Grief Information/Resources: May 2025
Please find below some grief support links and books that may be helpful for you and your family during this difficult time.
Important Grief Links
View Website
Skylight is another wonderful New Zealand resource that can help with grief counselling, they support people of all ages throughout New Zealand who are facing any kind of tough life situation, and specialise in grief, loss and trauma.
View Skylight Website
Grief Relief is an online service providing support and education in the home, individuals, families and groups. They also offer grief relief kits, and a facebook page that you can join.
View Grief Relief Website
Join Grief Relief Facebook Page
Grief Information Articles
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As pet owners, one of the most difficult decisions we may face is the choice to say goodbye to our beloved furry companions. The thought of letting go of our loyal friends can be heart wrenching, but in some cases, it may be the ultimate act of love and compassion we can offer them.Posted: 25/5/2025
Books That May Help
Goodbye, Friend: Healing Wisdom for Anyone Who Has Ever Lost a Pet
By Gary KowalskiDescription:
The loss of an animal companion can be a painful, wrenching experience. In Goodbye, Friend, Gary Kowalski takes you on a journey of healing, offering warmth and sound advice on how to cope with the death of your pet. Filled with heart-warming stories and practical guidance on such matters as taking care of yourself while mourning, creating rituals to honour your pet’s memory, and talking to children about death, Goodbye, Friend is a beautiful and comforting book for anyone grieving the loss of a beloved animal.
Losing My Best Friend: Thoughtful support for those affected by dog bereavement or pet loss
By Jeannie WycherleyDescription:
- Losing my Best Friend: Thoughtful Support for those Affected by Dog Bereavement or Pet Loss offers practical advice about what to do when your pet passes away, including tips on helping your children or other pets cope with the loss, designing your own ceremony to celebrate your dog’s life, and creating memorials.
The Grief Recovery Handbook for Pet Loss
By Russell FriedmanDescription:
This book is a sympathetic and straightforward self-help guide written for grieving pet carers. Chapters address common myths about grief that can slow down your healing, while the book walks you through a series of exercises designed to help you work through your feelings about your beloved pet. This book considers the practical elements of pet loss as well as the emotional impact and culminates with encouraging you to write a letter to your lost friend about the times you shared.
Books To Help Children
The Invisible Leash - A Story Celebrating Love After the Loss of a Pet
By Patrice KarstDescription:
Using the same simple but effective bonding concept from The Invisible String, which has been used for healing countless readers living with grief, The Invisible Leash illustrates the spiritual connection pet owners have with their animals. After Zach's dog, Jojo, dies, his friend Emily tries to comfort him with the "best news ever": an invisible leash around our hearts connects everyone to their pets no matter where they are, on this Earth or somewhere beyond --maybe they are even near right now. Zach is sceptical, saying he only believes in what he can see, but Emily lets him find his own way to eventually come to feel the comforting tug of the Invisible Leash. Accompanied by emotive and uplifting art by Joanne Lew-Vriethoff, Patrice Karst's gentle story celebrates the love, warmth, and joy that animals give us in this life and beyond.
Lifetimes - The Beautiful Way to Explain Death to Children
By Bryan MellonieDescription:
When the death of a relative, a friend, or a pet happens or is about to happen . . . how can we help a child to understand? Lifetimes is a moving book for children of all ages, even parents too. It lets us explain life and death in a sensitive, caring, beautiful way. Lifetimes tells us about beginnings. And about endings. And about living in between. With large, wonderful illustrations, it tells about plants. About animals. About people. It tells that dying is as much a part of living as being born. It helps us to remember. It helps us to understand.
The Memory Box – A Book About Grief
By Joanna RowlandDescription:
A beautifully written story and must-have resource for any adult helping a child cope with the loss of a loved one and working through grief.From the perspective of a young child, author Joanna Rowland artfully describes what it's like to remember and grieve a loved one who has died.
