I think the most heartbreaking part of that book had to be when
he went back and reread the poem he had written for his son. After the boy (Tad??) died, the father finds the poem he had written for his son to comfort him because he was afraid of monsters. The father's realization that he was unable to protect his son when he needed it the most was just too horrible to comprehend.
I remember thinking that the book was cruel when I first read in my early 20s. Now, as a mother, it kills me.
