Books like Saying Goodbye to Daddy

I’ve meant to write a review about this book for a very long time but, sadly, never had the time so I hope to make up for that now. But perhaps it was for the best because, in retrospect, this book was even more valuable than I thought it was when I first found it. My husband died suddenly when our daughter was less than three years old and I was feeling my way around helping us best deal with our grief. While I had dealt intimately with the deaths of several friends after long-term illnesses, I had never before lost a spouse or dealt with the grief of a young child. I searched extensively for a book that dealt (at least broadly) with our situation while not coming across as a simple lesson plan or a bit sanctimonious with platitudes. “Saying Goodbye to Daddy” was perfect for us. The story encompasses a lot of the issues we went through, from telling her about her father’s death to dealing with funeral choices. The book is elegantly understated yet bravely addresses what are very hard situations to live through, and does it with beautiful and touching illustrations. There is a very poignant scene where the mother brings the father’s wallet to the daughter and they go through it together, discussing the picture of the daughter, and an item from an event the daughter and her father shared together that were found in it. This opened the door for me to do the same with my daughter and her father’s wallet. I’ve seen some reviewers recommend this book for children of kindergarten age and older but it was just as pertinent when my daughter was three. Although I tentatively read it to her one afternoon to see how she responded to it, it was her selection to read before bed every night for months. It was almost like she was fitting the pieces of her emotions into the context of the book’s topics. She gradually stopped selecting it but would revisit it frequently over the next couple of years. If you’re in a similar circumstance and have sought out this book because of that (and, if so, my heartfelt condolences), I can honestly say you can’t go wrong with this book. It’s a gem and I’ll always have a warm spot for it in my heart and memories.