Cariad Lloyd is a writer, actor, comedian, podcaster, and improviser. She is the creator and host of the award-winning podcast Griefcast and author of the critically acclaimed Times bestseller You Are Not Alone, based on her grief lessons from the show.
Cariad shares with Simon Says the journey of her new book: Where Did She Go?
I started the Griefcast podcast in 2016, and over the next seven years, I was privileged to be sent many amazing books on grief, and particularly many books for kids about grief as well. There are some really beautiful books out there, but I knew I was longing for a picture book that spoke truthfully to a child about what death actually means.
Many years later, I was asked by Hachette Children’s publisher if I had an idea for a children’s picture book. I knew, that after years of thinking about what was missing, I had something already half written in my head. A book for kids that wouldn’t lie or swerve from the truth, that wouldn’t talk about rabbits or mysterious places you couldn’t visit, but a book that talked sensitively and carefully about death.
If you are a parent, you know how many questions a child can ask in a day, and if we strive to be as truthful about why the grass is green, or why Pluto is so far away . . . then we know they need a safe place where they can get the answers they need about big topics.
I sincerely hope this book, with its beautiful illustrations by Tom Percival, allows parents to create a loving and safe place to ask those questions, and even explain some of the things we don’t have answers to.
“I do know she loved us so much, and even though we can’t see her anymore, we can still feel that love.”
Where Did She Go? by Cariad Lloyd (£12.99, Hachette Children’s Group) is out now. Available to buy online or in your local bookshop.
[Feature Image Description: Headshot photograph of Cariad Lloyd. She is leaning into the camera and her smile is warm. The top she is wearing is made from a beige herringbone fleck fabric]
