As thousands of literary characters and classic favourite stories come to life on 6 March to celebrate World Book Day, the UK’s first children and young people’s bereavement charity, Winston’s Wish, is reminding parents, carers and teachers of a special type of story especially designed for grieving children.
North Somerset local Rachel Perham is a subscriber to the Book Club. She comments, “In early 2018 when I was 32 weeks pregnant with our twins, Niamh and Samuel, Neil was diagnosed with bowel cancer. Neil then fought cancer for 4 and a half years, before passing away in August 2022.
“I wouldn’t hesitate in recommending the book club to other bereaved families, they have proven to be an invaluable source of comfort and help.”
As children and young people throughout the UK transform into their favourite characters and anxious parents raid the back of the wardrobe to create costume masterpieces, the power of storytelling is brought home as the next generation of readers connect with their heroes and heroines.
For bereaved children, it can be tricky to find a character with which they can engage, a character who knows what it’s like to understand grief, to be able to articulate death and dying and who can empathise with all the emotions.
Winston’s Wish is the UK’s first children and young people’s bereavement charity, and provides a range of on-demand support and advice to help young people as well as parents and teachers to help a child who is growing up with grief. Established in 1992, for more than 30 years the charity has been supporting bereaved children and young adults, up to the age of 25, when their worlds are turned upside down by grief.
Grieving children often experience a wide range of feelings and it can be important to explore these to help them understand that this is normal. Winston’s Book Club offers a series of story books written for children up to eight years old to help them explore their grief and talk about their feelings as they get to know characters Molly and Max.
Rachel explains the aftermath of her husband’s passing. She says, “The twins were just four years old and were very confused. During the later stages of Neil’s illness, I had spent hours researching how best to support the children and came across the Winston’s Wish website. I had got copies of support guides, As Big As It Gets and A Child’s Grief, both of which had been invaluable resources for myself, the grandparents and the children’s nursery.
“But nothing can prepare you for the gravity of losing your husband and children’s daddy. I then turned to the Winston’s Wish helpline, which provided invaluable advice and a sympathetic listening ear around should they go to the funeral, and the language I should use to help them understand the permanency of their loss.
“In the September of 2022, just four weeks after we lost Neil, Niamh and Samuel started school. Around the same time as this, the Winston’s Wish Book Club was launched. The books arrived monthly and seemed to follow the children’s emotions. They loved listening to them and they opened up discussions around how they were feeling, why they might be feeling that way and that their feelings were normal.
“I shared the books with the children’s teacher at school and she actually read some of them to the class. She also used them if Niamh and Samuel were feeling sad or anxious at school. They would sit in a quiet corner and read one of the books, which was relevant to how they were feeling that day.
“I wouldn’t hesitate in recommending the book club to other bereaved families, they have proven to be an invaluable source of comfort and help.”
Alongside the dedicated Book Club, Winston’s Wish also provides a range of other books including digital copies addressing a range of grief topics and circumstances for children and young people and the adults around them.
Winston’s Wish is keen to reassure bereaved young people and their families that they are welcome to chat online, email or call for free to speak to a bereavement support worker by calling 08088 020 021, emailing email hidden; JavaScript is required or using the live chat at winstonswish.org.
