The Grieving Garden by Suzanne Redfern and Susan K. Gilbert

“You are not alone, Friend.”

“The Grieving Garden” by Suzanne Redfern and Susan K. Gilbert is part of the Intentional Reads Grief and Loss Series

Summary in 100 Words or Less

A Grieving Garden offers bereaved parents a community. It’s filled with diverse stories of child loss. Yet, each story is intricately intertwined to the other. Parents who’ve lost children will read about how each family handed their loss: the first few days, anniversaries, responding to sympathy, pursing counseling, rethinking faith, pondering identity, preserving marriage, battling guilt, continuing the connection, how to answer the dreaded question, “How many children do you have?” and so much more!

The book begins by listing the names of the twenty-two parents interviewed, along with their child’s name(s). It explains how each child died. – This sets the stage for immediate connection. As a bereaved mom, I instantly thought and felt, “It’s not just me.”

Donate this book and another book of your choosing to your public library in honor of your loved one. What a wonderful way to honor them! The librarian can guide you in having your loved one’s name placed in the front of the book you’re donating.

5 Favorite Quotes or Excerpts

Because of the nature of this book, I wasn’t able to pick 5 favorite quotes or excerpts. For every situation addressed, several parents explain their story and how they walked through that experience. Everyone chooses differently. They each handled grief differently, though they were all in immense pain. I couldn’t choose a favorite. It was all reassuring.

So… instead of excerpts, I will honor those who shared their stories. This information is from the briefing at the beginning of the book. For privacy purposes, I am leaving out last names. (The are listed in the book.) I’m so thankful they shared their stories.

Stathi – His daughter Laine died of Ewing’s Sarcoma at age twelve.
Ines – Her daughter Angelita died in utero just before birth.
Susan – Her daughter Shelly was a passenger in a drunk driving accident at age seventeen.
Mary Lou – Her son Matthew was killed by his father’s pickup on a cattle ranch at age three years and seven months.
Nancy – Her son Sean was struck and killed by a commuter train at age seventeen.
Sheila – Her son Ronnie was stabbed on the street at age twenty-three.
Keith & Susan- Their daughter Amanda died at age eighteen as a passenger in a van rollover.
Van – His son Ian died on a father-son outing in an off-road vehicle accident at age eight.
Monica – Her daughter Bronwyn died at age nine of Werdnig-Hoffmann Syndrome.
Martin – His son Barry died at twenty-one of suicide.
John & Suzanne – Their daughter Aimee (Mimi) died of lung cancer at age thirty-two.
Anne – Her daughter Virginia died of a methadone overdose, secondary to depression, when she was twenty years old.
John & Michelle – Their son Ryan (a twin) died of Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood at age two-and-a-half.
Lottie – Her daughter Cathy was murdered at age forty-eight by her husband, who then killed himself.
Lottie – Her daughter Naomi died at age fifty-two in the attack on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.
Merryl – Her son Died in a boating accident in the Atlantic at age twenty.
Kathleen – Her daughter Jenica died at age twenty-one of meningitis while attending Dartmouth College.
Jane – Her son Peter died at age twenty-six, the victim of a driver who ran a red light.

You are not alone, Friend.

Help someone not feel so all alone, in your loved one’s honor.

1 Important Message from this Book

We grow by listening to the experiences of others. You can find HOPE in the stories of others.

My Super Rating for “A Grieving Garden”

Practical and inviting. I gave this book a 5 not because it’s Earth-shattering, but because it’s practical. Every bereaved parent will find some sort of comfort in one or more of the stories. An added bonus of this book is the gift of time. Many of the parents lost their children years earlier. We are given insight into personal growth, earned through many tears. There’s HOPE in the pages of this book. Life will never be the same, but it does get better.

I highly recommend this book!

Happy Reading!

xoxo,

Rachel