Beyond Tears: Living After Losing a Child

The death of a child is that unimaginable loss no parent ever expects to face. In Beyond Tears, nine mothers share their individual stories of how to survive in the darkest hour. They candidly share with other bereaved parents what to expect in the first year and long beyond:

* Harmonious relationships can become strained
* There is a new definition of what one considers "normal"
* The question "how many children do you have?" can be devastating
* Mothers and fathers mourn and cope differently
* There simply is no answer to the question "why?"

This sharing in itself is a catharsis and because each of these mothers lost her child at least seven years ago, she is in a unique position to provide perspective on what newly bereaved parents can expect to feel. The mothers of Beyond Tears offer reassurance that the clouds of grief do lessen with time and that grieving parents will find a way to live, and even laugh again.

The book was written by bereaved mothers Carol Barkin, Audrey Cohen, Lorenza Colletti, Barbara Eisenberg, Barbara Goldstein, Madelaine Perri Kasden, Phyllis Levine, Ariella Long, and Rita Volpe in collaboration with Ellen Mitchell, a regular contributor to Newsday. Ellen lives on Long Island, New York.