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8-year-old Little Rock boy helps other children dealing with loss through writing

Asa Tittle lost his father and two of his siblings in an EF-4 tornado back in 2014. Now, he's written a book to help kids like him deal with grief.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KTHV) - Losing a loved one is never easy. For kids, it can be especially difficult to express their feelings about loss and grief.

A Little Rock boy who experienced a tragic loss is hoping to help others cope through his writing.

Asa Tittle was only four years old when he lost his father and two older sisters in an EF-4 Tornado in 2014.

My anger hurts me so bad inside, but I can't control it,” Asa Tittle said.

The loss was unimaginable for Asa, his mother Kerry and his six other siblings who survived.

“He had gone from this very quiet, sweet, compliant boy to a very angry child,” Kerry Tittle said.

That is when Asa began to write and his mother listened. Asa told his mother a story about a platypus named Flippers who lost his father to an illness. Flippers deals with a range of emotions from his grief, from anger to sadness, much like Asa.

“We both lost our dad and we both were very angry,” Asa Tittle said.

His mom doesn't think he understood that he was expressing his own feelings.

“He was just sharing the story. I don't think he even realized he was expressing his own grief,” Kerry Tittle said.

His mother grabbed her laptop and started to type, crafting the story that soon would become a book for children dealing with loss.

“In the beginning, it was a way for him to remember his father and to get that out and express it and it just kind of morphed into more,” Tittle said.

Asa said the book is meant to provide hope and encourage others to trust God in times of trial.

“The whole theme of the story is that God is in control always. He is good always,” Asa Tittle said

Writing the book has helped Asa understand the loss of his loved ones.

“I think what he took away was that God has a purpose for our suffering,” Kerry Tittle said.

You can purchase a copy of the book, Flippers, by visiting this website.

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