Reddit reviews The Invisible String

Maybe you could plan a special way of staying connected while she's gone - get two matching rings to be your special superpower psychic communication rings, or get a stuffed animal that you can "fill" with hugs for her to have whenever she misses you (let her watch you putting the hugs "in" and count them together!), or pack her some little envelopes with notes to read every day, or set a time for both of you to look at the moon every night and "beam" happy thoughts to each other...get creative! :) There's a picture book called The Invisible String that might give you some ideas as well. Make sure she knows that you will miss her too, and you wish you could come along, but that being apart doesn't mean she can't still bring your love with her!

Hi there,

I'm so sorry to hear about your loss. I really hope you're doing okay.

Barnes and Noble put together a list that you may find useful for your niece. Another one not on the list is The Invisible String. And for yourself, I'd recommend Surviving the Death of a Sibling: Living Through Grief When an Adult Brother or Sister Dies.

I hope these may be useful for you. Wishing you all the best!

DH was widowed and a single dad to a two year old before we met. His recommendations are The Invisible String and The Goodbye Book

I'm so sorry for your loss.

Unfortunately this is pretty typical.

There are a lot of great books about parents badmouthing each other that might give you some strategy tips:

Divorce Poison

Divorce Casualties

Adult Children of Parental Alienation Syndrome

There are also some books for young kids to help them handle divorce like Two Homes, Dinosaurs Divorce and The Invisible String. Kids really need examples of other kids in their position to understand they're not alone, and books can help with that.

I know this is really hard, but it's also a relatively short time since they split up (year & a half, right?) and there is a definite adjustment period. Just stay positive and don't bash her dad in return. You can respond with things like "I'm sorry your dad feels hurt" or "I'm sure it feels like that to him" or similar neutral statements, but you don't want to put her in the middle by saying he's a liar.

Most of all, you cannot change anyone, no matter how shitty he's being, so make a plan that doesn't involve him suddenly starting to respect you. You have to work around that and find other ways.

The best thing you and your wife can do is lead by example. Stay positive, change the subject, show by your actions that you're good people who are not doing whatever he's accusing you of.

In the meantime, DOCUMENT EVERYTHING. If you end up in court, you will need to show a history of his negativity. One of the custody factors judges weigh is which parent is more likely to foster a positive relationship with the other parent. If one parent is repeatedly bashing & badmouthing the other, the judge will not look kindly on that.

You may also consider family counseling for you & your wife & daughter.

Good luck. I've been there, and it is no fun whatsoever.

::internet hugs::

I’m so sorry for your family’s loss. It does sound like she was in the hospital, so I would ask to speak with the child life specialist. When my dad was on life support, the hospitals child life specialists were incredible in explaining death to my kids and helping them understand what’s happening.

A children’s grief support group is also a good idea. The one my children attended starts at 3 years old. The whole thing is designed to help kids understand death and dying as a life process and help them develop healthy grief response and coping strategies.

There are also several great books to help children try to understand death. Off the top of my head, my kids really liked The Invisible String and Water Bugs and Dragonflies.

You are living through something tragically incomprehensible to most adults. The silver lining is that children are different creatures entirely. They are wonder-ful; their imaginations and empathy, unmatched. While death seems impossible to explain, I hope you can take comfort in knowing there are beautiful ways of communicating this concept to children...

Here is a short list of outstanding picture books by writers and illustrators who’ve dedicated their artwork to this express purpose:

The Dandelion’s Tale by Kevin Sheehan & Rob Dunlavey

The Memory Box by Joanna Rowland & Thea Baker

The Heart and The Bottle by Oliver Jeffers

Rabbityness by Jo Empson

The Invisible String by Patrice Karst & Geoff Stevenson

I have an MFA in Writing for Children & Young Adults. Death and grieving in picture books is a prominent topic. I mention this only to perhaps add some validation to these suggestions. As an adult, I’ve found relief from picture books, and I know the power they have for children.

Sending you white light. Xo

I am so sorry for your loss. I have heard great things about this book. http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0875167349/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1464411300&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=invisible+string+book

I actually bought this to keep on the family bookshelf, https://www.amazon.com/dp/0875167349/?tag=prisofello-20

Ditto. But maybe not family therapy per se. If they kiddos are young (under 8 or 9), they may or may not have the linguistic ability to really express how they feel. But play therapy should be incorporated as well as that is how children work their feelings. Then, a good therapist can help decipher the themes of their play and what the kiddo needs. They can also recommend good books. I suggest getting The Invisible String and A Terrible Thing Happened.

Also, I'm so so sorry for your loss. Make sure to take care of yourself as well if you begin to feel overwhelmed.

EDIT: I'm sorry I got over-excited about sharing information. But therapy may not be necessary. I work with trauma a lot and there's saying "We treat symptoms, not events." Some kids are incredibly resilient and can bounce back without therapy at all.

> Cosa faccio, gliene prendo subito un altro?

No.

> Come lo spiego a mio figlio?

There are lots of really great books that deal with death geared towards younger kids. We used I Miss You: A First Look at Death https://www.amazon.com/dp/0764117645/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_171mybHBFF6ZW (this one was a nice simple explanation of the life cycle and stuff and not geared towards any spefic religious aspect) and The Invisible String https://www.amazon.com/dp/0875167349/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_V81mybF3EKRBM (this actually isn't geared just at Death it's kinda like separation and loss I really loved this book it had a nice way to explain about loss and separation)

There are some useful books for her. It can help adults to talk about things that seem impossible to talk about. Hugs to you.

https://www.amazon.com/Miss-You-First-Look-Death/dp/0764117645/ref=pd_sim_14_1?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0764117645&pd_rd_r=HHR9WCC8B0S8H5Y7PTMH&pd_rd_w=OiTH4&pd_rd_wg=GELpR&psc=1&refRID=HHR9WCC8B0S8H5Y7PTMH


https://www.amazon.com/What-Earth-When-Someone-Dies/dp/1575420554/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1501030726&sr=1-2&keywords=when+someone+dies&refinements=p_n_feature_five_browse-bin%3A2578999011


https://www.amazon.com/Invisible-String-Patrice-Karst/dp/0875167349/ref=pd_bxgy_14_img_3?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0875167349&pd_rd_r=CSJES55FE4S2J06J0MXH&pd_rd_w=zUhYL&pd_rd_wg=omjIM&psc=1&refRID=CSJES55FE4S2J06J0MXH

https://www.amazon.com/Invisible-String-Patrice-Karst/dp/0875167349