Four bereaved mothers who turned to creative writing following the death of their children have penned an honest account of their journey through grief, released during National Grief Awareness Week (2nd to 8th December)
Mums Gill Golden, Hayley Graham, Gaynor Hall and Rachel Thomas-Rees met after their children received care at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital.
Working with writer Jim Hall, the group has supported one another to write their searingly honest accounts of the loss of their children Zachary, Craig, Ellis and Erin.
Now they want their book Take The Love With You, to give hope and understanding to other parents who may face the same unimaginable challenge of the death of a child. They are offering the book as a free download in the hope that it might help others feel they are not alone.
Gill, a full-time Mum to her surviving son Joshua said: “Through our book we want to offer a hand of support to other grieving parents. To help them feel less isolated. Writing together with these other brave women has been a cathartic experience. Each of us has been able to process our loss through writing. Our one hope is that our honest words will help someone else like us.”
“The book is designed so that you can open it on any page. You might only feel able to read a single sentence or even just a word. Some days that’s all you can cope with. We understand and want you to know you aren’t alone”
The inspiration for the writing project came after the death of Gill’s baby son and her need to do something meaningful to honour his memory.
“As my baby Zachary died in my arms, I made him a promise. To tell the story of him. I would bring his courage and resilience to the page. Hopeful that it would help. Someone? Anyone. I had no idea how.”
Joining an online poetry course, Gill connected with virtual writing tutor Jim Hall and quickly realised that creative writing was a powerful way to express the complex emotions associated with her child’s death.
“Through our work we want to highlight that grieving for a child is a life long journey, not a single event. Each of us has experienced the wall of silence that exists around the death of a child. Nobody wants to talk to you about it. This can compound the feeling of loneliness but also lead to symptoms of post traumatic stress and associated challenges with mental health.”
Jim, project tutor and facilitator said: “Working on this project has been transformative, reaffirming my faith in the power of creative writing as a tool to process difficult emotions. We are encouraging other families to try writing with us in a guided exercise which can be found on our website. You don’t have to be an experienced writer, you can start anywhere when it comes to sharing your story.”
“The project has relied entirely on the generosity of others to be brought to fruition. Our team has included an artist, graphic designer, web designer and proof reader who have donated their time and expertise in order to support families grieving for a child. It really is a collective effort.”
Take The Love With You will officially launch at The World of Glass, St. Helens on 5th December at 7pm with bereaved families and the organisations that support them warmly welcomed to attend.
Take The Love With You is available to download now, at no cost. Visit www.takethelovewithyou.com where you can find details of how to become involved in this project by bereaved parents for bereaved parents.
You can also help to fund our continuing creative writing collaboration with The Alder Centre which provides bereavement care and education for anyone affected by the death of a child of any age. Donate to Alder Hey Children’s Charity www.alderheycharity.org.