After her sister Bella transforms into starlight, Lucy learns that the empty spaces left behind aren’t just empty, they’re home to all the love they shared.
Concept / Premise
A children’s picture book about grief and pet loss that follows Lucy, a young pup navigating life after her sister Bella passes away. Through her daily routines – waking up, looking out the window, going on walks, eating dinner, Lucy encounters “empty spaces” where Bella used to be. Each empty space represents a different facet of grief: physical absence, disrupted routines, loneliness, and the hollow ache inside her heart.
When Lucy remembers Bella’s promise to shine as a star, she realizes that these empty spaces aren’t permanent voids, they transform into places where memories live, where love is preserved, and where Bella’s light continues to reach her. The story validates children’s grief while offering hope that loss can coexist with love, and that what we’ve lost becomes part of what we carry forward.
Companion to “Bella’s Light” (which explains death as transformation; “The Empty Space” addresses the grief of those left behind).
Back Cover
Lucy and her sister Bella were never far apart, two pups with hearts as one. But when Bella’s journey turned her into starlight, Lucy woke to a world that felt different. Empty.
The bed where Bella used to sleep. The window where they watched the world together. The walks they took side by side. The bowls where they shared their meals. And most of all, the hollow place inside Lucy’s chest where her heart used to feel whole.
Lucy discovers empty spaces everywhere, in her home, in her daily life, and deep inside herself. But when she remembers Bella’s promise and looks up at the night sky, she begins to understand something important: empty spaces don’t stay empty forever. They become places where love lives, where memories are kept safe, where light shines through the darkness.
The Empty Space is a companion to Bella’s Light and a gentle, honest story for families navigating grief and pet loss. It reminds children that sadness is real, that missing someone is okay, and that the empty spaces in our hearts can transform into something beautiful – a home for all the love we shared.
