I've been wanting to add this page for a while but just haven't had the opportunity. I received an email the other day from a woman by the name of Elizabeth DeVita-Raeburn, and she inspired me to finally do this page.

She wrote a book on Sibling Loss, the name is: THE EMPTY ROOM, ISBN: 0-7432-0151-5. It's publishing date is August 2004. Price is $23.00. Below is a little bit about the book. It sounds like a very good book, so maybe you'll want to make a note of it.

In 1972, when the author was six, her nine-year-old brother, Ted, developed huge bruises all over his body. Diagnosed with aplastic anemia, a rare immune deficiency disease, Ted lived in a sterile hospital "bubble room" until his death eight years later. In this beautifully written account, DeVita-Raeburn, a science journalist, describes how Ted's life and death have affected her and, drawing on 77 interviews with others who have lost siblings, examines a subject that has largely been overlooked. DeVita-Raeburn considers survivors, rather than academicians or researchers, to be the real experts on this subject. Many gripping stories are told by brothers and sisters of all ages, including those who have endured the death of a twin. In order to protect their other children and deal with their own grief, many parents, like DeVita-Raeburn's own, did not often discuss the deaths and, in a sense, deprived the surviving siblings of the mourning process. In haunting and evocative narratives, many of those interviewed share how they finally found a way, years later, to acknowledge their terrible loss. DeVita-Raeburn recalls her relationship with the brother who loved and teased her, as well as his bravery during the years of isolation when almost no one touched him. "Meredith," who suddenly lost her beloved teenage brother to cancer, now runs marathons in his memory, among other coping strategies. DeVita-Raeburn recounts the interviews she conducted with her own parents and movingly illuminates the tragic situation of her father, an oncologist, who could not save his own son, and her mother, who found the inner strength do her best for her dying son.

"This is a poignant exploration of a seriously neglected topic--the impact of the death of a sibling. It is a moving contribution to our understanding of sibling relationships and will surely be helpful to those coping with the grief of bereavement."

--Judy Dunn, author of Sisters and Brothers and Professor, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London

"The death of a sibling is a curiously neglected area in modern psychology, and in The Empty Room, Elizabeth DeVita-Raeburn delves into this particular and poignant category of trauma. Her book is compassionate and generous and will be a great solace to people isolated in the pain of such loss."

--Andrew Solomon author of The Noonday Demon

"This book is a factual description of my own fictional preoccupations, and I found myself thinking over and over, The Empty Room is a book that could save lives. Wondering what a world that included the missing brother or sister would look like, living with 'phantom pain' can try the spirit and take up a lifetime. Elizabeth DeVita-Raeburn has offered a wonderful gift, an invaluable source for both solace and understanding. This book is not only for those who have lost siblings, but for all of us who have siblings and have struggled with the joys and mysteries of a mingled identity."

--Judith Guest, author of Ordinary People and The Tarnished Eye

"Elizabeth DeVita-Raeburn's The Empty Room is a very welcome addition to the scant literature on sibling loss. In telling her own story, as well as the stories of those she interviewed for the book, DeVita-Raeburn draws us into the experience of both children and adults who have lost a brother or sister. It amazes me that sibling loss continues to go unrecognized as the potentially life-changing event that it is. Here's a book that acknowledges that pain and will help survivors begin to heal."

--Helen Rosen, Ph.D., author of Unspoken Grief: Coping with Childhood Sibling Loss

"The journalistic skills of DeVita-Raeburn, combined with her courage in sharing her own personal story of her complex responses and feelings to her brother's illness and death, have produced a book which represents a significant step in portraying the profound consequences of sibling loss. Her story is destined to reach the hearts of many readers, not only those of us whose personal journey of discovery and healing resonates with hers."

--Joanna H. Fanos, author of Sibling Loss

"This is a brave, wise, and above all open-minded look at a truth that seems to have been ignored almost entirely: sibling love and sibling loss are as profound as any other experiences in our family lives, and do impact us, enormously, forever. It's as if Elizabeth DeVita-Raeburn has opened a new window on a landscape I thought I knew, and suddenly, after all these years, I can see my own home ground much more clearly."

--Reeve Lindbergh, author of Under a Wing

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