The Volume of Quiet – Helping Little Hearts Cope With Grief

A Gentle Children's Bereavement Book About Sibling Loss, Guilt and Big Feelings 

Leo's home used to be a Level 10.

Full of laughter, muddy football boots on the porch and his sister Maya's firecracker laugh.

Then Maya dies.

And everything changes.

The house becomes a Level 1.

Quiet. Heavy. Different.

But Leo is carrying something even heavier than the silence. He remembers the "mean words" he once said to his sister and begins to wonder whether his anger somehow caused her heart to stop.

What if his words made Maya die? What if his anger broke the house?

Helping Children Understand Sibling Loss and Guilt

The Volume of Quiet is a gentle and emotionally sensitive children's bereavement book, created to support children navigating the death of a brother or sister.

Through Leo's story, the book compassionately addresses an important but often overlooked part of childhood grief: magical thinking and guilt.

Young children can sometimes believe that something they thought, said or did caused a death. The Volume of Quiet helps children understand, in clear and age-appropriate language, that their thoughts, words and feelings cannot cause someone to die.

Through Leo's Journey, Children Learn:

• That thoughts, angry feelings and words cannot cause someone to die

• That they are not responsible for the death of someone they love

• That grief can come and go in waves

• That sadness, anger, worry and even happiness can all be part of grief

• That laughing and having fun doesn't mean forgetting the person who died

• That every member of a family may grieve differently

• That a family doesn't have to return to "Level 10" to begin healing

• That love and memories continue even when the house feels quiet

The Toolkit for Big Feelings

The book includes a practical Toolkit for Big Feelings, designed for children and caregivers to explore together.

The toolkit encourages children to identify and express difficult emotions while giving trusted adults gentle ways to start conversations about grief, guilt, anger, sadness and reassurance.

It creates opportunities for children to ask the questions they may otherwise be afraid to say out loud.

Who Is This Book For?

The Volume of Quiet may be particularly helpful for:

• Children grieving the death of a brother or sister

• Children experiencing guilt or magical thinking following a death

• Parents and carers supporting a bereaved child

• Primary schools and teachers

• School counsellors, pastoral teams and wellbeing staff

• Child therapists and psychologists

• Hospices and children's bereavement services

• Bereavement support groups

A Story About Finding Your Family's New Volume

Healing doesn't mean pretending everything is the way it was before.

And it doesn't mean forgetting.

For Leo and his family, it means slowly discovering that their home may not sound exactly like the old Level 10 again — but it doesn't have to remain at Level 1 forever either.

Because grief doesn't mean staying at Level 1 forever.

Part of the Helping Little Hearts Cope With Grief series.

Children's Bereavement Book | Sibling Loss | Childhood Grief & Guilt | Includes Toolkit for Big Feelings