts, personal stories, meditations and rituals.
Mourning and Mitzvah: A Guided Journal for Walking the Mourner’s Path Through Grief to Healing
Anne Brener. Uses the traditional stages of mourning as a basis for spiritual exercises in self healing.
Open Hands: A Jewish Guide on Dying, Death, and Bereavement
Rami M. Shapiro.
Saying Kaddish: How to Comfort the Dying, Bury the Dead, and Mourn as a Jew
Anita Diament.
Talking About Death: A Dialogue Between Parent and Child
Earl Grollman.
Tears of Sorrow, Seeds of Hope
Nina Beth Cardin. A Jewish Spiritual Companion for Infertility and Pregnancy Loss.
To Begin Again: The Journey Toward Comfort, Strength and Faith in Difficult Times
Naomi Levy.
Walking Through the Valley of the Shadow: When a Jewish Child Dies (pamphlet)
Mort Schrag. (sabamortla@aol.com)
What Happens After I Die? Jewish Views of Life After Death
Rifat Sonsino and Daniel B. Syme.
When Bad Things Happen to Good People
Rabbi Harold Kushner. Classic book to work through loss.
Wrestling with the Angel: Jewish Insights on Death and Mourning
Jack Riemer ed. A multi-voiced offering of thoughts, feelings and memories.
For Children: (Jewish/Secular)
Candle for Grandpa: A Guide to the Jewish Funeral for Children and Parents
David Techner and Judith Hirt-Manheimer.
Daddy’s Chair
Sandy Lanton, Shelly O. Haas, ill. A work of fiction about a boy who loses his Father.
The Fall of Freddie the Leaf : A Story of Life for All Ages
Leo Buscaglia. Classic book for children (and adults) dealing with the death of a loved one.
How it Feels When a Parent Dies
Jill Krementz. Eighteen children tell, in their own words, their feelings and experiences.
When Children Grieve
Russell Friedman & John W. James. For adults to help children deal with death, divorce, pet loss, moving, and other losses.
When a Grandparent Dies: A Kid’s Own Remembering Workbook for Dealing with Shiva and the Year Beyond
Nechama Liss-Levinson. Grandparent loss workbook.
ADULT (General/Secular)
A Broken Heart Still Beats: When Your Child Dies
Anne McCracken (Editor). Mary Semel (Editor) A compilation of poems and excerpts draws from short stories, novels, biographies, and autobiographies that focus on the death of a child as relayed through classic and contemporary world literature. It is made up of works by some of the best writers and thinkers present and past, many of them bereaved parents as well.
Chicken Soup for the Grieving Soul: Stories About Life, Death and Overcoming the Loss of a Loved One
Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen.
Children and Grief: When a Parent Dies
Finding Your Way After Your Spouse Dies
Marta Felber.
Helping Children Cope with the Death of a Parent: A Guide for the First Year
Paddy Greenwall Lewis. Jessica G. Lippman
I Wasn't Ready to Say Goodbye
On Grief and Grieving: Finding the Meaning of Grief Through the Five Stages of Loss
Elisabeth Kubler-Ross. (other books by Kubler-Ross are also excellent)
Recovering from Your Child's Suicide (pamphlet)
Mort Schrag. (sabamortla@aol.com)
Remember My Soul
Lori Palatnik. What to do in memory of a loved one.
The Grief Recovery Handbook
Russell Friedman & John W. James. An action program for moving beyond death, divorce and other losses
The Orphaned Adult: Confronting the Death of a Parent
Marc Angel.
You Can Help Someone Who's Grieving: A How-To Healing Handbook
Victoria Frigo.
WEBSITES:
AARP: Grief & Loss - A Collection of Resources, A Community of Care
National grief and loss resources, writings, links and support
www.aarp.org/griefandloss/commsupport.html
ACCESS: Air Disaster Victims' Friends and Families
1-877-227-6435
www.accesshelp.org
E-mail: info@accesshelp.org
Assistance provided for air disaster victims' friends and families, through peer grief mentor matching program (through telephone and e-mail) and additional resources.
American SIDS Institute
1-800-232-SIDS
www.sids.org
Family support providing crisis phone counseling, grief literature and referrals
Association for Death Education and Counseling (ADEC)
www.adec.org
847-509-0403
E-mail: adec@adec.org
A multi-disciplinary professional organization dedicated to promoting excellence in death education, bereavement counseling and care of the dying. ADEC’s specific internet resource list can be found at www.adec.org/links/index.htm.
Centering Corporation
www.centering.org
A grief resource center, dedicated to serving the needs of those healing from loss; offering books, videos and other resources. Wide selection of book choices for many different types of losses.
