Grief arrives like a monster-unexpected, strange, and a little scary. But with courage, kindness and love, one boy learns that even the biggest feelings can change, and they don’t have to be scary forever.

One ordinary morning at breakfast, a little boy looks out the window and sees something he never expected-a monster named Grief. At first, Grief feels heavy. It never leaves. It lingers no matter where he goes.

But as time passes, the boy begins to notice that the grief monster grows lighter, smaller, and sometimes even hard to find. Slowly, he discovers that maybe Grief isn’t so monstrous after all-and that it can even become a friend.

A gentle, hopeful story to help children and families navigate loss, big emotions and the ways love can carry us through.

Perfect for children coping with grief, loss or big feelings.

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After Brian died in March 2023, I was frustrated there were so few children’s books that appropriately addressed grief for what it is–a permanent part of life. I’ve always been a writer and started dabbling with jotting down my own way of describing grief in child-friendly terms. The Grief Monster found its way to the page in early 2024 and sat in my drafts for months. A friend who also intimately knows grief encouraged me to hire an illustrator and make the draft and dream of The Grief Monster a reality.

The Grief Monster is written and illustrated to help children and grownups understand that grief is ever-evolving. It often comes in like a storm and is scary. It can hurt. It can make us angry and scared. But with time, love and patience, it can transform into something less ferocious.

The Grief Monster is written from my own experience with traumatic grief born of death, but the book itself never mentions death or dying because grief can come from so many circumstances. Rather, it solely focuses on the emotion of grief. Grief can come from death. It can come from divorce, from a diagnosis, from divorce, from a friend moving away, from the loss of a pet, and from any change that causes sadness.

Grief is grief and it deserves to be witnessed and respected.

I hope you find The Grief Monster to be a source of comfort and hope.

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Interested in helping to get The Grief Monster into the hands of families who need it? Here’s how!