Sometimes Life Sucks

A great book for parents and teachers to use with teens struggling with grief and loss.

A valuable resource for teenagers who are struggling to cope with some kind of loss or grief, and for the people who love them and want to help.

As adults, we are happy to talk about our sex lives in a crowded pub; we’re happy to divulge details of our money problems on a mobile phone while on crowded public transport; we easily discuss the intricacies of childbirth to whoever will listen. Yet, we all avoid conversations about the one certainty of human existence: death. Our avoidance of death and grief means we are not only ill-informed and unprepared when it comes into our lives, we also reinforce to young people around us that death is a taboo subject and something to be feared.

Teenagers experience loss in all sorts of ways. Whether it’s the death of a grandparent or family pet, a teen fatality in a car crash or suicide, a peer with terminal illness, living without a mum or dad or the death of a celebrity, like everyone else, teenagers also struggle to come to terms with their shock and grief. With such limited resources available to them, Molly Carlile thought it was important to write a book to help them navigate through those difficult times.

While written for teenagers, Sometimes Life Sucks is the sort of book parents, other family members, educators and counsellors are able to give to a teen to help them through a difficult situation, or refer to themselves.

About the Author

Playwright, educator, former palliative care nurse, Molly Carlile is in an expert in the care of the dying, and strong advocate of understanding kids' needs around the death of those they love. She's a regular media commentator, and presenter to medical forums and conferences.