Finding Hope When a Child Dies: What Other Cultures Can Teach Us

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.

Sukie Miller, Ph.D., is a practicing psychotherapist and the founder and director of the Institute for the Study of the Afterdeath, as well as the pioneering Institute for the Study of Humanistic Medicine. She has served on the board of the Jung Institute of San Francisco and the Board of Medical Quality Assurance of the State of California. She lives in northern California.