Helping Kids Through Grief

A Parent's Guide for Making Sense of Death, Processing Loss, and Finding Hope

Sissy Goff

• Publisher: Bethany House Publishers
• Year: 2026
• eBook ISBN:
  9781493450763
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

A Trusted Handbook for the Conversations and Care Grieving Kids Need

Kids experience and express grief differently than adults do--and the adults in their lives need more than good intentions to help them. They need informed, empathetic guidance from someone who has spent decades in the counseling room with grieving children. Helping Kids Through Grief is that guide.

From New York Times bestselling author, licensed therapist, and Raising Boys and Girls podcast cohost Sissy Goff, this practical handbook equips parents, caregivers, educators, and counselors with therapeutic tools to walk grieving children through their unique journeys of loss with confidence and care. Drawing on three decades of counseling experience, Sissy offers clear, non-overwhelming, faith-based guidance across every type of loss and every stage of childhood.

Whether a child is grieving the death of a family member or friend, the loss of a beloved pet, or the fracture of their family through divorce, this book will help you:
● Help children make sense of death and loss--with language and explanations tailored to where they are developmentally, from toddlerhood through the teenage years
● Understand what grief looks like at each stage--emotionally, physically, cognitively, socially, and spiritually, so you're never caught off guard by how a child expresses what they're feeling
● Have the age-appropriate conversations kids need--including how to respond to hard questions with honesty, gentleness, and hope
● Help children process grief in healthy ways--navigating the waves of feeling without suppressing or overwhelming them
● Guide kids toward hope--showing them that grief doesn't have to define their story; it can be where courage grows and resilience takes root

An invaluable resource for parents walking alongside a grieving child--and an ideal book for school counselors, pediatricians, pastors, and hospice workers to keep on hand and recommend to the families they serve.

With the right support, grief can become the place where courage grows, resilience takes root, and God's love is felt deeply. Helping Kids Through Grief will show you how to be that support.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title Page
• Books by Sissy Goff from Bethany House Publishers
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• Introduction
• 1. Grief for Grown-Ups
• How Kids Grieve
• What Kids Need
• The Great After
• Commonly Asked Questions
• Types of Grief
• Acknowledgments
• About the Author
• Back Cover