Shattered: Surviving the Loss of a Child

"A truly healing book." - Glen Lord, President, The Compassionate Friends

Unthinkable. Unbelievable. Heartbreaking. Whatever words we choose, they all fall far short of the reality. The loss of a child is a terrible thing.

Accidents. Disease. Suicide. School shootings. Murder. Natural disasters. War. No matter how or when, the death of a child (no matter what age) can shatter the heart.

How do you survive this? Can you?

Shattered: Surviving the Loss of a Child was written to help.

Bestselling author, hospice chaplain, and grief specialist Gary Roe uses his three decades of experience interacting with grieving parents to give us this heartfelt, easy-to-read, and intensely practical book. In Shattered, Roe walks the reader through the powerful impact a child's death can have - emotionally, mentally, physically, relationally, and spiritually.

Shattered unpacks the depth of this loss, describing how...

• Intense, unpredictable emotions (sadness, anger, guilt, anxiety, fear, depression) can hijack us at a moment's notice.
• Our minds spin. We can't concentrate. We forget things. It feels like we're going crazy.
• Our bodies get hit. Symptoms surface. Our health can be impacted. Illness can invade.
• Our souls feel crushed. Guilt shakes us. What we believe gets challenged.
• Our relationships change. Marriage, family, and friendships feel the impact.
• Our plans and dreams are shattered. The future has changed. We're in uncharted territory.

Yes, the loss of a child affects everything.

In Shattered, you will discover how you can...

• Deal with the volatile, unpredictable emotions assaulting you.
• Manage the massive changes that are occurring in your life and routine.
• Move through feeling overwhelmed and begin to heal.
• Take care of yourself and your health amid all the challenges.
• Honor your child with how you grieve.
• Love those around you, even with a broken heart.
• Navigate spiritual uncertainties and faith questions.
• Turn couple, family, and relational upheaval into personal growth.
• Support your other children in their grief and parent well through this.
• Find the people and resources you need to begin to recover.
• Decipher whether counseling or grief coaching would be beneficial for you.
• Live life as well as possible while in the midst of great pain.
• Make your child's life count in deep and powerful ways.

Shattered is not a magic pill. The death of a child cannot be fixed. But comfort, compassion, guidance, and hope can be found in these pages.

If you are a grieving parent or grandparent, this book was written for you.

We will never be the same, but we can survive. And to some degree, we can heal. Shattered can help.

Open this book, and let the healing continue.

Shattered was a 2017 Best Book Awards Finalist.

About the Author
Roe, Gary: - Multiple award-winning author, speaker, and grief specialist Gary Roe is a compassionate and trusted voice in grief recovery who has been bringing comfort, hope, encouragement, and healing to hurting, wounded hearts for more than 30 years. The author of numerous books, Gary has been featured by Focus on the Family, Dr. Laura, Beliefnet, the Christian Broadcasting Network, Wellness.com, ThriveGlobal, Charisma, Hospice Times, Hitched, The Parenting Bookmark, and other major media and has well over 600 grief-related articles in print. Recipient of the Diane Duncam Award for Excellence in Hospice Care, Gary is a popular keynote, conference, and seminar speaker at a wide variety of venues. A former college minister, missionary in Japan, entrepreneur in Hawaii, and pastor in Texas and Washington, he now serves as a writer, speaker, and grief counselor. Gary loves being a husband and father. He has seven adopted children, including three daughters from Colombia. He enjoys hockey, corny jokes, good puns, and colorful Hawaiian shirts. Gary and his wife Jen and family live in Texas. Visit Gary at www.garyroe.com.