No Longer Alone by Joseph Coelho
I was not surprised to read that Joseph Coelho is a poet, for this book is a poem in prose that touches what it is to reel from and then begin to find a balance after the loss of someone precious.
The child narrator, we come to understand, mostly through the sensitive illustrations on which the words float, has lost her mother. She takes us with her into her turmoil in such a way that we see her from inside but from outside too.
This could help a child who has lost a central person, or perhaps even more a child who has a bereaved friend. I remember when I was about eight the parents of a classmate died in a car crash. We all felt shocked and upset for him, but I for one had no way of understanding how to help or support. No Longer Alone offers more than clues, it opens understanding.
