Hi, my name is Kim. Walking the path with children who are grieving the death of a dear loved one (mom, dad, sibling, and/or grandparent) is emotional and often un-chartered territory for the adults in their lives.
Our mission is to provide resources to support grieving children and the adults who love them, so grief can be navigated in a way that leaves the child with a sense of love, hope and the ability to reminisce about fond memories. These resources provide opportunities, found in everyday lived experiences, to offer support, to honor the deceased person, to reminisce and to ease the pain of grief by dealing with it together.
In addition to reaching children (and the adults who support them) individually through purchasing and reading the books, What Cloud Grief Resources will also make annual contributions (from a portion of the book sale proceeds) to non profit organizations which support grieving children, in an attempt to impact the availability of community resources.
You don't need to have all the answers or experience to make a difference in the life of a grieving child. I have been a hospice nurse for over 35 years and have companion-ed many families and young children as they experienced and worked through the death of a close family member. Additionally, I have experienced the death of my 49 year old husband, Les, in 2006 from colon cancer. In 2015 my dad died unexpectedly from a cardiac event. My twenty nine year old daughter died from complications of an asthma attack in 2017. Her son was three at the time. He has taught me so much about the resiliency of children and their willingness to be matter of fact and honest about their feelings when asked or given the opportunity to express them.
The one forever truth I know is that when we support our children through an early grief experience, with loving kindness, gentle support to express their grief, and acceptance of their feelings related to the loss, we lay the foundation for healthy grief experiences for the rest of their life. Our children need to know that we are there for them, that they are safe and loved, and we are willing to be with them when they speak or share their feelings (sad, happy, anger, etc.).
Children who experience the death of a loved one (mom, dad, grandparent or sibling), have to learn to navigate dealing with grief at an early age. These resources were designed,
not only help them work through their grief, but to
provide a forum to help you to do it together at a very critical time in their life.