LibraryScenariosWhen your child died being heroic but you wish they had been selfish
Scenario

When your child died being heroic but you wish they had been selfish

My son died saving someone else's life and everyone calls him a hero but I would rather have my coward alive than their hero dead.

Rabia
Online
The coach is replying

More people experience this than they realize.

What we've seen

Public celebration of the child's sacrifice conflicts with the parent's primitive wish for their survival above all else.

Ideas that help explain it
Worth thinking about

“Where Are You with Grief of a child — the unnatural loss?”

If this sounds familiar, the Library can help you find the bigger picture.