New release
When Words Are Missing.
How memories become a farewell that carries us.
When Words Are Missing is a book for people looking for words after the loss of someone they love. When Words Are Missing offers a gentle starting point for remembrance and farewell. It is also for celebrants, pastors and funeral directors who want to understand how a personal funeral speech can grow from memories, listening and honest conversations. When Words Are Missing offers a personal, honest and dignified approach to farewell ceremonies and shows how a meaningful funeral speech can take shape without relying on ready-made phrases.
View on Amazon ↗What it is about
When Words Are Missing: the heart of a personal funeral speech without ready-made phrases.
When someone dies, many memories remain—and so does the question of how they can become a personal funeral speech. This book shows a way that begins with listening, and When Words Are Missing keeps that approach close to real family conversations.
Through one family’s story, the book shows how first conversations, small observations and seemingly incidental details come together to make a person recognisable. It explores the quiet work behind a personal funeral speech: listening carefully, asking gentle questions and noticing the details that make a life unique. Readers will find encouragement for the moments when grief makes language difficult, as well as practical inspiration for gathering memories and shaping them into a farewell that feels true. The book also considers the role of music, rituals, family perspectives and complicated relationships. Not every memory is simple, and not every farewell can be reduced to a polished biography. A meaningful ceremony can make room for tenderness, uncertainty, gratitude and even silence. For celebrants and funeral directors, When Words Are Missing offers a grounded way to begin conversations and discover the stories that matter. For families, it explains how personal details can become words that others recognise and carry with them. The result is an invitation to approach a funeral ceremony with honesty, dignity and care. When Words Are Missing keeps this invitation practical and personal for families and professionals. When Words Are Missing is written in a warm and accessible way, without pretending that grief follows a fixed process. It speaks to people who are preparing a funeral, remembering someone close or searching for language after a difficult loss. It also shows why a good funeral speech is more than a collection of facts: it creates a space where a person’s character, relationships and everyday presence can be remembered. Personal stories, shared rituals and carefully chosen words can help families feel seen and can give a ceremony a shape that belongs to them. This is the central idea behind When Words Are Missing: a farewell becomes meaningful when it sounds like the life it is honouring. In that sense, the book is both a compassionate companion and a practical starting point for anyone who wants to remember well and speak with care. It helps turn difficult memories into a shared language for farewell, remembrance and hope. When Words Are Missing invites readers to pause, listen and find a form of goodbye that honours both the person who has died and the people who remain, with courage and compassion.
Inside the book
The craft of listening in When Words Are Missing.
- How a first conversation can begin when no one knows where to start.
- How small details can tell more than a résumé.
- How music, rituals and different family perspectives can find their place.
- How difficult relationships can be named honestly without accusation.
- How memories become a text that can be spoken and heard.
Who this book is for
For people saying goodbye. For celebrants, pastors and funeral directors.