Christmas in July gift giving idea: Storybooking for healing

Not all Holidays happen to be as happy as one wishes they could be. Some years a loss might have happened in the family that just makes someone feel sad, and sometimes it might be really hard to even just smile.
If this is your case, or you know someone in your family or among your friends that is going through a difficult time because they are mourning the loss of a loved one, there is something you can do to help them heal...
Collect as many significant pictures as you can of the departed, ask questions, write the answers down, have the ones that knew the family share their memories, and organize all this in a storybook.
Sometimes when you lose someone you don't want to talk about it, but other times you wish people wouldn't act like it never happened, like your child, your husband, your mom was forever forgotten. Having the story written on a book helps overcome the pain and the loneliness one can feel, and makes the loved one come back to life every time those pages are read, and the pictures recall happy memories.
When nothing else can comfort a grieving heart, a Storybook will be like a bridge between that deep sorrow and the possibility to smile again, knowing that the loved one is not going to be forgotten.
Whether it was a still born child, a few months or years old, a teenager, 100 years old, whether it was the child, sibling, parent, grandparent, spouse or dear friend, Storybooking their life and the impact they had on the lives of others will give a new light to everything, and help in the process of grieving and healing.

This is something dear to my heart as I lost my dad when I was 13 and I feel like I am still grieving...
This is why I am writing a card to him in which I tell him my feelings, and why he is an hero to me, while I wait to be able to talk to his side of the family who is still in Italy, my aunt and my cousins that are older than me and got to know him better, since I want to write a storybook about him, how he touched everyone's life, and the example that he has been to me.
I think I will be able to totally lift this burden from my heart when the book will be completed.

I hope my words might have inspired you, I wish I knew English better because I feel like I am at a loss of words when it comes to to express my feelings about this matter.
When I take the time to put together a book about my family, I grow a deeper love for each of them, and when I collect photos and stories about someone, I am blessed since I get to know him/her better. When the book is completed, this blessings are passed on to all the people that will open it and will be reminded of good memories or discover something new about that person.

Take time to touch your loved ones' heart, it will be the best gift you will ever give them.