Fathers Forever was founded 12 years ago by four men in the Boston area who met in a bereavement therapy group; all had recently lost young children to various causes. We became friends, and decided to extend our relationship and work outside a therapeutic setting.

We realized that there is little organized support for, or research and literature specifically about, fathers who have suffered the loss of a child. (Women are, by and large, much better communicators and networkers, especially when it comes to personal and highly emotional matters.) We believe this is an unfortunate oversight because, as individual as the grieving process is — and as stereotypically “tough” and self-reliant as many men can be — it is extremely difficult to go through your child’s death alone.

Those of us on this path know well that there is no life experience that compares to the death of one’s child; therefore, it can help to connect with other men who are walking that path. Fathers Forever seeks to be a forum for men who “get it” to interact with each other, learn from and share with each other.