Lost But Found - by Lauren Persons (Paperback)

About the Book

Deals with one of the toughest issues a parent may ever have to face-explaining to a child that a loved one has died. Often, to protect them, parents leave children out of the grieving process.

Book Synopsis

Winner - The BookFest Awards 2024 (2nd Place)

Lost But Found: A Boy's Story of Grief and Recovery deals with one of the toughest issues a parent may ever have to face-explaining to a child that a loved one has died. Often, to protect them, parents leave children out of the grieving process. This book allows adults to travel with a young boy as he works to make sense of his loss-and, in turn, their own.

I wrote this book to allow children to ask questions and talk about their fears and feelings. What I have found is that often children have better insights on these hard life questions than the adults in the room!

"The endearing simplicity and musicality of Lauren's words burst with unspoken emotion, leaving room for every child's experience. Noah's illustrations portray tender human contact, comforting young readers and the families who love them." --Pegi Deitz Shea, award-winning children's book author

Lost But Found is a sweet book with beautiful pictures that tackles grief at a developmental level for a very young child. The ambiguous term "to lose" somebody is demystified, as a young boy comes to understand what happened to his father and how their connection lives on. -- Laurie Zelinger, PhD, ABPP, RPT-S, board certified psychologist and author, former director of New York Association for Play Therapy

Lost But Found is a brief story that faces a difficult and important topic--the loss of a parent. The story provides a two-pronged approach a caregiver can use as a starting point to discuss this delicate topic with a child: a sense of perspective and hope for the future, and the idea that we, as children, can find "pieces" of our parents around us and inside us. I appreciate the incentive to reflect on and remember who the lost parent was and how he/she lives on through his child. -- Isabella Cassina, MA, TP-S, CAGS, PhD student, project manager, trainer and continuing education program administrator (CEPA), INA International Academy for Play Therapy studies and Psychosocial Projects

"With simple, accessible words and drawings, Lost but Found perfectly captures the experience of loss, and the power of memory and love." -- Amy N. Ship

Review Quotes

"Lost But Found is written to help children understand the loss of a loved one. It is never easy to talk with a child about this subject, and the author provides a tender, truthful and believable story. It is written from the heart and will serve as a conversation starter in assisting a child's understanding of the grieving process. In addition, the beautiful illustrations provide the reader a sense that they are embraced and one with the story. I highly recommend this book for children and adults. -- Linda Cohen, elementary school principal

At any age, understanding death is confusing and complex. It is especially so for children. In Lost But Found, author Lauren Persons gently removes some of the mystery around loss and invites children into a comforting conversation around lasting belonging and hope. Illustrations by Noah Hrbek enrich this tender and much-needed children's book. -- Holli Kenley, - author Power Down & Parent Up and Pilates For Parenting

"Knowing Lauren Persons for over 20 years (and happily counting), this children's book reflects a genuine, heart full of emotion and love. If all people faced with difficulties had the courage and the dignity and the grace that Lauren Persons has, our world would be a better place for our children to live." --John Mascia, elementary school teacher