Former Tow Law man’s bereavement book dubbed ‘200-page cuddle’
A FATHER-OF-TWO on a mission to combat loneliness has written a bereavement book, described by one reviewer as a “200-page cuddle.”
Rather than telling people how they should feel , The Missing Peace: Creating a Life After Death is a collection of emotional stories and experiences. Its author, North-East dementia writer and anti-loneliness campaigner Ian Donaghy, hopes by sharing these stories he will help people make sense of their own feelings and talk and listen to one another. A “celebration of kindness”, it is not only aimed at the bereaved but at friends and relatives who can struggle to know what to say following a death.
Mr Donaghy, formerly of Tow Law and now living in York, said: “As we all grow older, our favourite characters are written out of our lives and we have to somehow carry on without them. Friends often feel powerless, so terrified of saying the wrong thing that they may say nothing, leaving their friend bereft and isolated.”
He continued: “The book is a scrapbook of monologues and stories from interviews and conversations I’ve had with people all over the UK in my work with older people and children.
“The thinking is that you read the short stories, you highlight the bit where you feel or do the same and then you realise it’s not just you then. At the point where the ink touches the page, you may be more welcoming of help or more open to offer it to a friend.”
Within its pages, The Missing Peace addresses families, funerals, children and social media. There is also a chapter that has been left blank for the reader to record their own thoughts. The book has already been endorsed by Bereaved Children Support York and Cruse Bereavement Care, and has been described by one reviewer as a “200-page cuddle.”
Jo Cole, co-founder of Bereaved Children Support, said: ““Grief can be very lonely and isolating. This book gives so many examples of how different people have coped with the loss of a loved one that you’re bound to find something that makes you realise it’s not just you feeling the way you do. I will make you laugh. It will make you cry but it will make you think.”