Too Young

Available February 2027 – pre-order now! “Half our story is missing. Half our chapters have been ripped out of our book.” Childhood isn’t left behind when we become adults. We carry it with us for the rest of our lives. So, what happens when childhood is interrupted by the death of a parent? For Too Young, journalist Lee-Anne Duncan spent five years listening to adults reflect on losing a parent during childhood. She understood. Her own mother died when Lee-Anne was nine. Thirty-eight of those deeply personal conversations appear in this book as individual stories that illuminate what it’s like when a parent dies, how early bereavement forms identity, relationships, parenting, and the lives they go on to build. Too Young also addresses what helps, and what doesn’t. Together, the stories reveal not only the lasting impact of grief, but the remarkable capacity of children to adapt, and the extraordinary diff erence that honest, loving adults can make. Insightful, compassionate and quietly hopeful, Too Young is a moving exploration of childhood, memory and how parents shape us long after they’ve gone. It is a book for anyone who lost a parent too young, anyone supporting a bereaved child, and anyone curious about how the challenges of childhood affect our adult lives. ISBN 9781991436290 420 pages, 230 x 153 mm