A comic book created to help young people cope with bereavement has been launched with help from Dundee University.
When People Die: Stories from Young People is a 40-page publication filled with images, stories and insights from teenagers across Scotland who have experienced bereavement.
Experts from Dundee and Strathclyde universities worked in conjunction with the brave youngsters at a series of workshops held at Polmont Young Offenders Institute and charities Richmond’s Hope and Children’s Hospices Across Scotland (CHAS).
It is hoped the project can generate confident life stories for young people who are dealing with loss, and to reduce the stigma of discussing grief.
Supported by CHAS, Abbie Gunn, 18, and her younger sister Emily were among the teenagers who shared their experience for the comic.
The sisters from Airdrie lost their younger brother two years ago and struggled to cope with their grief.
Abbie said: “Taking part in the comic book was a good way for me to get my feelings out because I wasn’t talking to anyone about what I was going through and there were no resources to help me cope.
“I agreed to take part because I love writing and I was studying it at college at the time so I felt I was able to use my love for writing to help people going through a similar situation.
“It has helped me so much as I was literally talking to no one before I did the comic.
“Even though there were a few of us working on it, none of us spoke to each other about what happened to us but when we had finished we really came together.
“It was a nice experience to have people who understood what I was going through.”
As well as reaching youngsters, the comic will equip parents, carers, teachers and peers with the ability to support in the event of bereavement.
Project leader Dr Golnar Nabizadeh, lecturer in Comics Studies at Dundee, said: “This was an amazing project to work on and it brought our research team in contact with brilliant young people whose lived experiences has given them a perspective on grief far beyond their years.
“When we first held workshops, we asked the participants for their insights and tips on grief rather than asking them directly about their own experiences but some of the stories touch on their personal experiences in a very profound way.
“Throughout this process, we were really impressed by the detailed, thoughtful, and productive reflections and drawings generated by the young people.”
The comic is part of a larger project, ‘Developing confident life stories about child bereavement’, funded by the Scottish Universities Insight Institute.
