November Mourning [Perfect Paperback]

Mary Jane Cronin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2008

No one should have to experience the death of their own child. Mary Jane Cronin has written not just a fact- filled book about loss and grief , but one that included her personal journey to understand, accept and heal following the 1998 murder of her own son. In this country, over 75,000 children under the age of eighteen die every year. And this fear becomes a reality. November Mourning offers insight and hope as it explores the many emotions parents often feel following the loss of a child. Travel with Mary Jane through denial and anger as her own quest leads her to one day find acceptance and comfort. Learn about the stages of grief and techniques to help move through them easier. Discover what other parents have said and done to help reduce their own suffering. Recognize the physical and emotional symptoms of grief. See how people can help or hinder your healing. Research has shown it does not matter whether their child was a newborn or an adult, the natural order of life these parents have come to trust, and their very existence and purpose are forever changed. November Mourning addresses the many emotions parents may face in a world they now know holds no promises of safety or longevity.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Sixteen-year-old Jeremy was a music lover like most teens. Jeremy was also sentimental, loving and caring toward his family and friends. His mother, Mary Cronin, a licensed mental health counselor of The Hospice, loved him dearly and called him Wiggle Bug. When Jeremy was murdered, Mary coped by bottling up her feelings and not talking about his death with her family. We spent years not even talking about it; said Mary, who eventually decided to go to school to become a counselor in order to help others cope with the death of a loved one. One of her professors encouraged her to write a journal as part of her healing process, which she did. That journal became the blueprint of her first, newly-published book, November Mourning. Mary was willing to tell her painful story because of her devotion to The Hospice's mission and helping others who have experienced a traumatic loss. --Hospice Today Magazine

Having recently had the opportunity to review Mary Cronin s book, November Mourning, it can be noted that the content of this book is very heart-warming and truly expresses the feelings Mary had with the loss of a child. Mary not only portrays the death of her son, Jeremy, but it also reflects her true feelings toward her other children. It is not easy to understand how one must go on and continue to express love not only to other family members, but to all those who surround her. Mary just had to write about this. This is the way she was able to grasp an understanding of why this happened. It is very difficult to deal with the loss of a child under any circumstances, but the murder of one s child is much more difficult to comprehend. This book is truly recommended to be read by all those who have lost a child and members of their families. --Jimmy Johnson, Mayor of Seminole Fl

About the Author

Mary Jane Cronin has extensive experience in bereavement counseling for individuals and groups. She has lectured on grief and bereavement and taught bereavement support skills to teenagers, incarcerated women, hospice patients and their families, as well as to volunteers, and fellow health care professionals. Mary Jane earned her Bachelor s Degree in Human Development from Eckerd College in St Petersburg, Florida and her Master s Degree in Community Psychology from Springfield College in Tampa, Florida. Providing counseling services in the Tampa Bay area of Florida since 2000 Ms. Cronin has been employed by The Hospice of the Florida Suncoast since 2004 as a Licensed Mental Health Counselor.

Product Details

• Perfect Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Wiggle Bug Publishing; 1st edition (October 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0615239781
• ISBN-13: 978-0615239781
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,279,079 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars November Mourning, November 30, 2008

By 

Travis Ann Sherman (St. Petersburg, Fl United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: November Mourning (Perfect Paperback)

Counselor Mary Jane Cronin lost her sixteen year old son Jeremy to the sort of senseless, casual gunfire that all parents fear at 1:00 in the morning. She and her family of three boys were devastated. She describes her long labor of understanding and dealing with her grief with an honesty and a clarity of purpose which keeps bringing the reader back to the message of her book, that "Grief must be allowed to happen...Grief cannot be bypassed, hurried or rushed. It always takes longer than one wishes it would...Attempting to shorten the process invariably leads to complications and extended pain."

In the first part of the book, Cronin describes Jeremy and details the intensity of his loss. In the second part of the book, with the assurance of a grief counselor working at Hospice of the Florida Suncoast, she shares the resources she turned to: organizations like hospices and Compassionate Friends; on-line resources, with websites cited; short reviews of books in the field; and a very thorough mourning checklists about the nature of grief and ways to deal positively with memory. This book contains both a great deal of useful information written by a professional grief counselor, including a summation of her research in the field, and a very personal narrative of Cronin's own struggles with grief and bereavement.