Below is a curated list of readings and guides compiled for those coping with the aftermath of homicide and trauma. Each resource offers insight, language, and practical tools for survivors, friends, and professionals who support them.
Survivors of Homicide, Inc.
Survivors of Homicide, Inc. (SOH) was founded in 1983 by a small group of families who were trying to cope with the murder of a loved one that shattered their lives. They met to support each other and to share information about an unfamiliar criminal justice system that existed not to provide support to grieving families, but to prosecute offenders.
Explaining Homicide to Children
A compassionate guide to help adults talk to children about loss due to homicide. It offers age-appropriate language, emotional reassurance, and strategies for answering difficult questions honestly and gently.
How to Talk to Children About Murder/Homicide
Expands on the above with tips for navigating children’s emotions and fears, supporting grieving youth, and creating space for honest conversation and healing.
Grieving After the Murder of a Loved One
Focuses on the unique and often complicated grief that follows a violent death. Offers practical suggestions, emotional validation, and coping methods for survivors of homicide victims.
Helping a Homicide Survivor Heal
Designed for friends, family, and community members, this document explains how to listen, offer support, and avoid unintentionally harmful responses when helping survivors heal.
How Trauma Affects the Brain
A readable overview of the neurological impact of trauma. It helps explain why survivors may respond with hypervigilance, memory lapses, or emotional numbing — emphasizing that these are natural responses, not failures.
Speaking With Survivors of Homicide
Offers communication tips for caseworkers, community members, or advocates on engaging with survivors respectfully and empathetically.
5‑4‑3‑2‑1 Method to Reduce Anxiety
Demonstrates a simple grounding technique that helps calm the mind during stress or panic by reconnecting with the five senses.
Suggestions for Survivors of Murder
A supportive list of self-care steps and emotional tools to help victims’ families and friends find stability and community after devastating loss.
Tips for Releasing Emotional Turbulence
Suggests gentle practices, such as mindfulness and movement, to release the emotional tension that often accompanies trauma recovery.
Trauma Resources
Coping With Traumatic Events
Complex Trauma Resources
The National Child Traumatic Stress Network
Together, these materials form a compassionate toolkit for navigating grief, trauma, and emotional healing — for both survivors and those supporting them.