
亲丧:失去父母
Parent Loss
Losing a parent is one of the deepest losses a person can experience. This collection includes books and films written in Mandarin by Chinese creators, thoughtfully chosen to help readers process this pain with compassion and care. Through honest storytelling and cultural understanding, these resources explore grief, love, and memory. Suitable for children, teens, and adults, they offer comfort across generations and support healing while honoring the lasting bond with a parent.
失去父母是人生中最深切的哀伤之一。本书单收录了由中国创作者以中文创作的图书与电影资源,精心挑选,温柔陪伴读者理解失去的痛苦、珍藏回忆与情感。这些作品真诚动人,结合文化背景,适合儿童、青少年与成人阅读与观看,帮助各年龄段的读者在跨代共情中疗愈心灵,继续与已故亲人保持心灵的联系。
Curated by Luming Zhang, MLS (University of Washington), hosted by the Grievers Library.
If you, or someone you know, is experiencing grief, the Grievers Library offers a range of resources to support you.
本书单由华盛顿大学图书馆与信息学硕士Luming Zhang策划,收录于哀悼者图书馆。
如果您或您身边的家人、朋友正在经历哀伤,悼亡者图书馆提供丰富资源,陪伴您度过难关。
Title: 長假:母親的故事 (The Long Holiday: A Mother's Story)
Director/Screenwriter: 鄭芬芬 (Zheng Fenfen)
Description:
English: Diagnosed with terminal cancer, Meigui must come to terms with her own mortality while preparing her family to live on without her—particularly her young son and a husband struggling with gambling addiction. The Long Holiday offers a sensitive, emotionally layered portrayal of a dying mother's final efforts to leave peace, structure, and love behind. The story emphasizes the complexity of anticipatory grief and the resilience of familial bonds.
中文简介: 面对癌症末期,玫瑰努力安排身后事,特别是希望丈夫与年幼儿子能独立面对未来。影片温柔刻画了一位母亲在生命尾声时的坚韧、爱与未竟之愿,同时展现了家庭在预期性哀伤下的脆弱与修复力量。

Why I Recomend It:
English: This film captures the emotional and practical complexity of anticipatory grief, making it an essential resource for understanding how families prepare for loss and preserve love across generations.
中文推荐理由: 细腻呈现面对临终的情感挣扎与家庭调适,是探讨家庭哀伤预备与代际连结的珍贵影视作品。
Title: 我的父亲母亲 (The Road Home)
Director: 张艺谋 (Zhang Yimou)
Description:
English: When his father dies, a man returns to his rural hometown and listens as his elderly mother recounts her story of first love—how she fell in love with his father decades earlier. Told in flashback, The Road Home is a visually lyrical and emotionally quiet film about mourning, memory, and the lasting imprint of love. It reflects how grief is often softened and enriched by remembrance, and how stories of love help survivors carry the weight of loss.
中文简介: 父亲去世后,儿子回到乡村老家,聆听年迈母亲讲述与父亲相识相爱的往事。影片以倒叙与细腻影像交织,温柔描绘丧亲后的回忆与哀悼,展现爱情如何跨越死亡,陪伴幸存者继续前行。

Why I Recomend It:
English: This film honors grief through the lens of first love and memory, portraying how a son and mother process loss by revisiting the quiet beauty of life shared.
中文推荐理由: 以抒情影像诠释亲情与爱在丧亲后的延续,是关于哀悼与记忆力量的经典作品。
Title: 慢別書 (The Long Farewell)
Director/Producer: 陳怡分 (Chen Yifen)
Description:
English: The Long Farewell is a video letter created by filmmaker Chen Yifen after the sudden death of her father and during her mother’s terminal illness. Blending intimate home footage with quiet observation, the film captures her emotional journey as she returns home to live with her mother, documenting everyday moments, ceremonies, and her longing for permanence through the camera lens. It is a tender, meditative reflection on how grief unfolds slowly—and how love and presence remain even through absence.
中文简介: 导演陈怡分在父亲骤逝、母亲病危之际,用影像纪录归乡陪伴母亲的过程。影片以家庭日常、仪式细节与静默凝视交织,呈现悲伤的缓慢展开,以及爱与陪伴如何超越死亡延续下来,是一部极具个人性与疗愈力的影像书信。

