Children Helping Children with Grief: My Path to Founding the Dougy Center for Grieving Children and Their Families

In 1982, Beverly Chappell met Dougy Turno, a young boy suffering from an inoperable brain tumor. Dougy’s wisdom, compassion, and thirst for life far exceeded his 13 years. His death inspired Bev, a registered nurse working in the area of death and dying, to start support groups for grieving children. At the time, medical and psychological professionals did not widely acknowledge that children grieve. Undaunted, and with the help of her mentor, Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, Bev founded The Dougy Center. Since its founding, the center has served more than 15,000 children and their families, and its training program has taught thousands of others how to help children cope with death. In this book, Beverly Chappell writes about her work and the center, and about the many grieving families she’s met over the years – families who have inspired her to continue her groundbreaking work.