BOOK REVIEW: MOM
MINUS DAD

 

Mom Minus Dad By Jamieson Haverkampf

When one parent dies, the children have to quickly learn to deal with their own grief as well as assist their surviving parent. Written by a woman whose father died unexpectedly of cancer, Mom Minus Dad is packed with information that will help families provide support to a newly widowed parent.

The book discusses the many aspects of dealing with a parent's death and is written in an easy-to-read, conversational style. The author, Jamieson Haverkampf, and her sister had to help their mother manage her affairs after their father died. Haverkampf uses her experience to explain how to handle the first weeks after loss, build a support team, take care of yourself, handle paperwork and finances and, if necessary, help the parent relocate. The book also provides advice on how to move forward, handle holidays and anniversaries, deal with the change in family dynamics, and find a community. Interspersed in each chapter are stories from the author's experience.

Mom Minus Dad contains an impressive 113 pages of resources covering almost every topic a child might encounter while helping a grieving parent, including low-cost airfares available to the bereaved, food delivery services, state-by-state bereavement support groups, bookkeepers, moving companies, online communities, and legal issues. The book also includes checklists and worksheets to assist with every task.

-Adapted from ElderLaw News from ElderLawAnswers, July 2008 retrieved at:http://www.elderlawanswers.com/resources/article.asp?id=6895&section=5.

 

07/08