Why I Recomend It:
English: This film offers a profoundly personal view of mourning, using the act of filming to navigate loss, anticipatory grief, and memory-making, making it an essential resource in understanding grief as lived experience.
中文推荐理由: 以影像作为哀悼与记忆修复的工具,温柔呈现亲丧经验,是理解预期性哀伤与生死陪伴的重要纪录片。
Title: 心灵时钟 (Packages from Daddy)
Director/Screenwriter: 蔡银娟 (Cai Yinjuan)
Description:
English: After the sudden death of his father, 9-year-old Ye Lan receives an antique clock posthumously sent by his dad—a mysterious object that appears broken, its second hand frozen like the moment his father's life stopped. As Ye Lan sets out to fix the clock, he embarks on a journey of emotional discovery, family reconnection, and hope. Through gentle visuals and heartfelt storytelling, Packages from Daddy explores how children understand death and find healing in memory, creativity, and love.
中文简介: 九岁的叶澜在父亲突然而去后,收到父亲生前寄出的老式时钟——秒针停滞,仿佛时间在那一刻凝固。修复时钟的旅程成为他疗愈自我、重建亲情与重新拥抱希望的过程。影片以细腻画面与温柔叙事,探讨儿童如何通过记忆与创意面对丧父之痛。

Why I Recomend It:
English: This film sensitively portrays childhood grief and the healing power of imagination and emotional connection, making it ideal for family grief support and intergenerational conversation.
中文推荐理由: 是细腻描绘儿童哀伤、家庭连结与创造性疗愈的优秀影视作品,适合家庭观影与哀伤教育。
Title: 遣悲懷 (Qian Bei Huai)
Author: 駱以軍 (Luo Yijun)
Description:
English: Qian Bei Huai is Luo Yijun’s literary reckoning with the death of his father. Through fragmented memories, philosophical musings, and autofiction, the novel explores how grief reshapes language, time, and identity. It’s both a personal elegy and a structural experiment in how we carry sorrow—and how writing can both witness and process irreparable loss. The novel draws its title from a classic Tang poem, anchoring the emotional scope in literary tradition.
中文简介: 《遣悲怀》是骆以军以父亲之死为契机的文学探索。作品通过破碎记忆、哲学思考与自传式虚构,描绘哀伤如何重塑语言、时间与自我认知。以唐代诗题命名,文本在私人挽歌与文体实验之间展开,探讨书写如何见证与修复无法弥补的失落。

Why I Recomend It:
English: This novel offers a profound literary meditation on the death of a parent, using autofiction and fragmented memory to navigate the psychological and emotional contours of grief.
中文推荐理由: 以高度文学性与结构创新描写丧父之痛,是哀伤书写与传统文化连接的重要范例。
Title: 诀离记 (Miss Mom Forever)
Author: 钟文音 (Zhong Wenyin)
Description:
English: In this literary memoir, Zhong Wenyin reflects on the death of her mother with lyrical intensity and psychological depth. Blending essay, diary, and philosophical musing, Miss Mom Forever traces the emotional landscape of loss, from unresolved tension to spiritual closeness after death. It is a work of profound tenderness, confronting the silence and sorrow that often accompany maternal relationships—and offering insight into how grief can transform into lasting remembrance and love.
中文简介: 钟文音以散文、日记与哲思交织,细腻回顾母亲离世后的心灵旅程。从未解的矛盾到亡后的亲密,本书展现了哀伤如何转化为温柔的记忆与持续的情感连接。

Why I Recomend It:
English: A beautifully written meditation on maternal loss and emotional transformation.
中文推荐理由: 以深情细腻的笔触书写母亲之失,富有哲思与情感穿透力,是重要的哀悼文学作品。
Title: 歸海 (Where Waters Meet)
Author: 張翎 (Zhang Ling)
Description:
English: In Where Waters Meet, a woman in the Chinese diaspora reflects on her late mother’s life while uncovering secrets and long-buried grief. The novel navigates complex emotional terrain—how memory, silence, and geography shape the grieving process. Through lyrical storytelling and emotional depth, Zhang Ling examines what it means to mourn someone you never fully understood, and how understanding arrives only after loss.
中文简介: 女儿在母亲去世后,踏上追寻母亲过往的旅程。在跨文化背景下,她发现沉埋的秘密与未曾解开的伤痛。本书细致描绘记忆、沉默与地理距离如何影响哀悼过程。

