J Psychother Pract Res
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J Psychother Pract Res 7:180-181, April 1998
© 1998 American Psychiatric Press, Inc.

Book Reviews

Children and Grief: When a Parent Dies

By J. William Worden, New York and London, Guilford Press, 1996, 190 pages, ISBN 157-230-1481, $26.95

Joel P. Zrull, M.D.

Key Words: Book Reviews

This book attempts to take the findings of the Harvard Child Bereavement Study and apply them to the clinical understanding of an intervention with children who have lost a parent to death. Throughout most of the book the author has skillfully interwoven research data with quotes and vignettes of children and adolescents who were part of the study. The richness of the data is apparent not only in their presentation in this book, but also as evidenced by the many other articles they have generated. The quotes and vignettes attest to the hands-on approach of the author.

Understanding of the child and of bereavement has informed the systematic approach of the investigators. Most impressive is the attention to details such as developmental level, gender of the child, gender of the deceased and living parent, family size, and sibling order, to mention only a few. Intervention is also approached in a systematic fashion, but with the approach of a clinician who has extensive experience with children and families who are bereaved.

The early chapters are written in a manner that includes many quotes and vignettes about the children and families that make them come alive and well illustrate the author's points. This is equally true of the epilogue. Chapters five and six take a substantially data-oriented approach that is thorough, but inclusive enough that the reader is happy to come upon the very effective chapter-ending summaries.

The latter portion of the book is devoted to intervention methods and devices. This too is comprehensive, but the reader longs for more quotes and vignettes to be able to complete the imagery of the process extending from evaluation to intervention.

A word about the literature review is in order. The review is extensive both in breadth and in coverage of the evolution of work in this area over time. The reference list is extensive and should be helpful to those who would like further reading about grief in children.

This is a readable and practical contribution to the clinical understanding of children who have lost a parent.

Footnotes

Dr. Zrull is Professor and Chairman, Department of Psychiatry, Medical College of Ohio, Toledo, OH.





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