A Music I No Longer Heard: The Early Death of a Parent

by Leslie Simon

A very personal portrait of a journey through grief features contributions from more than seventy people who lost parents as children and is designed to help readers move along that same path and begin the healing process. 20,000 first printing.

Genres: Nonfiction, Psychology

352 pages, Hardcover

First published March 10, 1998

Reviews

[Erica · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a remarkable book. The authors, each of whom lost a parent before the age of 18, interviewed some 70 people – a handful of whom are more public figures, but the majority, everyday folk, with a similar background. I particularly like the way it is structured – the chapters deal with issues such as the death itself, the funeral, milestone events, relationships later in life… that sort of thing. Every interview account is cross-referenced, so to speak, indicating the age of the interviewee, which parent died, how old the child was, and how old they are now. There is an index, so that you can find someone whose loss is similar to your own. I wasn’t yet two years old when my dad died.
It’s very powerful. I could relate to so much of what was shared… even quirky little things I have always been convinced no one else could possibly do, or get. I recommend this to people all the time.