Why I Recomend It:
English: A powerful portrait of transgenerational grief, diaspora identity, and emotional reconciliation.
中文推荐理由: 深度刻画代际创伤与文化认同下的哀悼旅程,是理解流亡与失落经验的重要文本。
Title: 两个人的晚餐 (Dinner for Two)
Author: 叶眉 (Ye Mei)
Description:
English: After the sudden death of food columnist Qiu Chi from cancer, her husband Zhao Yixing finds himself overwhelmed with loneliness and the responsibilities of raising their daughter alone. Through cooking and reading his late wife's writings, Zhao slowly rebuilds a life filled with meaning, warmth, and connection. At the dining table—life's emotional stage—father and daughter share meals, reopen hearts, and gradually move beyond sorrow.
中文简介: 美食专栏作家秋池因癌症骤然离世,丈夫赵一行在孤独与育儿的重担中挣扎。他通过重拾料理与阅读妻子的文字,逐渐重建起有温度、有连结的生活。餐桌成为父女重新缝合情感与走出悲伤的场域。

Why I Recomend It:
English: This novel blends food, memory, and grief into a tender story of emotional healing.
中文推荐理由: 以饮食为情感线索,细腻描写亲人离世后的修复与重生,是温柔深刻的哀伤叙事。
Title: 大約在冬季 (Somewhere in Winter)
Author: 饒雪漫 (Rao Xueman)
Description:
English: Nian has lived in Los Angeles since childhood, but after her father's death, her relationship with her mother becomes distant and strained. When the two return to China together, old wounds are reopened and emotional rifts deepen. Set against the backdrop of winter and migration, this novel explores grief through silence, cultural memory, and the difficulty of reconnecting with those we love most.
中文简介: 念从小在洛杉矶长大,在父亲去世后,与母亲的关系渐行渐远。一次回到中国的旅程中,她重新面对家族创伤与疏离感。本书以冬季为背景,细腻描绘哀伤在移民与代际情感中的流动与困境。

Why I Recomend It:
English: This novel reveals how grief lingers silently within families across oceans and generations.
中文推荐理由: 以静默细腻描绘跨文化与跨代际哀伤,是理解家庭裂痕与重连情感的动人之作。
Title: 親愛的 (Dear One)
Author: 幸佳慧 (Xing Jiahui)
Description:
English: After her mother dies, young Pea takes on the role of caregiver, especially for her father who is paralyzed by grief. When she discovers a treasure box her mother left behind—filled with keepsakes and letters—Pea finds the strength to heal and gently guide her father back toward hope. A tender story of loss, love, and resilience.
中文简介: 母亲去世后,小豆豆承担起照顾陷入哀伤的父亲的责任。当她发现母亲留下的宝盒,里面装着信物和信件,她重新找到爱的力量,引导父亲慢慢走出悲伤。这是一个关于失落、爱与坚韧的温暖故事。

Why I Recomend It:
English: This resource offers a sensitive approach to discussing loss with children.
中文推荐理由: 以细腻笔触描绘亲子间共度哀伤的旅程,是引导儿童理解丧亲与疗愈的重要绘本。
Title: 小虎妞和妈妈 (Little Hu Niu and Mom)
Author: 李异鸣 (Li Yiming)
Description:
English: This touching and beautifully illustrated picture book unfolds as a gentle conversation between a little girl, Hu Niu, and her mother, exploring the meaning of death with honesty, warmth, and love. Guided by her mother, Hu Niu learns that death is not something to be feared—it is simply a journey to another world. Her imaginative vision of that world helps transform sadness into wonder, making the idea of separation easier to bear. Through poetic dialogue and whimsical illustrations, this book helps children reduce fear of death, while also satisfying their curiosity and expanding their emotional vocabulary.
中文简介: 虎妞和妈妈展开一段关于“死亡是什么”的温柔对话。妈妈用故事告诉她,死亡只是去另一个世界。绘本用幻想语言与童真图像,为孩子建构关于离别、情感与希望的新理解。

Why I Recomend It:
English: A poetic and imaginative framework for explaining death to children, fostering emotional literacy and courage.
中文推荐理由: 借由故事对话化解恐惧,引导儿童建立对死亡的积极想象。
Title: 媽媽是一朵雲 (Mom Is a Cloud)
Author: 海狗房東 (Haigou Fangdong)
Description:
English: This delicate and emotionally expressive picture book tells the story of a child who has lost their mother and imagines her transformation into a cloud. As the child reflects on memories and feelings, the story helps them make sense of absence, presence, and grief in an imaginative and loving way. With lyrical text and soft, symbolic illustrations, Mom Is a Cloud provides emotional comfort and helps children understand that love remains even after loss.
中文简介: 妈妈去世后,小孩想象她变成天上的一朵云,仍旧陪伴自己。书中以柔和色彩与象征性语言描绘哀伤与亲情延续,为孩子提供关于“离别”的温柔理解。

