NAUTILUS BOOK AWARD GOLD MEDALIST, 2011

 

• Recommended by the Boston Public Health Commission as a guide for families impacted by the Boston Marathon bombing 

• First Runner Up, Coalition of Visionary Resources Book Award, 2011

• Penguin Random House featured title on recommendations, "There's A Book for That: Hope, Healing and Doing Good"

 

DESCRIPTION

 

What to Say and Do for People in Distress

 

We live in an increasingly "virtual" world in which it can be tempting to skip making a true, human connection with someone in pain. Even though our thoughts are with them, we lack the confidence to reach out, worrying that we will say or do the "wrong" thing.

In this practical, step-by-step guide to what she calls "the art of comforting," Val Walker draws on numerous interviews with "Master Comforters" to guide readers in gently and gracefully supporting those who are suffering. Interviewees include inspiring individuals such as Alicia Rasin, who, as a victim's advocate for the city of Richmond, Virginia, has devoted her life to comforting grieving families devastated by homicide, gang violence and other traumatic experiences; or Patricia Ellen, who, as an outreach director at the Center for Grieving Children in Portland, Maine, appears on site to support and comfort children, staff and parents when a school is facing a death, violence or other crises.

All of us will, at one time or the other, be called upon to offer warmth and support to another human being in distress—this book will show you how to answer the call with an open heart.

 

 

REVIEWS

"Must reading for everyone…The message is instantly applicable as well as enormously comforting."—Christiane Northrup, M.D., New York Times bestselling author, Mother-Daughter Wisdom, The Wisdom of Menopause, and Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom

"…filled with clear examples and actionable steps that help readers effectively comfort those in need. Her voice is comforting, and some sections read like a memoir; her candid revelation of her own struggles reaffirms for the reader that a comforter does not always have to be strong."—Publishers Weekly

"With clarity, compassion and wisdom, Walker teaches the art and the craft of comforting others and ourselves. In today's distressed and frenetic world, she does us all a great favor. She teaches us what we most need to know. This fine book is a resource for all those who want to be able to help friends, family members and other people who are in need of our kindness."—Mary Pipher, Ph.D., New York Times bestselling author of Reviving Ophelia, The Shelter of Each Other, and Women Rowing North

"In an effort to write the book she couldn't herself find, rehabilitation counselor Walker discusses the nature of comforting and illustrates how to restore this most important skill… Her message comes not only from experience, but from others in the grief/trauma counseling field, in this guidebook that rings true and pulls the reader in for more. Recommended for all interested adults."—Library Journal

 

"A touching instructional for all who aspire to comfort the afflicted."---Grady Jones, Sacramento Book Review