Customer Reviews

How Can I Help, Papa? A Child's Journey Through Loss and Healing

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Elissa Al-Chokhachy has created a heart-warming, caring, beautiful and, most importantly, useful book with "How Can I Help, Papa?"

Through the eyes of a small child, this book tells the story of the loss of the child's Grandpa. It deals honestly and charmingly with the childs involvement in her beloved 'Papa's' dying (in a home hospice situation) , as well as her beginning the healing process after his death. The book does not seek to diminish the loss experienced by the youngster, rather, it acknowledges the loss, and shows how healing can begin.

I read this book to my young children who have recently experienced a similiar loss. For us, the book is a catalyst to initiate the process of thinking and talking about our loss. Thought reading the book together and commenting on our own experiences and feelings, my children (and I, for that matter) have begun to understand and come to grips with the loss of their Grandmother/my Mother.

The book's illustrations by Ulrike Graf are charming and beautiful.

One of the best books I've seen for helping children deal with the loss of a loved one. A terrific resource to guide adults in just the right words and concepts to use to explain love, loss and death. A wonderfully open way of treating death as a part of life. Great for adults as well. As a social worker who works in the area of grief, I am very excited to have found such a treasure - a beautiful and positive book on a subject that our society tends to shy away from.

As a mother and a nurse, I found this to be the best book by far for helping young children (under 12) understand the dying process and their feelings associated with it. Specifically, if your loved one is dying at home on hospice or has been declining over time. Easy to change the name, Papa, to whatever you call your loved one. Also easy to change the nickname for the child to their own nickname. This seemed to really help my 5 year old deal with the loss of her Vovo. She was amazed at how the book described exactly what was going on in her life. She was rivoted. The teacher even read it in class. Highly recommend this book as true to life; full of information and understanding!

This book was a help when my children lost their grandfather. It also helped their cousins to deal with another loss in their life.