Stories to Light the Night

Stories to Light the Night: A Grief and Loss Collection for Children, Families, and Communities

• Unique, comprehensive collection of 94 imaginatively crafted stories for sharing with children, families and communities at times of grieving or loss 
• Using story therapy to help shine a light in the darkness of life’s challenges
• Stories for loss of a loved one, loss of family connection, loss of place, loss of pets and loss of health and wellbeing—some include an activity as an extension to the therapeutic process
• Stories for eco-grief and eco-loss, helping to encourage “active hope”
• An eclectic selection from cultures and countries across the globe

This book offers story medicine for children, families, and communities during times of grieving, loss, and separation. Stories and words have healing potential. They can strengthen us, help to reframe things, and help make meaning. 

Included are stories for the loss of a loved one—a death in the family; loss of family connection—separation, divorce, adoption, foster children; loss of a pet; separation from home, country, or place; and loss of health and wellbeing. 

The last section includes tales for the loss of nature and ecocide—eco-grief and eco-anxiety—and stories on cycles of life and change. 

In addition to numerous original stories from Susan Perrow, the book includes stories from various countries and cultures by writers from diverse professions and backgrounds. 

Each story includes a description of who the story was written for, the age group, and the situation. Using the power of metaphor and imaginative story journeys, combined with the sensitive art of ‘listening’, the stories in the collection offer a light in the night. 

Contents

Foreword by Alida Gersie

Introduction: The Healing Power of Words and Stories

1. Therapeutic Stories: Process and Experience
2. Loss of a loved one
3. Loss of place
4. Loss of family connection
5. Loss of a pet
6. Loss of health and well-being
7. Loss of trust, cooperation, control, balance, and respect
8. Environmental grief and loss
9. Cycles of life and change
10. References and Resources, Patterns, and Templates

About the Author

Susan Perrow , MEd, is an Australian author who works with “story medicine.” She writes, collects, and documents stories that offer a therapeutic journey for the reader—a positive and imaginative way to address challenging behaviors and traumatic situations, including environmental grief and loss. Susan has an extensive background in teaching, writing, and therapeutic storytelling. She travels nationally and internationally giving keynotes and leading seminars for teachers, parents, and therapists, offering online training and talks, as well. Her therapeutic story work has led to the publication of four resource books published by Hawthorn Press: Healing Stories for Challenging Behaviour (2008); Therapeutic Storytelling: 101 Healing Stories for Children (2012); An A–Z Collection of Behaviour Tales (2017); and Stories to Light the Night: A Grief and Loss Collection for Children, Families and Communities (2021). The first two have been translated into several languages, including Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Spanish, Portuguese, Slovenian, Serbian, and Croatian. Perrow also has released an app— Rainbow Tales: Healing Audio Sotries for Children —a therapeutic tool for parenting, teaching, and counseling children, ages 3 to 9 (available in online app stores).