Buy used:

$19.99

Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime

FREE delivery May 22 - 28 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35

Or fastest delivery May 21 - 23

Select delivery location

Used: Good | Details

Sold by ZBK Wholesale

Fulfilled by Amazon

Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.

Other sellers on Amazon

New & Used (21) from $1.99 + $3.98 shipping

Follow the author

Name: Only Spring: On Mourning the Death of My Son: Livingston, Gordon: 9780062510600: Amazon.com: Books
Rating: 4.8 (30 reviews)

Gordon Livingston

+ Follow

More books from this author

Only Spring: On Mourning the Death of My Son Hardcover – January 1, 1995

by Gordon Livingston (Author)

4.8 30 ratings

See all formats and editions

A psychiatrist's account of the death of his six-year-old son documents the anguish and helplessness that he had to overcome before regaining hope, strength, and faith. National ad/promo.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Psychiatrist Livingston's earlier journals of the death from leukemia of his six-year-old son, Lucas, were first published in the San Francisco Chronicle's Image magazine, where they evoked wide and warm response. In those writings, he detailed the grueling regimen (including a bone-marrow transplant from the author) that Lucas endured, bequeathing to the family a lesson about the power of the human spirit. The current journal details the depth of Livingston's struggle with the loss of Lucas and the earlier suicide of an older son, and with his rage at the medical technology that failed his child. A poignant account of an anguishing life-changing experience.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gordon Livingston introduces this brutally honest diary as the story of the life and death of his son. It is that, focusing on Livingston's experience of losing his six-year-old son, Lucas, to leukemia; it is also an account of a process of mourning permeated by his gradual realization that "love is not lost even in death." The book focuses almost entirely on the experience of Lucas' death, but the suicide of Livingston's oldest son, Andrew, the previous year, is never far below the surface. It is to Livingston's credit that he speaks not in terms of a triumph over death but of a confidence, gradually won, that love is not lost. This sets the book apart from much of the popular literature of hope and makes it an important contribution to the tradition of tragedy that moves us to humanity in the embrace of mortality. Steve Schroeder

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harpercollins; First Edition (January 1, 1995)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 230 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0062510606
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0062510600
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 13.6 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.25 x 1 x 8.75 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #2,421,923 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #6,092 in Grief & Bereavement
- #6,217 in Love & Loss
- #68,432 in Memoirs (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.8 30 ratings

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Videos

Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video!

Upload your video

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

Gordon Livingston

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more

Customer reviews

4.8 out of 5

30 global ratings

3 star

0%

2 star

0%

1 star

0%

How customer reviews and ratings work

Sort reviews by

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Book Addict

Good advice for the grieving process.

Reviewed in the United States on August 13, 2013

Verified Purchase

I have read all of Dr. Livingston's books and loved them and this one did not disappoint. He tells it like is with out sugar coating that life will be all right after you lose someone who is your whole world. My husband died 8 years ago and I am still active in life, but the pain of missing him will never go away. Dr. L. gets that.

5 people found this helpful

Helpful

Christine Quiriy

Compelling

Reviewed in the United States on February 10, 2007

Verified Purchase

Gordon Livingston writes with clarity and honesty about the illness and death of his beloved youngest son, and the aftermath he and his family endured. The book faithfully captures the roller coaster of emotions that accompany the trajectory of illness, as well as the benumbed unreality of such a shocking loss when death occurs. A beautifully brave account of moving into and through a fog of despair, doubt, and guilt, eventually giving way to a ray of hope and light.

13 people found this helpful

Helpful

V. HERMANN

Not quite all read

Reviewed in the United States on April 26, 2014

Verified Purchase

Good book if you have to deal with death of a child or someone you call or fee is a son.

3 people found this helpful

Helpful

boxcpa

fabulous

Reviewed in the United States on October 8, 2013

Verified Purchase

Gordon Livingston has instant credibility based on the early deaths of his two sons. Playing a role in doing what a parent thinks is best for a child, relying on doctors opinions, can all be real questions for those with children who might have a potentially terminal disease. Heartbreaking, but fantastic writing.

3 people found this helpful

Helpful

Osvaldo Fonseca

Love and Grief

Reviewed in the United States on October 14, 2014

Verified Purchase

I had to put this down every few pages - it is heartbreaking to read. That Dr. Livingston could go thru such torment and still find the strength to write this and therefore to help so many other bereaved just amazes me.

Helpful

Margaret Perkins

Honest and courageous

Reviewed in the United States on February 4, 2014

Verified Purchase

This author is incredibly honest. He tells this very painful story exactly as he sees it. They did everything they could to save their son and in the end it wasn't enough.

8 people found this helpful

Helpful

LeAnnna Walker

Great

Reviewed in the United States on August 15, 2011

Verified Purchase

Just started reading. Seems like a great book. Very emotional, but I am able to relate and find that there is a positive in every bad situation.

3 people found this helpful

Helpful

Roland

All that we expected

Reviewed in the United States on May 29, 2016

Verified Purchase

They met all of our expectations.

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

Lisa

Honest Account of Grieving

Reviewed in Canada on June 26, 2014

Verified Purchase

Excellent book examining how a parent grieves the loss of a child. Dr. Livingston is so honest and makes you feel less alone in your own grief journey. He admits that he struggled with feelings of suicide after his son died. Hearing that a psychiatrist experienced such unbearable and overwhelming pain and grief made me feel less crazy as I suffered through the loss of my daughter.