Why I Recomend It:
English: An imaginative, poetic metaphor that reassures children about continued emotional connection.
中文推荐理由: 是协助儿童面对母亲离世情绪、建立温柔话语与图像桥梁的优秀绘本。
Title: 会魔法的爸爸:学会珍爱生命 (My Magical Dad: Learning to Treasure Life)
Author: 尚定丽 (Shang Dingli)
Description:
English: This story centers on a child whose father, described as someone with magical powers, passes away. The child uses imagination to process the absence—believing that his father still watches over him. With gentle narration and warm illustrations, the book encourages children to cherish life and love, offering both emotional comfort and a philosophical understanding of loss. Part of the Journey of the Heart Picture Book Series, it is especially designed for children facing emotional trauma, including grief.
中文简介: 一位拥有“魔法”的父亲离世了,孩子在想象中与爸爸延续连结,学会用记忆和爱面对悲伤。本书温暖感人,引导儿童珍惜生命、正面表达哀伤。是《心灵之旅图画书系列》中的疗愈佳作。

Why I Recomend It:
English: A creative, symbolic tool for helping children understand the continuity of love beyond loss.
中文推荐理由: 富有哲理与情感力量,适合幼儿进行死亡与爱之教育的起点。
Title: 我把爸爸养在鱼缸里 (I Keep My Dad in a Fish Tank)
Author: 彭懿 (Peng Yi)
Description:
English: In this surreal and touching story, a young boy mourns his father—a diver who died in an accident—by imagining that his father has become a water spirit living in the family’s plumbing system. The father returns on the boy’s birthday to keep his promise, sparking a journey of magical connection and emotional healing. Blending fantasy with heartfelt themes, the novel helps young readers navigate grief through imagination and symbolic storytelling.
中文简介: 男孩的父亲是潜水员,在一次意外中去世。他想象爸爸变成住在水管与鱼缸里的水精灵,在生日那天如约而至。本书以幻想为媒介,讲述了儿童如何通过象征与想象表达对亲人离世的情感。

Why I Recomend It:
English: The story’s creative structure makes it particularly effective for children who may struggle to express grief directly.
中文推荐理由: 结合奇幻与真实,是处理儿童哀伤表达的重要图像与叙事资源。
Title: 從天國來的信 (A Letter from Heaven)
Author: 鄭永愛 (Zheng Yong’ai)
Description:
English: A Letter from Heaven follows a child struggling with the death of a parent. When they receive a symbolic letter “from heaven,” they embark on an emotional journey of healing, remembrance, and rediscovery of love that transcends physical absence. Grounded in Christian ideas of the afterlife and hope, the book sensitively introduces children to death and grief while reinforcing the enduring emotional bond between the living and the deceased.
中文简介: 一个孩子在父母过世后收到“来自天国”的信,在文字与想象中展开哀伤与疗愈之旅。本书结合基督信仰中的永恒与爱,温柔地引导孩子理解死亡的意义,以及亲情如何穿越生死。

Why I Recomend It:
English: This resource offers a sensitive and faith-centered approach to youth grief support.
中文推荐理由: 适合基督徒家庭进行哀悼教育,情感真挚、温暖动人。
Title: 像母親一樣的河 (The River Like a Mother)
Author: 路寒袖 (Lu Hanxiu)
Description:
English: Based on the author’s childhood, The River Like a Mother poetically recounts the emotional journey of a boy coping with the loss of his mother. Set along a river that becomes a symbolic maternal figure, the story reflects on grief, longing, and the passage of time. Lush illustrations accompany lyrical text to gently guide readers—particularly children—through the pain of maternal loss while honoring memory, love, and nature’s healing presence.
中文简介: 根据作者童年经验改编,本书以河流象征母亲,描绘一个失去母亲的孩子如何在自然中寻找爱的踪迹与疗愈的过程。画面温柔,文字诗意,是适合用来引导儿童理解母爱与哀伤的优秀绘本。

