When Little Bird's beloved mum dies suddenly, she finds herself grounded by sadness. Life loses all meaning as she struggles to get by without her. But slowly Little Bird learns to live again as she comes to understand that her mum will be with her always through memories and never ending love...

This beautifully illustrated book is a moving tale of hope after loss, weaving recognised grief models into an uplifting story... a story that shows how unbreakable bonds can help the world grow bigger again around devastating grief.

"This poignant and sensitively written book provides the opportunity to reflect on the impact of loss on bereaved children and adults, offering insight and understanding into normal grief reactions and to finding a way forward."

- Janet Gear, Cruse Bereavement Support Supervisor and Volunteer.

"This book will be a gift to families facing losses in their lives. A story of how grieving and smiling are acceptable companions in the dual process of grief."

- Ted Bowman, Author and Grief Educator.

I am so pleased to be offering you my grief book, Little Bird and the Sky that got Bigger.

Little Bird’s creation is part of a hugely emotional and life changing journey that began with the death of my parents. Their loss showed me that grief can be a lonely place. A place where conversations dry up or don’t even start due to social awkwardness and taboos around the subject of death and illness. I met so many people who had so much to say but no one to say it to, living instead in the saddest of silences. 


It was in defiance of that isolating silence that I started Four Little Words, an on line grief community that grew and grew and now connects thousands of us through the loss of our loved ones. Through my voluntary work with bereavement charity Cruse and  my own private counselling practice, I have had the privilege to walk alongside many bereaved clients as they make their way through the difficult emotions that can accompany grief. And then came Little Bird. 

Beautifully illustrated by the very talented artist, Freya Thompson, my book incorporates recognised grief models into the story which aims to show how unbreakable bonds can help the world grow bigger again around devastating grief. We see Little Bird realise that it’s ok to sit with her sadness whilst allowing allow happier moments in too as she begins to look to the future.  This is the premise of the dual process model which advocates that healthy grief is letting ourselves move back and forth between loss and new life.

A theme central to the book and indeed its title, is the hope offered by the Tonkins model …we don’t have to leave our grief behind but in time, our world will grow around it again making it less painful and all consuming. Just as Little bird finds out,  the sky can grow bigger again for us.. 

The theory that I  find the most useful and comforting both personally and professionally, the one that helped me the most when my parents died  is that of continuing bonds. Death ends a life not a relationship.  By saying someone’s name, sharing their story, remembering them and cherishing their legacy we can keep them in our present life even though they are not physically there…little Bird feels her mum beside her as she flies onwards into her new sky, full of her mum’‘s love and all her memories.

I am aiming to donate as many copies of Little Bird as I can to local schools to help bereaved children and give teachers a tool to support their pupils through their pain. My biggest wish for my book is that it will help to start those important conversations around grief, maybe making them a bit easier. I hope more than anything that it brings comfort and understanding to little birds, big birds or any birds who have lost someone they love. ❤️