How to Say It When You Don't Know What to Say: 7the Right Words for Difficult Times

by Robbie Miller Kaplan

Book Overview

Offer comfort when it’s needed most! When someone close to us is going through a challenging time, we want to be there to give our support. We want to do – and say – the things that will help our... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 073520375X
• ISBN13: 9780735203754
• Release Date: April 2004
• Publisher: Prentice Hall Press
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.8" x 9.4"

Customer Reviews

The Perfect Words

This book is a phenomenal guide to finding the perfect words when you want to provide support in the ideal way. As we all know, some situations require a careful approach, some people have delicate sensitivities, and some of life's trials are beyond our comprehension. Especially with loved ones often living so far away, your words may be all you can give. In professional settings where hugs are not appropriate or natural, it's so important to know what to say and how to say it. Robbie Kaplan's book provides the right words, in the perfect way, so that you can be the kind of friend or relative, supportive colleague or neighbor, that you want to be. Highly recommended for all, since the best thing we can do for the people we love is support them...and words are what stay with us the longest.

A Practical Tool

For someone working in the world of non-profits and charities, I found this book a helpful tool in dealing with many situations where you want to offer comfort to people who are facing difficult or challenging circumstances. The book offers helpful advice, examples and even sample letters for a wide variety of situations. Robbie Miller Kaplan uses her own experiences as well as consultations with many professionals to create a thoughtfull resource for anyone working in the helping professions.

Thoughtful and thorough

Robbie Kaplan has given us the right words to say for just about every difficult situation imaginable. Her wise and compassionate advice will help anyone give comfort whenever and wherever needed.

Invaluable resource

An invaluable resource for clergy,mental health professionals, EVERYONE! I will keep several copies on my nearest bookshelf so I can share it with congregants and friends. Ms. Kaplan deals with every conceivable tragedy/disappointment which life thrusts upon us, and helps us help others to cope in times of despair. What a sensitive and compassionate book!

How To Say It . . . Says It All

From Harold Kuschner we received the book "When Bad Things Happen to Good People." Emphasis on the word "when." Because the question is not "why" nor do we wonder "if." We know that within the human experience there is suffering. Robbie Miller Kaplan's book "How to Say It When You Don't Know What to Say" takes this basic tenet a step beyond. "How to Say It..." brings to the table an enormous amount of research and some good old common sense about how to respond to those who are suffering. What we learn is not only what and what not to say and how and how not to say it at these often painful times, but what we also begin to understand is why we respond the way we do. What we start to realize is that other people's suffering often makes us uncomfortable at times and therefore we may feel the need to be cheerful or try to "fix" things or to simply ignore the situation entirely.Ms. Kaplan's book is loaded with great advice, but just as importantly, it gives one the feeling that we've all been through hardships, that we're all in this together, and that we all have the power to be helpful to one another in our times of need. This book is a must-read for clergy, people in health professions and anyone who wants to know how s/he may contribute to the healing process of another.