Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
Death is not unnatural and grieving is not a process to be avoided, rushed or silenced. This book offers powerful lessons about the cycle of life and the power of people with developmental disabilities to master deep emotional challenges.
Linda Van Dyke employs the universal languages of art, music and drama to help the people she counsels to explore the newness and the wide range of feelings that come with a death loss. She invites them to see the beauty of the final separation of the physical body from the eternal spirit.
Underlying the Here Comes the Balloon method is a firm belief in the healing spirit of God. More than just offering a ceremony and soothing words, Ms. Van Dyke shows genuine compassion and close attention to the varied needs and desires of each individual who faces a death loss. She demonstrates how to bring out the strengths in the person who is grieving, and how to help them envision a full life after the crisis.
Linda Van Dyke's life work is inseparable from her spiritual path. Her joy and pain are woven through the stories. And, her message to professionals and others who serve people with developmental disabilities is one of hope, strength and commitment.