A boy sitting alone on the floor, watching the Chicago skyline at dawn through a wide window

The Long Echo Project

Giving language to the grief children carry in silence.

A lived-experience resource for families, caregivers, and communities learning to recognize, understand, and support grieving children.

Or read The Long Echo, the memoir

If tonight is heavy and you need help right now, start here.

Who We Serve

For every adult standing beside a grieving child.

When a child loses a parent, the world often watches the funeral and then expects life to resume. For many children, grief becomes a quiet architecture, shaping how they trust, how they love, and how they see danger.

Find Your Path

What brought you here?

Choose the path that fits and we'll guide you to the right resources, articles, and next steps.

I lost a parent as a child

You are still carrying the echo and want language for what you've lived through.

Adult Survivor Resources

I care for a grieving child

You are a parent, caregiver, educator, or mentor trying to see what a child cannot say.

Start Here

I want to understand violent loss

A parent's death involved violence, trauma, or suddenness and you need to understand the impact.

Violent Loss Resources

I'm struggling with faith after loss

Grief, God, anger, fairness, and spiritual confusion feel tangled together.

Faith & Grief

I want to bring this to my community

You want to start a conversation about childhood grief in a school, church, or community.

Invite Alan to Speak

Featured In

Austin Weekly News

Podcast

Featured Interview

Rooted In

Lived Experience

Alan Austin holding a copy of The Long Echo: Re-Grieving, his memoir about losing a parent in childhood

The Memoir

A memoir for the child who grew up carrying grief they could not yet explain.

My father was more than the way he died. He was loved, remembered, and his absence became the beginning of a long echo I have spent my life learning to name.

Stay Connected

Join The Long Echo community

Receive reflections, book updates, caregiver resources, and new work on childhood grief.