How the Body Stops Working (Paperback)

Children are notorious for asking profound and profoundly challenging questions, especially when it comes to death and dying. Adults struggle at times to express the truth about dying in ways that are honest and age appropriate without being scary or confusing.

In How the Body Dies: Thirteen Kid-Friendly Explanations, children from ages 6 – 10 will find death defined and demystified. From cancer and dementia, to stroke, heart attack, suicide and addiction, these explanations are accompanied by informative and gentle illustrations which add to the explanatory nature of the book.

In counseling offices, doctor’s offices, hospitals, and at home, you will find this book invaluable in explaining dying to children to help them understand that death doesn’t have to be scary.

Tyler Fanning is a M.D. candidate at Oregon Health & Science University, who will soon start his residency training in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. He received a B.A. in Liberal Arts from St. John’s College, taught Middle- and High-School in Phoenix, Arizona, and has worked and volunteered in palliative medicine and hospice. He resides in Portland, Oregon with his wife and two sons.

Jill Macfarlane is the Program Director at The Sharing Place, a children's grief support program in Salt Lake City, Utah. She received a B.S. in Human Development at the University of Utah, and has been interviewed by This American Life, Huffington Post and Real Simple about her work supporting grieving children. She lives with her husband and two daughters in Salt Lake City.

Mel Narish is the Talent Officer and former Master Teacher for Art and Biology at the Great Hearts Academies network of public-charter schools in Phoenix, Arizona. She received a B.S. in Biology at the University of Nevada-Reno and a M.S. in Raptor Ecology at Boise State University. She is an independent illustrator and resides with her husband and feline in Phoenix, Arizona.