Praise for Surviving Sorrow
“Surviving Sorrow, A Mother’s Guide to Living with Loss, is gut-wrenching, honest, heartfelt, practical, and hope-filled.¿ Kim’s “Survival Steps” from her early days of grieving to years beyond provide insightful ideas to help any grieving mom (or friends, family members, pastors, or counselors who want to help a grieving mom) cope with hope.¿Her “Spiritual Steps” point grieving moms to biblical truth and the God of all comfort, who meets us where we are, and helps us step forward, in our healing, heavenward journey. I’m adding Surviving Sorrow to my “must have” resource companions, and encourage you to also!”
Kathe Wunnenberg
Founder/President of Hopelifters Unlimited
Author of Grieving the Loss of a Loved One
“Powerful. Poignant. Personal. If you’ve lost a child and need to learn how to breathe again, this book is for you. With vulnerable openness, gut-level honesty, raw emotion, and rediscovered joy, Kim Erickson will guide you step-by-step to a place of renewed faith and emotional healing.¿Surviving Sorrow¿is filled with biblical wisdom and meaningful action steps. It’s also an ideal gift for friends who experience this unthinkable loss.”
Carol Kent
Speaker and author, When I Lay My Isaac Down
“We are stewards of all we’ve been given. In this book, Kim Erickson stewards deep pain and loss. Though it is a survival guide, the story brims with life and hope. May you experience that in your heart as you read.”
Chris Fabry
Host of Chris Fabry Live! daily radio program
“I have read more than a dozen books to help myself and others with grief through the years. I plan to use this one as a primary recommendation moving forward.¿Kim vulnerably and courageously revisits her own pain, her deepest, darkest brokenness to love you, trulyhelp, and walk hand in hand with you so you will survive the darkest days and thorniest thoughts after loss of life.¿There are so many helpful insights, and practical touches of healing balm primarily for those who’ve lost a child! And even though I’ve not experienced this loss specifically, the deepest of griefs, each page lifted me on my journey, and will continue to strengthen my own sorrow survival.”
Chuck Peterman
Lead Minister, Creekside Christian Church
“Kim does an amazing job of helping grieving parents walk through their journey of grief after the loss of a child. I wish this book was around when my husband and I were grieving the loss of our son after he died. I love how real and honest she is with the ebbs and flows of grief and how she offers tangible ways to heal and take steps forward to live despite the pain of our loss. Kim is living proof there is life after loss.”¿
Heather Gillis
Bereaved mom, www.heathergillis.com¿
“There is something about the journey that, when someone has traveled it, gives different insights, a different level of compassion with the same truth. A depth and richness of understanding that has “been there,” has grieved the incredible loss, has walked through the fire, and has ultimately found God’s grace, peace, and hope. That is why I highly recommend Kim’s book to you if you have or are walking through that valley of having lost a child. Kim has been there. It’s where she met Jesus. This book is part of that redemptive story that came through their loss. I am so sorry for what you are walking through, but I truly believe you will be helped by this book.”
Steve Engram
Senior Pastor, Desert Springs Community Church, Goodyear, AZ
“I wish I had this book available early in my grief journey.¿As a mom who lost my twenty-year-old son suddenly, I appreciate the way Kim tells what worked for her while gently suggesting both practical and spiritual ideas which can help others in their grief journey. If you have experienced the death of a child of any age, get this book. If you know someone who has experienced the death of a child and are looking for ways to help them through their grief, give them a copy of this book. Or better yet, read this book yourself and use the suggestions it contains to minister to your friend.”
Kathleen B. Duncan
Bereaved mom and author of God’s Healing in Grief
“This book I’m sure was not an easy one to write. Rehashing these kind of memories . . . it’s a tough thing, but out of love for you she makes it known that you are not alone in this struggle. Page after page, it’s as if you’re walking this journey with a dear friend. She’s been where most of you are at right now. Her story will encourage you not to quit and be assured that there is joy on the other side of this cross that you are bearing. Wait and watch Him work in your life as you walk through this book.
It’s a must have, to those who want to make it, those who want to live again, and you will.”
Gail Cooper
Speaker, writer, GailCooperSpeaker.com
“Could not put this book down! It was like Kim was in my head when she wrote this book! It has so much practical guidance to get you through each day and can be applied to many different kinds of loss of a child. I lost my baby in the second trimester and while I did not have the same memories with my baby, I knew her. I highly recommend this book to all the mamas out there with broken hearts no matter when you lost your child.”
Amber Reed
Bereaved mom
“How can there possibly be words for a circumstance in which there are none? With a steady outstretched arm of experience, this book provides something to cling to when the ground beneath you has fallen away and you’ve become engulfed in a bottomless pit of grief. Kim offers a tender touch of compassion and a firm grip to navigate the toughest steps of anyone’s life. Like that best friend who just “gets it," she sits with you and holds you, giving you exactly what you need to take the next breath and the courage to exhale when you feel like giving up. This book is a lifeline for anyone consumed by sorrow or someone else trying to help them make it through.”
Erica Wiggenhorn
Bible teacher and author of Unexplainable Jesus: Rediscovering the God You Thought You Knew
How Do You Survive the Loss of a Child?
There is one call a mother never wants to receive. For Kim Erickson, that call came. The sudden and tragic death of her three-year-old son, Austin, left Kim reeling. Alongside her crippling sorrow, she faced the dreaded stresses of planning a funeral and deciding what to do with Austin’s empty room. In this nightmare, Kim also experienced something she never expected—she met God.
Surviving Sorrow is a guide for any mom who finds herself in this pit of grief. Kim transparently and compassionately shares lessons learned and discusses realities like:
- How to communicate your needs to those who are trying to help
- How to remain united with your spouse through grief
- What it means to transition into a life without your child
Most importantly, Kim identifies the role of God in her sorrow—and her healing—and offers both survival and spiritual steps for moms learning how to continue living in the midst of tragedy. For there is no loss like that of losing a child, and as Kim attests, your heart may break over and over. And there is no roadmap to healing, but there are steps that can be taken to ensure sorrow does not overwhelm, but is survived.
