Saying Goodbye

About the Book

Has your child been affected by the loss of a loved one? Have you found that your child is having difficulty coping after a death of someone they loved?
Each year, thousands of children lose a loved one. Death is extremely stressful for children, but good tools and the love and support of others can help them navigate their loss and begin to heal. Saying Goodbye is an interactive memory book for parents who are helping their children cope with the jumble of thoughts, feelings, and questions that arise when a loved one dies.

Using Saying Goodbye, parents can work directly with their children (ages 6 to 10) as they work through their feelings of sadness and anger in appropriate ways while capturing powerful memories of their loved one.

With

• exercises to help them see all their feelings as normal responses and identify ways to feel connected to the loved one they lost
• visual journaling and art therapy that encourages children to access positive thoughts and practice self-care while honoring the person who has died
• daily reflection journal to implement what they've learned as they heal from their loss

By spending just ten minutes a day engaged with the more than thirty activities in this book, you can offer your child support by guiding them through their big, confusing questions, including why the person died, where he or she is now, and how to respond to words of comfort that don't feel helpful. Don't put off helping a child struggling with grief. Even though this is a very difficult time, this activity book can help make it a little easier.

What parents are saying

"My husband died from lung cancer at the age of thirty-seven. We have two daughters, ages eight and ten. When their grandfather died, I felt the discussions of death were a little easier, but with my husband's death, I just don't know what to do, and on top of that, I'm hurting a lot too and don't want to make it worse for them. I started seeing a grief therapist who recommended this activity book for my girls. I never expected how helpful it would be for me too. We work on it in small doses together as a family and talk through our feelings as we try to find a new normal. We especially loved the suggestion of sharing a chocolate 'kiss' with him.".

"My son was very close to my mother, who passed away last year. Since she died, he's having trouble sleeping alone. I found this book while searching online and it's been a wonderful bonding and healing experience for both of us. I can't tell you how grateful I am."

"Thank you for this activity book. I work with young children who have experienced the death of a loved one, and it's been such a wonderful tool for our program. Many of our parents want to know where to order it."
About the Author: Child education and counseling expert Erainna Winnett brings more than 20 years of experience in teaching, counseling, and raising children to the hot-button issues every child faces today. Helping Kids Heal is a series of activity books written with healing in mind. Each book addresses real world problems children face on a daily basis. Through therapeutic art and writing exercises, kids can express their feelings and learn how to deal with those feelings in appropriate ways. Designed for children ages 6-12, these activity books are meant to be used as a counseling tool to foster a positive self-image and healthy coping strategies and to provide parents, educators, and counselors with tools to assist children as they process and work through some of today's toughest issues. Erainna was born and raised in central Louisiana. The oldest of five children she always yearned to be a teacher and forced her siblings to play school year round. Naturally, she graduated with a teaching degree in 1995 and earned her Master's degree in 2000. Five years later she earned her Education Specialist degree in early childhood education. After fifteen years in the classroom, she moved to the role of school counselor and has never been happier. While serving as school counselor at an elementary school in northeast Texas, she frequently uses children's books as therapy to help her students heal, learn and grow. Ideas for her books come from the students she works with on a daily basis. Her goal, as an author, is to touch the hearts of children, one story at a time. Erainna has written over thirty books designed to guide parents, teachers, and counselors as they help children to become their best self. Erainna lives on a 300 acre cattle ranch near the Red River with her husband, two daughters, three dogs, two horses, and one ill-tempered cat.