Free Dealing With Separation Essay Sample

It is a lifelong loss for children when their loved ones passed away especially the death of a family member, a mother, a father, or siblings. The feeling of grief is normal for children that they will miss the person who passed away. Children deal with the sad separation in different ways or levels of intensity, during or after the death of their loved ones. Many children want to share their story after a death of someone very special to them. Children want to tell others like friends, classmates, or relatives about what happened. They will tell someone close to them where they were when it happened and what it was like when they were informed. When they tell the story, it is a healing experience to them and one of the best ways to heal the wounds gradually. Children can deal and heal the grieving moment or separation with the help of the family or caregivers with care, connection, and continuity.
Children can also heal the grief or loss through telling those stories that relate to their experience. Among the stories that are recommended for children about grieving or dealing with separation; The Girl Who Threw Butterflies, Heart of a Shepherd, Listen!, and Confetti Girl. The first two stories suit for young children and the last two stories suit for older children.

Book 1

The Girl Who Threw Butterflies
The story of the book focuses on teamwork in a baseball sport, friendship, relationship with parents, and the dealing of grief and closure of its sadness. It is heartfelt story on how the main character of the story, Molly Williams has dealt everything with her floundering relationship with her mother, she found her confidants, her friends, and she regained her confidence in the sports she belonged, baseball. The part of her life in which she struggled much was, when she was working through the deepest heartache, her father’s death. Molly’s character has dealt with the loss of the important person of her life; she was her father’s apple of the eye and her father was her whole world. However, Molly tugged the happy memories of her father that made her stronger and more confident. Molly has figured out how to redefine her relationships to the things she loves the most; her mother, her brilliant friends, her Father’s memories, teammates, and her favorite sport, baseball. The story has a touching way to the readers to read and feel every line with tears in their eyes. This book is worth sharing to young children especially those dealing with death separation because it can help them understand the meaning of a strong character despite the lost.

Book 2

Love, Aubrey
The story of the book begins with a journey through grief, disappointment, isolation, loss and ends with the discovery of new good things, success, and happiness. The main character of the story, Aubrey has struggled with the most complex heartbreaking and touching emotions (LaFleur). Her discovery started when her loved ones that she took for granted have turned their back on her. The strength and love of her grandmother and the unconditional friendship with Bridget made her moved initial steps to rediscover how to open her heart for another chance. This book is worth sharing to older children and surely, they will love it. The story describes the young pre-teen feelings to enter the confusing stage of life with some added baggage on their side. However, it will make the lives of older children more challenging especially those who started a journey of uncertainty. The journey will end with contentment and happiness.

Book 3

Listen!
The story of the book focuses on finding a special bond with trust after an accident and recovering after the death of a loving mother. The main character of the story, Charlene Charley Morgan thought that she lost everything in her life after she suffered a crippling accident, lost her mother two years ago, and a father with an endless job with no enough time for her. During summer, she found a special bond with a wild, abandoned, abused dog from the community and she named the dog Coyote. Charley decided to spend her summer with Coyote in his territory, observed the dog’s habits, helped the dog to create new routines by rewarding it with food, liver chunks, and tamed the dog eventually. Charley has tried to close her mind since the death of her mother; however, with Coyote, spending the summer through long walks in the woods where she and her mother have spent time together, she remembered everything about her mother. Again, Charley remembered every encouraging word of her mother, on how her mother taught her to listen to the world in different perspectives, positively. Charley has communicated spirit to spirit with Coyote and secured his trust ultimately. The story is worth sharing with the older children who intentionally want to forget all the memories of a mother who passed away; this story would open their minds that good memories can be found from others. The unexpected event will happen to open one’s senses that there is always a rainbow after a heavy rain, a connection to continue life worth living despite being broken. It is still worth reminiscing to hold on the good advice of a lost mother and continue to live a life with hope and happiness.

Book 4

Confetti Girl
The story of the book talks about resentment, the meaning of life and death, wisdom and love. The main character of the story, Apolinia “Lina” Flores, has struggled with her father’s concept that, the books are best friends. Since Lina’s mother death, she has many questions, why her mother who died young? Why does his father loves the books than her? In addition, why the best friend of her mother would not stop calling her a poor orphan? The life of Lina was more complicated in school than she expected it to be. Lina’s best friend hangs out more with her boyfriend than with her. The sad thing is that Lina cannot speak to a boy named Luis, her love interest. It seems that the dichos her mother and father told her are not enough to answer all Lina’s questions. Like Lina, her father buries himself in books to cope with the death of his wife and distancing himself from sadness and from Lina, as well. Good thing Lina knows how to cope with the issues of her life through her hobby, socks. The story is worth sharing with the older children because most of them are resentful in some ways that happened in their lives, oppositely. However, the story helps the older children discover the answers of the usual questions they have in mind especially about death of a loved one. Overall, the story of the book is satisfying and older children would enjoy reading it.
Personally, I chose the books because young and older children can relate to dealing with loss of loved ones. Surely, readers will simply enjoy reading the books with powerful moral-of-the-story themes and feel-good endings that undoubtedly will find something worth to love the stories that are applicable to their lives. Grieving children need to know the truth, to maintain normal activities anywhere, to feel looked after or cared of, and to still feel connected to the parent who passed away and to the family members who take good care of the grieving children.

Works Cited

Cochrane, Mick. The Girl Who Threw Butterflies. New York, NY: Random House Children's
Books, 2009.
LaFleur, Suzanne. Love, Aubrey. New York, NY: Random House Children's Books, 2009.
López, Diana. Confetti Girl. New York, NY: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2009.
Tolan, Stephanie S. Listen! New York, NY: HarperCollins, 2006.
Worden, William J. Children and Grief: When a Parent Dies. New York, NY: Guilford Press,
1996.