Where Did Casey Go?: Volume 1: Dealing with the Loss of a Pet
Mr. Zen
Paperback
(Tellwell Talent, Nov. 7, 2019)
Life brings many challenges and difficult situations. As adults we have the experience, confidence and mechanisms to cope with complex issues. However, when the responsibility arises for guiding a child though a difficult time or familial loss, the hardest part can be breaking the emotional ice and starting the conversation. This book seeks to engage the child with familiarity and warm images and those of slowly transitioning into a difficult situation then expressing a positive outcome. The characters express grief, allowing for children to identify with these emotions as part of the healing process. Loss is an inevitable part of life and can be seen as transition rather than cessation. The concept of "heaven" is not necessarily meant to be religious, but gives the child a positive, soft place to emotionally "land" after confronting the grief. This is an opportunity to express to the child that their loved one, 4 or 2 legged, now exists in another place and space; be it heaven, all around us or in our hearts and memories.