Diane Namm

A Gentle Guide for Grieving Hearts

This book is a truly beautiful and comforting read, especially for families with children who are going through the difficult experience of loss. It offers a gentle and sensitive way to explain what happens after someone passes away, making it easier for young minds to understand something that’s often hard to talk about.

What makes this book stand out is how it gives children permission to feel their emotions while also reminding them that there are still show more ways to remember and honor the person who is gone. It doesn’t shy away from the truth, but it delivers it in such a soft, reassuring tone that it feels like a warm hug during a hard time.

I believe this book opens the door for important conversations within families. It helps both children and adults process grief in a way that feels safe, loving, and hopeful. It’s not just a story—it’s a tool for healing.

Highly recommended for any family navigating loss with young ones. show less

I picked up What Happens After? to review it for a book site, and I’m really glad I did. I’ve always been interested in mental health, especially when it comes to helping kids deal with big emotions—and this book does a great job of gently explaining grief in a way that kids can actually understand.

It’s written simply, without being too sad or heavy, and I think a lot of kids (and even some teens) could benefit from it. It gives them a way to process loss without feeling rushed or show more confused about their feelings.

The illustrations are really well done too—soft and supportive without being triggering or overly emotional. They match the tone of the book perfectly.

Overall, it’s a lovely little read. Straightforward, kind, and exactly the sort of book I’d recommend to parents, teachers, or anyone trying to help a young child understand grief. show less

What Happens After by Diane Namm is an incredibly sweet book about those left behind after death. The book is 23 pages long with full page color illustrations and one to two sentences of text per page. I appreciate that this book could be read to children for either the death of a person or animal as it does not specifically mention either. The illustrations has both the mourning of pets and animals but the text itself is very neutral. Speaking of neutral, it also does not mention religion show more at all, so it could be used in a wide variety of households or settings. Instead of focusing on what happens to the body or soul of the deceased, this book focuses on the feelings those behind have and how we might remember the person/animal. I appreciate how it gives words to those feelings. Here is an excerpt from the book that shows this, “it’s really hard for those who remain behind. And it can be hard for a long, long time. That’s all right. It takes as long as it takes.” I have four children 6 and under and I would/will unhesitatingly read this to them should we need to. I would also consider gifting this book to someone else as I think the neutral nature of it would allow for this nicely. show less

Warm, diverse illustrations. Simple, heartfelt message. There's so much to love about this book. It's a difficult topic and Dianne Namm does a beautiful job of relating to those who have suffered loss. I appreciate that it can be used in the classroom since it has no overt religious themes. Love that you have a variety of individuals represented from a small child who died from cancer, a grandparent and a pet dog. I will definitely be recommending this to my fellow teachers. I also think it show more would be a great book to have in hospital libraries for children. show less