Cancer is the number one cause of death from disease in children up to the age of fifteen. Some two thousand children die of cancer each year. In this at once comprehensive and compassionate book, a noted authority sheds light on all the problems and opportunities- confronting families with a dying child who is afflicted with any one of a number of terminal illnesses. This book provides necessary information for parents and relatives who have faced the loss of a child or who are facing an impending loss. It is also written for friends, teachers, counselors, and health-care professionals. Among the major topics are: Fear of Death; To Tell or Not To Tell; Death and the Child; The Child and Family; The Dying Adolescent; Parental Grief and Guilt; Teacher and Child; and Hospice Care for the Dying Child. The author takes into consideration the physical changes and the emotional growth and turmoil that the dying child experiences and offers guidance on what is often a hard choice for many parents: whether to have the ailing child in the home, the hospital, or in the care of a hospice. Dr. Buckingham further delineates the relationship between the sick child and his or her peers and siblings in the home environment.

Included in the appendices are a mother's moving account of caring for her dying son; the most asked questions on the part of parents; and listings of local, regional, and national agencies that give assistance, including hospice and home-care pro- grams, and national bereavement support groups. Written from the author's first- hand, professional experience, A Special Kind of Love is a well-reasoned, sensitive book on a difficult topic.