Grieving Dads: To the Brink and Back

By: Kelly Farley, David Dicola

Narrated by: Scott R. Pollak

Length: 5 hrs

Publisher's Summary

Grieving Dads: To the Brink and Back is a collection of candid stories from grieving dads that were interviewed over a two-year period. The audiobook offers insight from fellow members of, in the haunting words of one dad, "this terrible, terrible club," which consists of men who have experienced the death of a child.

This audiobook is a collection of survival stories by men who have survived the worst possible loss and lived to tell the tale. They are real stories that pull no punches and are told with brutal honesty. Men that have shared their deepest and darkest moments. Moments that included thoughts of suicide, self-medication, and homelessness. Some of these men have found their way back from the brink, while others are still standing there, stuck in their pain. The core message of Grieving Dads is "you're not alone." It is a message that desperately needs to be delivered to grieving dads who often grieve in silence due to society's expectations.

Grieving Dads: To the Brink and Back is an audiobook that no grieving dad or anyone who cares for him should be without. As any grieving parent will tell you, there are no words to describe the hell one experiences after the death of a child. Many men have no clue how to deal with or understand the myriad of emotional, mental, and physical responses experienced after the death of a child.

Stories appearing in the audiobook have been carefully selected to represent a cross-section of fathers, as well as a diverse portrayal of loss. This approach helps reflect the full spectrum of grief, from the early days of shock and trauma to the long view after living with loss for many years. Any bereaved father will find brotherhood here and will feel that someone understands them. While there is plenty of raw emotion in this audiobook, the stories are not exercises in self-pity, nor are they studies in grief. They are survival stories instead. Some are testimonies to hope. Some are gut-wrenching accounts of overwhelming despair. But all of them are real-life stories from real-life grieving dads, and they show that even if one reaches his physical and emotional bottom, it is possible (although not easy) to live through that pain and find one’s way to the other side of grief.

Most dads in this audiobook found themselves in a state of physical, mental, and emotional collapse after the death of their child. As if the losses alone weren’t enough to drive these men to the brink, most try to deal with their grief according to the conventional wisdom so many men are brought up with, which perversely, increases their suffering all the more. We all know the party line about how men are "supposed" to deal with loss or even disappointment: toughen up, get back to work, take it like a man, support your wife, don’t talk about your emotions, don’t lose control, and if you must cry - by all means, do so in private.

©2012 Kelly Farley (P)2018 Kelly Farley

Powerful

This book was just what I needed. It will never bring back my son but it did give me a sense of comfort. It's strange and sad finding comfort in a group of people that know what you are going through. Highly recommend this book.

great support for bereaved parents

this has been a good look and refreshing view on how father's grief is dealt with and my experience falls into normal and presents a bit of positive outcome from a disaster