But I Don’t Want to Say GOODBYE! BY Ta’Shay Mason – #RWYK CERTIFIED GREAT READ

Congratulations to Ta’Shay Mason for writing such a beautiful book!

But I Don’t Want to Say GOODBYE! is our latest Certified great Read!

LET’S HAVE A LOOK AT THE BOOK BLURB

But I don’t want to say GOODBYE !: A Child’s Journey Through Grief, Book 1

In this poignant and heartfelt book, author Ta’Shay Mason expertly crafts a tender story about how to make peace with the death of a parent … by honoring them.
Through soft and soothing words, the author weaves a story that shares both the commonality and uniqueness of loss, with the mother and child coming up with their own special way to honor and remember their beloved family member.
But I don’t want to say GOODBYE! is a perfect book to help any family experiencing grief and also for those young readers who might need help in understanding someone else who is going through a loss.

The death of a loved one is never easy to understand, let alone speak about. But for a little girl whose father has just died, the hardest thing is figuring out how to say goodbye. As Mommy makes funeral arrangements and tries to figure out the best way to say goodbye to a man who was loved by many, the little girl must find her own way to come to peace with her father’s death. As the funeral gets closer, will she find a way to say goodbye?

More about the author

Ta’Shay Mason, a Texas native, served sixteen years in the U.S. Army, obtained her master’s degree in social work from University of Texas at Arlington, and is a licensed social worker. She currently works at a Veterans Affairs (VA) Health Center as a social worker helping Veterans with mental health and substance use issues. She is also a volunteer group facilitator at a grief counseling center for children whose parent(s) has died.

Ta’Shay started writing to share inspirational stories with others and she began with the most painful event in her life, the death of her father. With the help of her family (including her military family), therapy, volunteering, and dealing with her emotions, Ta’Shay was finally able to say goodbye and wrote her first children’s book, But I don’t want to say GOODBYE! which was released this year.

Our Review

Explaining death or a tragedy to a child is one of the toughest tasks a parent will face. But I Don’t Want to Say GOODBYE!, a children’s picture book written by Ta’Shay Mason is a gentle first introduction to the concepts of loss, death, and remembrance.

But I Don’t Want to Say GOODBYE! acknowledges how difficult it is to say goodbye permanently to someone you loved. The book explores a range of possible reactions and emotions from the perspective of a little girl who has just lost her father and isn’t ready to say goodbye. Her mother puts together a funeral for her father, where friends and family members come together to share nice stories and celebrate her father’s life. They come up with a unique idea to keep her father’s memories alive in their lives. They plan to do something that his father loved to do.  Protecting the earth, a cause close to his heart. Ta’Shay Mason beautifully outlines the reasons why people die, introduces what a funeral is, and explores the difficult feelings and emotions of saying goodbye and missing someone very much. This book makes an excellent discussion starter. Colorful & whimsical Illustrations will help make the subject matter more approachable for young children.

But I Don’t Want to Say GOODBYE! is perfect in its simplicity and empathy. It normalizes death and grief for even the youngest readers. It covers a spectrum of emotions and lets kids know they are not alone in how they are feeling, while also assuring them that they can go on living, even when they are sad.

This is a truly special and important book—a real must-have–for young children.

Listen to Ta’Shay’s appearance on the Reading With Your Kids Podcast

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