A Hug From Heaven

I had already read this author's book Rare Bird, about the freak accident that took the life of her then 12-year-old son. Having followed her blog and on Facebook since then, I have learned a lot about grief and the particular pain of losing a child. Most material on grief is written for adults, and many people don't know what words to use to talk to children about losing a sibling, other family member, or friend. In A Hug From Heaven, Anna Donaldson writes in a way that helps an adult explain to a child that they will experience different feelings. It's okay to feel sad and cry; they can think of and look for things that remind them of the person they are missing, and it's good for the child to talk about the person they loved and even come up with special ways to remember this special person. While it's definitely geared towards children, my own mother died this year. Her illness came on quite unexpectedly and we had only the summer with her. Even now, I'm not ready to dive into books written for adults about grief, and A Hug From Heaven was a simple and gentle reminder that she'll be with me forever.

I have read Anna's blog for years and admired her candid, poignant writing about grief. My father died in 2018 and my 8 year old daughter has very recently begin to realize that he is not coming back. It has been hard for her to process and I hoped this book would read her confort. The beautiful words and illustrations brought me comfort too. Grief feels lonely sometimes and I felt that other people know how I feel. What a feeling. My daughter asked to read the book 3 times and she told me she thought her Papa would give her a hug from Heaven soon.

A Hug from Heaven offers simple and clear messages of hope for children who have experienced the loss of a close loved one. Rather than focus on the loved one being in Heaven and out of sight forever, the book offers the grieving child the idea that their loved one never dies and will never leave them. Everywhere they go, for the rest of their lives, their loved one will be with them, offering love and support. There are suggestions on how the child can keep their loved one present in their lives, validating the child's need for continuing the relationship they had with the one who has died. Both adults and children will benefit from the beautiful messages of hope, so very badly needed when we lose a close family member.

I am so glad I found this book. I had a very close friend pass away from cancer last week and she had a young daughter she left behind. I bought this book for her daughter. The book is so sweet and such a timely word! It talks about how it’s ok to cry and that God wants to show you His love. He wants to remind you that (your loved one) is sending love and hugs from heaven. They are in no more pain/sickness. What really blew me away is that God has been sending “winks” from heaven to all of us through birds and butterflies just like the book says! (See photo). Such a perfect book while navigating this very hard time. Thank you for writing and sharing this sweet book with the world!

I ordered this last week and we just read it last night. My brother recently passed and my 3 kids (12, 5, 5) are having a hard time with it. Beautifully written and says all the things we want to say as adults and as children going through this grief that we may not be able to articulate.

This is a really beautiful book. When my dad died, and my kids were struggling to express their feelings and confusion and misunderstanding about why their best buddy Papa passed suddenly, this book was as much a comfort to them as it was to me. I don’t think it matters how old you are, when your dad dies you suddenly feel like a lost little kid again. This book helped me at 33, and helped my kids as well. I never would have thought that a butterfly pestering me might actually be my dad checking up on us and his way of hugging us from Heaven but now I appreciate those little things. Thank you for writing this book.

I purchased this beautiful book to tell my 4 and 5 year old grandsons about the passing of their beloved grandfather. It was perfect In the moment and they have asked for it to be read again several times since then. I’ve shared it with friends experiencing loss with young children. Thank you for writing such a wonderful book Anna and giving me such a valuable and special tool to help the people I love and friends going through the same difficult times. Your book provides a light in the darkness just like rare bird and I highly recommend it.

I purchased this for my 8 year old daughter after she tragically lost her older brother. It is perfect. It puts into words all the thoughts we have had in our head and is a book that we will read again and again. It had brought her peace and comfort, but also let her know that it is normal to be sad or angry at times. I can not speak highly enough about it. Thank you for writing such a perfect book 💙

Would love in hard cover! Great story for someone who has experienced a loss either a child or parent