One of the nicest
gifts brought to the Lafayette community is the book, Mending the
Torn Fabric: For Those Who Grieve and Those Who Want to Help Them,
by Sarah Brabant, Ph.D.
Sarah first used the analogy of torn fabric when a bereaved mother
told her, "I know what grief feels like, I don't know what it looks
like." By placing an image with an intangible feeling, Sarah allows
grieving persons to visualize their path to healing. This book also
helps people recognize other behaviors and feelings of loss that might
not have an obvious association with the death. Mending the Torn Fabric
illustrates past, present and future loss eloquently by comparing
the relationship between the rips and tears in fabric, mending, embroidering
and colorful threads with the journey that is life. Tending to the
weak spots in the fabric of our life will strengthen and heal us.
If you are grieving a death, Sarah's compassionate writing style flows
across the page, offering you information, solace and guidance. Her
writing style and choice words makes for easy reading in a time when
your concentration levels are lower than usual. And at the end of
every chapter, you'll find reminders which affirm how important we
are in our grief process and how the work, and it is work, we are
doing will help ourselves heal.
Whether a professional has had the pleasure of working with Sarah,
her book offers another tool for those of us working with bereaved
people. Her book also has a chapter that supports her analogy of torn
fabric to grief in life. Her comparison is grounded in theory and
holds true to consistent suppositions about grief and is compatible
with the desired therapeutic goals.
Please invest in yourself and others. Mending the Torn Fabric may
be borrowed from The Olive Branch Library or purchased from local
bookstores. A portion of the royalties from Sarah's book have been
dedicated to The Grief Center of Southwest Louisiana. Please support
the center and purchase your copy of the book.
