The Angel Letters: Lessons That Dying Can Teach us About Living [Hardcover]

Norman J. Fried (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 2006

Working in the children's cancer unit of a New York hospital for fifteen years, Norman Fried has been psychotherapist and counselor to both physically ill children and their worried families and friends. He has been part of scenes of bitterness and pain–and has observed how these sad moments have taught all concerned about life's important lessons. Sitting at the bedsides of children with life–threatening cancer, he has been sadly fortunate to hear their messages of hope and love, which have taught him how to help those they were leaving behind. The Angel Letters is his extraordinary book based on his experiences. It is intended for the living but is composed in the form of letters addressed to a dozen different children whose last days and months he shared intimately. From each experience he draws a lesson—in love, family, courage, belonging, etc.—that can help parents and family learn to suffer through the tragedy of their sick or lost child, drawing strength from their understanding of what has happened and from an appreciation for their child's perspective. "No story ends in death," Dr. Fried writes, "not in this book, and not in life. What happens after death is ours to ponder and struggle with. Some questions remain unanswered. But how a family lives after a death, how we as mourners can carry on–these are the questions I wrestle with here." In The Angel Letters he proves to be an inspiring companion for this difficult journey.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

If anyone understands that losing a child to a fatal illness is among the worst and most feared experiences of one's life, it is Fried, a psychologist who has worked with pediatric oncology patients for more than 15 years. In that time, he has counseled not just the patients but also their parents, siblings, extended families, and friends. He has watched helplessly as children lost their battles with cancer, only to win the struggle to die with peace and dignity. His letters, written after their deaths to a number of his most memorable patients, surely served as a catharsis for him, a means of venting pent-up grief. Compiled, they iterate the life affirmations of the children he came to know and admire over the years. Each poignantly written missive points a hauntingly hopeful lesson--in friendship, as friends and family gather on the anniversary of Emily's passing; in love, as a young woman's family mounts an impromptu wedding, complete with gown and flowers; and in other essentials for living. Donna Chavez
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

Readers will shed tears of gratitude for what Dr. Norman Fried has given us. (Arthur Kurzweil )

The insights in this book can help the reader find ways to use their suffering as a path that opens out an expanded vision of this journey of love we normally call 'life.' (Longaker, Christine )

[A] beautifully written book that provides the reader with invaluable lessons.... I recommend this book highly. (David Pelcovitz, Ph.D., Straus Chair in Psychology and Educa )

Each poignantly written missive points a hauntingly hopeful lesson--in friendship...in love...and in other essentials for living. (Donna Chavez Booklist )

Although the book will probably bring tears to readers' eyes, it likely will leave them feeling uplifted. (Oklahoman )

This is a very inspirational book. (A Journey Together )

The Angel Letters is an extraordinary book. (Ina Hughs Sentinel )

The Angel Letters is an extraordinary book. (Ina Hughs Sentinel )

Any interested in belief, acceptance, and working through illness will find The Angel Letters an inspiration... (The Midwest Book Review )

Any interested in belief, acceptance, and working through illness will find The Angel Letters an inspiration... (The Midwest Book Review )

The lessons are written in a manner that is personal yet still able to transcend specific cultural and religious beliefs. (Aphon Counts )

A collection of poignant essays....This is an unusual and touching book....Fried manages to convey a sense of each child's struggle in a deeply compassionate and illustrative way. (Journal Of American Medical Association )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: Ivan R Dee; 1 edition (December 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 156663718X
• ISBN-13: 978-1566637183
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,728,773 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing, October 26, 2008

By 

B. Johns (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Angel Letters: Lessons That Dying Can Teach us About Living (Hardcover)

I found this book after my son died just over a month ago. Though he died suddenly in an accident and this book is about kids who had cancer and died after being sick for a while, it was such a help to me. It has inpired me to write my own "angel letter" to my son to work through my grief.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A top choice for public lending libraries., May 16, 2007

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Angel Letters: Lessons That Dying Can Teach us About Living (Hardcover)

THE ANGEL LETTERS - LESSONS THAT DYING CAN TEACH US ABOUT LIVING comes from a psychotherapist and counselor who works at a pediatric oncology unit in New York: he's had plenty of first-hand observations of the living and dying in the course of his fifteen years of duty and THE ANGEL LETTERS, based on his experiences, uses the form of letters addressed to nine different children whose last days and months he shared. Any interested in belief, acceptance, and working through illness will find THE ANGEL LETTERS an inspiration, making it a top choice for public lending libraries.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I loved this book!, February 8, 2007

By 

S. Hoffman - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Angel Letters: Lessons That Dying Can Teach us About Living (Hardcover)

I was privlidged enough to read this book already, and must say it is brilliantly written and very heart felt. The author while talking about a very scary and upsetting subject allows the reader to focus not on death, but on life. It forever memorializes people whose lives were cut too short, and the lessons they had to teach the world.