The Dougy Center for Grieving Children
503-775- 5683
866-775-5683
www.dougy.org
E-mail: help@dougy.org
Providing support and training locally, nationally and internationally to individuals and organizations seeking to assist children and teens in grief.
Finding Our Way, Living with Dying in America
www.findingourway.net
The website is based on a series of newspaper articles which offer practical advice, resources, and personal stories.
Grief Recovery Institute
Sherman Oaks, CA 91413
818- 907-9600
www.grief-recovery.com
E-mail: usinfo@grief.net
The Grief Recovery Institute has been helping people deal with the emotions caused by death, divorce, and other losses for 25 years, through certification trainings, workshops and books. See http://www.grief-recovery.com/ArticleIndex.html for free, printable articles on the subject.
Hygeia
www.hygeia.org
Offers a platform for poetry and prose, references and links as well as a chat group specifically for pregnancy and neonatal loss.
My Jewish Learning
www.myjewishlearning.com/lifecycle/Death.htm
A transdenominational website of Jewish information and education geared towards learners of all religious and educational backgrounds. A comprehensive resource featuring articles, essays and guided learning on attitudes, themes and sources on traditional, practical and contemporary issues around death and mourning.
National Center for Jewish Healing
www.ncjh.org
(212) 399-2320
Email: info@ncjh.org
The NCJH helps communities better meet the spiritual needs of Jews living with illness, loss and other significant life challenges. Working closely with a network of Jewish healing centers and programs throughout North America, they offer consultation, resource material, publications, training and referrals to community resources.
Life, Death and Mourning
www.jewfaq.org/death.htm
A basic description, from an Orthodox viewpoint, on what Judaism says about Life, Death, and Mourning.
Mourners Kaddish
www.ou.org/yerushalayim/kadish.htm
Translations of the Mourners Kaddish and an audio version of the Kaddish recited in Hebrew.
Ritual Well
www.ritualwell.org/lifecycles/death/
Ritual Well is the source for innovative, contemporary Jewish ritual, with resources that address each aspect of the process of navigating death and mourning; from the moment of death, to the burial of the body, the tearing of clothes, the weeklong practice of shiva, and the recitation of kaddish.
Friends for Survival, Inc.
www.friendsforsurvival.org
Friends for Survival, Inc. is an organization of people who have been affected by a death caused by suicide. We are dedicated to providing a variety of peer support services that comfort those in grief, encourage healing and growth, foster the development of skills to cope with a loss and educate the entire community regarding the impact of suicide.
Survivors of Suicide
www.survivorsofsuicide.com/
The purpose of the Survivors of Suicide web site is to help those who have lost a loved one to suicide resolve their grief and pain in their own personal way.
Twinless Twins Support Group, International
888-205-8962
PO Box 980481
Ypsilanti, MI 48198-0481
www.twinlesstwins.org
Founded to serve in support of twins (all multiple births) who suffer from the loss of companionship of their twin through death, estrangement, or in-utero loss.
Union for Reform Judaism’s Department of Jewish Family Concerns
urj.org/jfc/caring/chevra/
The organizing principle of the Department of Jewish Family Concerns is the development of caring congregations. A prevalent Caring Community program involves dealing with the issues that surround support for those in mourning.
United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism Online Resources
www.uscj.org/Explaining_Death_to_5200.html
A Time to Grieve, A Time to Teach: Teaching Children about Death and Dying, A Challenge to Parents and Educators by Joshua Elkin
www.uscj.org/soeast/columbus/mourning_custom.htm
Jewish Death and Mourning Customs
Widow NET
www.widownet.org
An information and support resource for, and by, people who have lost a spouse or life partner. Topics covered include grief, recovery, senior sites, spiritual resources, and relationship-specific information. Features include a bereavement chat room.
PET LOSS:
www.petloss.com
Pet loss grief support website.
www.aplb.org
The association for pet loss and bereavement.
www.superdog.com/Coping-.html
A reference site to pet loss resources.
The Compassionate Friends
www.thecompassionatefriends.org
The mission of The Compassionate Friends is to assist families toward the positive resolution of grief following the death of a child of any age and to provide information to help others be supportive.
The following national nonprofit organizations have missions which are similar to that of The Compassionate Friends. Listing of sites does not imply an endorsement by TCF and is included to provide sources of useful information for bereaved families. (This material is used with permission by The Compassionate Friends.)