Why I Recomend It:
English: This resource offers a sensitive approach to discussing loss with children.
中文推荐理由: 通过自然象征引导孩子理解母亲离世的意义,是抚慰与思念兼具的图文作品。
Title: 因为爸爸 (Because of Dad)
Author: 韩青辰 (Han Qingchen)
Description:
English: Fourth-grader Jinguo is timid and withdrawn—and locked in emotional conflict with his police officer father, Jin Geng. When his father dies suddenly in the line of duty, Jinguo must confront the pain of unresolved tension, grief, and loss. Through the support of classmates and introspective growth, he comes to understand his father’s dedication, love, and sacrifice. This novel offers a heartfelt portrayal of the grief journey from misunderstanding to remembrance and respect, making it a strong grief narrative for middle-grade readers.
中文简介: 小学生金果因父亲是严格的警察,长期对其产生误解与疏远。在父亲因公殉职后,金果面对突如其来的悲痛,在同学陪伴与自身成长中重新认识父亲的爱与奉献。小说真实描写孩子如何从冲突到理解,逐步走出哀伤阴影。

Why I Recomend It:
English: This resource offers a sensitive approach to discussing loss with youth.
中文推荐理由: 是适合中高年级学生阅读的儿童小说,内容真实动人,适合作为父亲离世主题的哀悼文本。
Title: 我想你爸爸 (I Miss You, Dad) = U sinlitan tjanusun ama
Author: 周淑琴 (Zhou Shuqin)
Description:
English: This poignant picture book portrays a child coping with the death of their father. With heartfelt narration and expressive artwork, it helps young readers explore emotions of grief, longing, and remembrance. Set within a Taiwanese Indigenous cultural framework, the story affirms that love endures beyond death, and that memories can be healing. It also offers meaningful representation for Indigenous communities, bridging grief support with cultural identity.
中文简介: 本书结合汉语与台湾原住民语言讲述一个孩子在父亲去世后的哀伤历程。以细腻叙述与文化意象,引导孩子理解爱与记忆如何帮助他们面对失落,并赋予原住民文化重要的哀悼叙述空间。

Why I Recomend It:
English: This picture book also titled in Indigenous Taiwanese language as U sinlitan tjanusun ama, is a strong and culturally significant grief resource—especially relevant for exploring loss of a parent through the lens of Indigenous identity.
中文推荐理由: 极具文化代表性的儿童哀悼图书,适用于理解族群、身份与情感交织下的丧亲经历。
Title: 想念你! (I Miss You!)
Author: 梁恩嘉 (Enjia Liang)
Description:
English: I Miss You! is a tender picture book from the Life’s Journey Series designed to help children understand and process grief. Through two beautifully illustrated stories—“The Little Squirrel’s Big Adventure,” in which a young squirrel embarks on a final journey and discovers that love and presence can overcome the fear of death; and “Dad and the Potted Plant,” where a young girl experiences her father's passing through the symbolic blooming of a flower—children are gently guided to understand that even in loss, love endures.
中文简介: 本绘本选自“心灵之旅系列”,以两篇温柔故事描绘儿童如何面对失去亲人的悲伤情绪。《小松鼠的大冒险》讲述一只小松鼠踏上旅途后体会到爱的延续;《爸爸与盆栽》通过一株花的开放象征父爱的留下,引导孩子温柔面对失落。

Why I Recomend It:
English: This book introduces the concept of death with sensitivity and care, helping young readers face sudden goodbyes and feel the warmth of ongoing connection.
中文推荐理由: 以故事隐喻陪伴孩子认识死亡、建立爱的延续意识,是极具疗愈力量的绘本。
Title: 目送 (Watching You Go)
Author: 龙应台 (Lung Ying-tai)
Description:
English: Watching You Go is a deeply reflective collection of personal essays about the passage of time, parental aging, and loss. Lung Ying-tai movingly captures the quiet, inevitable goodbyes woven into everyday life.
中文简介: 《目送》是一部以时间流逝、亲人老去与离别为主题的散文集。龙应台以细腻深沉的文字,描绘了日常生活中无声而必然的告别。

Why I Recomend It:
English: This collection offers profound reflections on the slow grief of watching loved ones age and depart.
中文推荐理由: 以细致真挚的笔触,唤起读者对亲情、失落与时间流逝的深刻体会,特别适合经历亲人离世的读者共鸣与疗愈。