Product Description

Time and again we stumble for words and actions that will reflect our feelings of compassion and our desire to be of comfort. Based on the authors' extensive research, their workshops, and their professional experience, and filled with personal stories and anecdotes, this heartfelt, practical, and easily accessible resource covers the three most common areas of concern: "What can I write?" "What can I say?" and "What can I do?"

The authors address such issues as:

• Special circumstances -- sudden death, suicide, the death of a parent or child


• How to compose a letter of condolence -- including a variety of sample letters


• How to be of service -- from ideas for thoughtful gifts, to assisting with business affairs and funeral arrangements, to suggested ways of helping in the aftermath


• When more help is needed -- the benefits of grief therapy and support groups, with a listing of recommended reading and other resources

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #603189 in Books
• Published on: 1992-07-15
• Released on: 1992-07-15
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

About the Author

Leonard M. Zunin, M.D., is senior psychiatric consultant for the California Department of Mental Health. An authority on attachment and loss and a distinguished researcher and lecturer, he is the bestselling author of Contact: The First Four Minutes. He lives in Napa, California with his wife, Hilary Stanton Zunin.

Customer Reviews

A superb and practical guide to giving comfort!
A wonderful concept for a book, but perhaps much overlooked. Husband and wife team Leonard and Hilary Zunin offer a practical; guide for those who don't quite know what to do or say when a friend or loved one suffers loss. So often we do not reach out, deterred by feelings of awkwardness or "not knowing what to say."

"The Art of Condolence" offers no cookbook or scripted approach, but offers samples and examples.

We all hope we will not need to draw upon the skills illuminated in this insightful book, but chances are there is a certainty that we will. Team Zunin provides these unwelcome events as opportunities to show compassion and support to others in very practical ways.

excellent addition to your library
I recently lost my beloved cat of 14 years. At the same time our neighbors lost two of their beloved dogs. We were all floundering in grief and what to do and say. This book helped me with my own grief and also allowed me to say and do things better with others.

"What Do I Say, What Do I Do?"
As one who spends my professional life with grieving people and the professionals who care for them, one of the most common questions I hear is, "Do you have any suggestions about what to say/what to do. . .?" In a thoughtful, practical book, the Zunins have made that question much easier to answer!

I especially like the section on what to write in condolence notes and cards. After my Dad died in 1993, the cards that came that "told the stories" and helped us remember were the real "keepers." The stories and remembrances bring fond recollections to the family and friends and help through the healing process of bereavement.

If you've ever wondered, "What do I say, do, or write?" this book is for you. You'll find yourself going back to it again and again.