AARP - www.aarp.org/griefandloss/ - American Association of Retired People Grief and Loss program includes online articles, publications, support groups, and discussion boards on coping with the loss of a family member. ACCESS - www.accesshelp.org - Aircraft Casualty Emotional Support Service provides peer grief support and resource information to those who have survived or lost loved ones in air disasters. Compassion Connection – www.compassionconnection.org - Contains articles and readings for all who have suffered a loss. Comfort Zone Camp – www.comfortzonecamo.org - No charge nonprofit camp for siblings and children (age 7-17) coping with the loss of a sibling or parent. griefHaven – www.griefhaven.org/index_html - griefHaven provides loving support, hope, and hands-on tolls for those who have lost a child, brother or sister, or grandchild, and also provides education to professionals and others seeking to help bereaved family members rebuild their lives. Griefnet - www.Griefnet.org - offers e-mail support groups for the bereaved including parents, siblings, and grandparents. It also offers a wide variety of bereavement related content including a comprehensive resource guide of bereavement organizations and a sister website for bereaved children, KIDSAID – www.kidsaid.com Hospice Foundation of America - www.hospicefoundation.org - Includes information about hospice care and programs including bereavement support for families using hospice. SOS - www.survivorsofsuicide.com - Survivors of Suicide helps those who have lost a loved one to suicide to resolve their grief and pain in their own personal way. TAPS – www.taps.org - Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors is made up of, and provides services to, all those who have lost a loved one while serving the country in the Armed Forces. |
OTHER SUPPORT ORGANIZATIONS WHEN A CHILD HAS DIED
Alive Alone - www.alivealone.org - Designed to benefit bereaved parents whose only child or all children have died by providing a self-help network and newsletter to promote communication and healing.
BabySteps – www.babysteps.com - Named after the baby steps that form the long and difficult road to recovery from the loss of a child.
BPUSA – www.bereavedparentsusa.org - Bereaved Parents of the USA offers support, care, and compassion for bereaved parents, siblings, and grandparents.
Center for Loss in Multiple Births - www.climb-support.org - By and for parents who have experienced the death of one or more children during a multiple pregnancy, at birth, and through childhood.
Childrens Memorial Garden – www.childrensmemorialandgarden.org/index - CMG's mission is to unite all U.S. memorial gardens dedicated in memory of children through a national registry and to offer families in sorrow multiple avenues of healing and hope through Networking, Education, Awareness, and Resources (N.E.A.R.).
MADD - www.madd.org/home - Mothers Against Drunk Drivers has a mission to stop drunk driving, support victims of violent crime, and prevent underage drinking.
MISS – www.misschildren.org - Mothers in Sympathy and Support provides emergency support to families after the death of their baby or young child.
National SIDS Resource Center – www.sidscenter.org - provides information services and technical assistance on sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and related topics.
"Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep" - www.nowilaymedowntosleep.org - When a baby or infant has died, Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep, through its nationwide network of professional photographers, will arrange a tasteful private sitting at the hospital with no charge for any services or pictures.
Parents Of Murdered Children - www.pomc.com/index.htm - provides support and assistance to all survivors of homicide victims while working to create a world free of murder.
SHARE Pregnancy and Infant Loss Support www.nationalshareoffice.com - SHARE's mission is to serve those who are touched by the tragic death of a baby through miscarriage, stillbirth, or newborn death.
SIDS Network – www.sids-network.org - Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Network offers latest information, as well as support, for those who have been touched by the tragedy of SIDS/OID (other infant death).
SUDC - www.sudc.org/page.asp - Sudden Unexplained Death In Childhood Program offers support, information, advocacy, and research opportunities for those touched by the sudden and unexplained death of a child (over 12 months of age).
TLC – www.tlcinstitute.org - National Institute for Trauma and Loss in Children is dedicated to helping traumatized children and families restore a sense of safety and reduce the effects of trauma; information available about trauma, resources, and training for professionals.
Twinless Twins – www.twinlesstwins.org - serves in support of twins (and all multiple births) who suffer from the loss of companionship of their twin through death, estrangement or in-utero loss.
LOCAL SUPPORT ORGANIZATIONS
This is a small sampling of support organizations in the greater Boston area.
The Boston Young Widow and Widowers Group
contact: Olive McMeel at omcmeel07@comcast.net
A support group for widows and widowers meets on the fourth Tuesday of each month from 7-8:30 p.m. (September through June). The meetings take place at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital-Needham campus in conference room A (lower level).
If you have been widowed at a young age or widowed in the past but would still benefit from interaction with others in the same situation, please join us. This informal support group is open to all men and women regardless of length of time widowed or age.
Our group was formed in 2003 as a way to offer support for local men and women in the greater Boston area who have lost a spouse. We discuss the issues surrounding the death of a spouse and ways to move forward in life. Finding yourself widowed at any age is an isolating experience and this group provides support in many ways to make you feel connected.
