When A Child Grieves

From the beginning, this book intimately engages the reader, offering a means to understand childhood grief through the study of relevant literature, while at the same time evoking an emotional intensity that allows us to connect with our own experiences of loss. […] A book such as this can help us to think about loss, death and grief by providing a containing framework in which to understand the relationship between external events and our internal worlds.

-- Lynda Miller, Infant Observation 25:1

‘In this well-researched and personal work, Corinne Masur sensitively addresses one of the most painful experiences in life: a child’s loss of a parent. Masur cogently addresses the psychological challenges a child faces, taking into account the suffering and efforts to adapt to this most painful loss while on the journey to “becoming a self.” Enriched by existing studies on the topic, Masur’s reportage constitutes a highly informative narrative. The reader will be well rewarded by Masur’s scholarship.’

-- Henri Parens, MD, formerly Professor of Psychiatry, Division of Child and Family Psychiatry, T. Jefferson Medical College; training and supervising (adult & child) analyst, Psychoanalytic Center of Philadelphia

‘This tour de force presents a comprehensive and interdisciplinary review of research on children’s bereavement, their abilities to mourn and to understand death based on their developmental level. Dr. Masur corrects anachronistic theories of mourning to assist parents and clinicians, clarifying that children of all ages, even the tiniest, can begin the meaningful process of mourning so they can go forward to have constructive, meaningful, joyful lives despite enduring the terrible agony of losing a parent in childhood. This book is crucial at this time of increased parental deaths due to Covid, opioid use, and suicide.’

-- Justine Kalas Reeves, child, adolescent, and adult psychoanalyst; member of the Association for Child Psychoanalysis

‘Corinne Masur presents a comprehensive review of past and present psychoanalytic thinking about children who have suffered parental bereavement. She champions an approach which respects individuality and the need for personal understanding. Respecting the importance of key people in the children’s everyday lives, she also identifies where children may require additional, professional input. Using clinical material, she demonstrates how a psychoanalytic, practice-orientated approach can provide support for grieving children and, when necessary, provide a means of helping them through direct therapy. In conjunction with this, Dr. Masur explores the impact of this work upon practitioners, adding an extra dimension to this important book through the judicious sharing of her own personal experience.’

-- Professor Adrian Sutton, Director, The Squiggle Foundation; author of ‘Paediatrics, Psychiatry and Psychoanalysis: Through Countertransference to Case Management’

Masur writes for therapists while addressing a level of ignorance in the general population which is still shockingly high. […] This book provides information which may assist therapists in work with clients who need to address their own childhood bereavements or to understand and support bereaved children.

-- Julia Segal, Psychodynamic Practice

'This book helps parents, teachers, psychotherapists, child psychoanalysts, and pediatricians understand the psychological challenges of children who face the loss of parents—of particular relevance now, in this turbulent time of the Covid pandemic and violence against children in the U.S. Masur has compiled rich clinical materials, comprehensive historical and contemporary research studies, and a practical therapeutic approach that applies psychoanalytic techniques, helping bereaved children and their parents and teachers.'

-- Mali Mann, MD, psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Associa