The Grief Goblin

Aim

This children’s book aims to encourage a dialogue between children and their loved ones about the feelings and emotions surrounding grief

WHERE DID I DREAM THIS UP?

I first came up with the idea for this book when my children were aged 6 and 8 and had just lost their Dad to Motor Neurone Disease. During the often difficult and painful two year lead up to his death I noticed how the girls’ emotions and feelings would dart about leaving them mixed up and confused. I used to make up a story at bedtime where a goblin we called Griefy, that represented our sad, angry feelings had an important role to play, by helping us feel and express  our emotions even though sometimes they were painful.  We brought in “the Feelings  Fairies” who represented some of our other, lighter emotions and showed how they could work together to support each other, including the more painful ones.

13 years on, my children have grown up and I’d like to share this story and concept with other children in the hope they too might find some helpful way of dealing with very difficult emotions .

WHAT INSPIRED ME?

Soon after my husband died I was lucky to discover “Balloons”, a local charity specialising in supporting children in Exeter, Mid and East Devon who have been or are soon to be bereaved  by a parent or a significant loved one. They provided my children with a lifeline of support which neither they nor I ever forgot.  Two years ago I trained with Balloons as a Grief Support Worker and now work as a volunteer, meeting with children to listen and support them through their grief.  I find this enormously rewarding work and am always humbled by the courage and the honesty shown by the children I am privileged  to work with. Throughout my time listening to children and indeed in my experience with my own,  I have noticed some common threads amongst many of them.  It is not unusual for them to express a very wide and complex array of emotions, simultaneously,  often contradicting each other and causing inner conflict and confusion. The Grief Goblin aims to address this mass of mixed emotions, unravel them and see the benefit of embracing each and every one for the gift they bring. 

A PICTURE TELLS 1000 WORDS

I knew the book would rely heavily on descriptive illustrations to support its message, so I commissioned a wonderful illustrator called Lynsey Shaw  who had already successfully published her own children’s books about grief. Lynsey’s beautiful, colourful images serve as a perfect platform to inspire a child’s imagination into a world of fantasy and nature.  The story is based around  a beautiful ancient yew tree that exists in the churchyard where my husband is buried.   In the story, living in and around the tree are the ‘Feelings Fairies’ and the goblin.  Whilst they are  flitting about changing with the weather and the seasons,  the yew tree stands strong, stable and constant. In an ever changing field of emotion, this in itself can be a mighty stabiliser and serves as a gentle reminder to bring us all back to nature.  The changing of the weather and the seasons is as old as time itself, but there is a consistency and balance that also co-exists.   The illustrations of the book aim to represent the child like qualities of the ‘Feelings Fairies’ and the comfort that comes from recognising and accepting that emotions and feelings, much like nature can change and remain the same simultaneously.

HOW MUCH DO I NEED?

Now I just need £2000 to cover the print run of 1000 copies of the book. The cost of the illustrations has been covered by myself and I will be producing this project completely profit free. Any donations raised over and above the costs for printing will be passed directly to “Balloons” for ongoing support of the  bereaved children of Devon.

  I will then distribute the books to various children’s bereavement charities, local hospices, hospitals and schools in East Devon free of charge.  I simply want to get this book and its message into places where it can be a helpful and supportive discussion aid.  

Every child experiences grief in their own individual way.  It is my hope and dream that  The Grief Goblin will  help and support younger children to understand and accept all of their mixed emotions, to give them a name and  find peace.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO GET A MENTION?

I’m so very grateful for every donation, and to get to my target sooner I’m offering a dedication in the book for anyone who’d like to remember their loved one  in this way.  All I ask is a minimum donation of £30, or £40  If you’d like a copy of the book too sent to your home.  

Thank you so much for reading my story.

This project successfully funded on 12th March 2024