Beyond Tears

Living After Losing a Child, Revised Edition

By: Carol Barkin, Barbara J. Goldstein, Audrey Cohen, Barbara Eisenberg, Lorenza Colletti

Narrated by: Pam Ward

The death of a child is that unimaginable loss no parent ever expects to face. In Beyond Tears, nine mothers share their individual stories of how to survive in the darkest hour. They candidly share with other bereaved parents what to expect in the first year and long beyond:

• Harmonious relationships can become strained
• There is a new definition of what one considers "normal"
• The question "how many children do you have?" can be devastating
• Mothers and fathers mourn and cope differently
• Surviving siblings grieve and suffer as well

There simply is no answer to the question "why?" This sharing in itself is a catharsis, and because each of these mothers lost her child at least seven years before, she is in a unique position to provide perspective on what newly bereaved parents can expect to feel. The mothers of Beyond Tears offer reassurance that the clouds of grief do lessen with time and that grieving parents will find a way to live and even laugh again.

The full list of contributors includes Madelaine Perri Kasden, Phyllis Levine, Ariella Long, Rita Volpe, and Ellen Mitchell.

©2009 Ellen Mitchell, Carol Barkin, et al. (P)2016 Tantor

Very comforting having just lost my my daughter

It has been an invaluable companion during my early grieving. Thank- you for writing it.

Beyond tears

My 24 year old son was murdered by two drug dealers who were fighting over a shotgun. He was not involved in the fight but was hit when the gun went off. Wrong place wrong time wrong people. I am devastated. This book helped me very much with some of the feelings I’m going through . I may listen to it several more times.

I needed to hear this

This was an amazing book to listen to. The tone was beautiful. The different versions or sides of a story between the husband and wife, and between the women and the men were displayed wonderfully. It’s always good to know that there are others who are going through and who have gone through what I have gone throug. We are different yet the same. It’s also sad to know there’s others who have that same pain That I have — no one deserves to know what this feels like.

Memories

This book may be helpful to some, but may stir feelings a grieving parent doesn’t have. I recommend consider where you are in your journey before reading.

Relatable

As I try to make sense of my feelings surrounding my son’s death, this book allowed me to see that my feelings are valid and I’m not alone.