The Children’s Room
www.childrensroom.org/resources.htm
groups meet at: 1210 Massachusetts Avenue, Arlington, MA 02476 phone: 781-641-4741
The Children's Room helps grieving children, teens and families in our community to go on living fully. It serves families from over 75 cities and towns in Massachusetts. TCR is also part of a Massachusetts-wide network of programs helping grieving children, teens and families. The mission of The Children's Room is to provide a safe and caring place where grieving children, teens, and families can receive peer support and the guidance of trained volunteers. TCR enables these families to express their grief and to adapt to the many changes that accompany the death. In addition, The Children's Room strives to educate the community that grieving is an important part of life and is essential to an individual's ongoing growth and development. The web site provides an array of helpful resources from books to videos to summer camps.
The Compassionate Friends
Contact: Carol Cole, group facilitator. (781) 444-1091
Chapters in Needham and Concord.
www.thecompassionatefriends.org (national web address)
The mission of The Compassionate Friends is to assist families toward the positive resolution of grief following the death of a child of any age and to provide information to help others be supportive.
Good Grief Program (at Boston Medical Center)
Director, Maria Trozzi, Ed.M.
617-414-4005
The Good Grief Program (now in its twentieth year) provides workshops throughout the state for schools, parents and community groups, crisis intervention and development of a crisis protocol to help children develop coping skills around death, dying and loss. The CIRCLE, a project of The Good Grief Program, provides a comprehensive family bereavement support program after the death of a loved one. The CIRCLE has programs in Dorchester, Jamaica Plain, Hingham and a CIRCLE for families who had a loved one die on Sept. 11th. We also provide Heart to Heart consultations at Boston Medical Center. Heart to Heart is a free one hour psycho-educational approach for adults to help their children before or after the loss of a loved one.
Hospice of the Good Shepherd
2042 Beacon St., Newton.
For information, call Jennifer at 617-969-6130.
Offers a number of bereavement support groups at their office. All groups are held from 5:30-7 p.m. and are free of charge. Participants must preregister by calling bereavement coordinator Julie Berrett at 617-969-6130.
After the Loss of a Spouse or Partner is held on Mondays. Grieving the Death of an Adult Child is held on Tuesdays. Adults Mourning the Death of a Parent is held on Wednesdays.
The Hospice of the Good Shepherd invites the public to an informal open house. The open house is the first Friday of each month, from 10 a.m.-noon.
The hospice provides care to people with life-limiting illnesses living either at home or in nursing homes.
Jewish Family & Children’s Services
Jewish Healing Connections
1430 Main Street
Waltham, MA 02451
Phone: 781-647-5327
The mission of Jewish Healing Connections is to help ensure that people in the Jewish Community feel connected when facing isolation, illness or loss. A wide range of programs are offered. In particular, End-of-Life and Bereavement Services provide spiritual support and a connection to Jewish tradition for those facing life-limiting illness, and their loved ones. Contact Marjorie Sokoll for questions at 781 693-5619 msokoll@jfcsboston.org
Drop-In Bereavement Support Group
Jewish Healing Connections offers an ongoing bi-weekly Bereavement Support Group that provides emotional and spiritual support to people living with loss. The group is offered free of charge through the Jewish Family and Children’s Service. For locations, dates, and times, please call 781-647-5327.
Mourning Time
Phone: 617-512-7260 / 617-264-2468
http://www.mourning-time.com
Contact: Claire Weiss, Ph.D., a licensed psychologist
Mourning Time (Practical Help During Grief and Life After) gives practical help to mourners, on the day of the funeral and afterwards. Services include helping ready the home, caring for the primary mourners, making arrangements for out-of-town guests, setting up the funeral luncheon, and helping throughout the Shiva. Services are also available following the funeral to help with paperwork, charitable donations, homemaking, decisions about care, estate matters and the unveiling.
Samaritans
www.samaritansofboston.org/survivor.html
Samaritans offers peer support services to those who have lost a loved one to suicide, including its SafePlace support groups in communities throughout greater Boston and Metrowest, and visits by trained Survivor to Survivor Network Volunteers. SafePlace is an open peer support group of caring people who have experienced the loss of a loved one to suicide.
The Samaritans provides a free and confidential 24-hour phone befriending line (617-247-0220) in Boston and (508-875-4500) in Framingham. This unique service, staffed by trained volunteers, provides unconditional and non-judgmental support to those who are alone, depressed or in crisis.
Temple Emanuel • 385 Ward St. Newton, MA 02459 • 617.558.8100
