What can anyone say when a baby dies in her crib without warning just 76 days after she was born? Jerusalemite Seth Clyman, who with his wife Ellen has eight other children, spent six years writing a book that recalls the tragedy and the chilling week (in 1991) of mourning for their daughter Rena Nechama. The 126-page, self-published volume called Touching the World of Angels: How My Daughter’s Short Life Changed Mine, will touch the hearts of readers.

The text is full of flashbacks, memories and recollections and has been endorsed by Rabbi Zev Leff of Moshav Matityahu, who called it “very inspiring,” especially since he himself lost a nine-month-old granddaughter. “Through this account, we can glean many lessons and be sensitized to the feelings of others who, God forbid, suffer a similar loss.”

Rebbetzin Feige Twerski added that the author “opens his heart and soul in sharing his journey from the pain and darkness of loss to meaning and consolation.” But one needn’t be religious or even Jewish to appreciate the message on how to cope with the passing of a beloved baby.