N.Y. Comic Con Helps Power Childhood Grief Awareness Effort

The New York Life Foundation is using New York Comic Con to draw attention to the needs of children affected by grief.

The foundation is tying its long-running child bereavement campaign to the event by distributing “Lost in the Middle,” a free, downloadable graphic novel about what happens when Kai, a middle school student, starts talking to other students about the death of his father.

The foundation is also tying distribution of the graphic novel to the national Children’s Grief Awareness Month campaign, which starts Nov. 1.

The foundation developed the novel together with a graphic novel production team; Donna Gaffney, a psychotherapist; and Carole Geithner, a clinical social worker.

The graphic novel comes with discussion guides to help families and teachers use the story to start conversations with children affected by death.

The New York Life Foundation has been supporting childhood grief research and support programs for more than a decade.

The New York Life Foundation is sharing “Lost in the Middle,” a graphic novel about Kai, a middle school student who has lost his father, in conjunction with the 2023 New York Comic Con and November’s Children’s Grief Awareness Month campaign. Credit: New York Life Foundation