Suggested reading and media list covering end-of-life topics
“We read to know we are not alone…
We read to find comfort and heal…
We read to move forward and help others…
May this list of books on death and dying open your mind and give you peace”
Barbara Theroux, lifelong reader
BOOKS
Books for Children (ages 4-10)
Something Very Sad Happened, by Bonnie Zucker and Kim Fleming
I Miss You, by Pat Thomas and Lesley Harker
Badger’s Parting Gifts, by Susan Varley
I will Always Love You, by Hans Wilhelm
Grandpa’s Prayers of the Earth, by Douglas Wood and P.J. Lynch
Nadia The Willful, by Sue Alexander
The Fall Of Freddie The Leaf, by Leo Buscaglia
Everett Anderson’s Goodbye, by Lucille Clifton
Children Also Grieve, by Linda Goldman
The Invisible String, by Patrice Karst
Ida, Always, by Caron Lewis
Love You Forever, by Robert Munsch
Mick Harte Was Here, by Barbara Park
The Goodbye Book, by Todd Parr
The Memory Box, by Joanna Rowland
Tear Soup, by Pat Schwiebert and Chuck DeKlyen
The Missing Piece, by Shel Silverstein
A Taste of Blackberries, by Doris Buchanan Smith
Someone I Love Died, by Christine Tangvald
The Tenth Good Thing About Barney, by Judith Viorst
Charlotte’s Web, by E.B. White
Activity Books for Children:
After a Death: An Activity Book for Children by the Dougy Center
When Someone Dies: A Child-Caregiver Activity Book, by The National Alliance for Grieving Children
Books for Teenagers:
Saying Goodbye When You Don’t Want To: Teens Dealing With Loss, by Martha Bolton
Straight Talk About Death For Teenagers, by Earl A. Gootman
When a Friend Dies: A Book For Teens About Grieving & Healing, by Marilyn Gootman
Out Of The Dust, by Karen Hesse
You Are Not Alone: Teens Talk About Life After the Loss of a Parent, by Lynn Hughes
How It Feels When A Parent Dies, by Jill Krementz
Weird Is Normal When Teenagers Grieve, by Jenny Wheeler
Healing Your Grieving Heart For Teens, by Alan Volfelt
A Fault In Our Stars, by John Green
Annie and the Old One, by Patricia Miles Martin and Peter Parnall
Bridge to Terabithia, by Katherine Paterson and Donna Diamond
Books for Caregivers and Helping Grieving Children:
The Dougy Center
Helping Children Cope with Death
Helping Teens Cope with Death
35 Ways to Help a Grieving Child
Talking about Death: A dialogue Between Parent and Child
Children, Teens and Suicide Loss
Books for Adults:
Last Acts of Kindness: Lessons for the Living from the Bedside of the Dying, by Judith Redwing Keyssar RN
A Beginner’s Guide to the End: How to Live Life to the Full and Die a Good Death: BJ Miller, MD and Shoshana Berger
Life After the Diagnosis; Steven Pantilat, MD
Dying Well, by Ira Byock, MD
The Four Things that Matter Most, by Ira Byock, MD
