| Copyright © 2005, Katlyn
Stewart Reviews For SONG OF CY: UNDERSTANDING GRIEF by Katlyn Stewart This is one of the best books dealing with grief I've read to date - I don't believe there is another book written so extensively and so sensitively about the subject matter. Ms. Stewart writes about the trauma left behind by the death of a close one and provides a wealth of information on facing and dealing with grief. She focuses on the reactions of parents, stepparents, siblings, grandparents, spouses/partners, friends, young children, and teenagers. She describes the various mental and physical effects of grief, relaying symptoms of physical trauma and mental disorders that can develop. She offers numerous helpful suggestions in coping with the death of a loved one, while emphasizing that each person deals with death in their own unique way. A book for every home's library. Highly recommended. Christy Tillery French Sample Chapter For SONG
OF CY: UNDERSTANDING GRIEF by Katlyn Stewart
Chapter 1-Song of Cy (Her Life) Preface Several factors went into the writing of Song of Cy. First and foremost, I wanted to tell the story of a beautiful woman with a wonderful heart that had accomplished so much in her young twenty-seven years of life. I wanted you, the reader, to understand what it was about her that made her so special to me, to her husband, her children, family, and friends. Secondly, during the early days of the grieving process, I diligently searched for books that would help me understand some of the many actions and reactions I was feeling, as well as that of my family. I needed to understand the gnawing sensations in the pit of my stomach, the overwhelming sense that I had lost not only my daughter, but a huge part of myself as well. A part of me felt as though this was some new form of punishment I was to receive, one of the most devastating of which anyone could comprehend, but for what, I didn’t have a clue. I could not comprehend how my child could be taken. What could I have done so terrible, as to have her taken from me in this way? I was without a doubt, angry at the world and with myself for letting this happen. I investigated online bookstores, using every keyword I could find. Though I found books that dealt with a parent’s grief, or a book dealing with a spouse’s grief, I never found what I was searching for. I then went to search engines—using those same keywords—perhaps there was a book out there on an author’s site somewhere that wasn’t with the online stores. At the time, I was too withdrawn, and my feelings to bleak, to venture out in public to search for the specific books I needed for both my family, and myself. What I found were different types of books—several books with bits and pieces of material that dealt with parental, child, and spousal grief. A few that helped one, or the other, understand the emotions felt. But nothing that covered all the boundaries. What I needed was the one book that outlined to me not only where my emotions were coming from, but also, what my husband, children, Cy’s husband, family, and friends were also feeling. Thus this book was born. Not only does it entail a short biography of a beautiful woman, but also a resource, a wealth of information for many different individuals with many different feelings of grief. Not just grief from death, but the overwhelming grief felt from any tragic loss, including separation and divorce. I also wanted this book to be a help for the family, friends and co-workers of the ones that grieve, helping them to understand what they can do to comfort during this terrible crisis. I hope this book will help to guide you in the understanding of the grieving process, as much as it has helped me to deal with, and understand my own grief while writing it. |