I know a lot of you now have my new guided grief journal in your hands or on its way to you. (I love seeing your photos of the book! ♥️) I also know that, even when you have the book in your hands, a lot of you are feeling kind of scared or overwhelmed…
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How do we deal with inept remarks and suggestions from well-meaning people?
I’m often asked how to deal with inept remarks and suggestions from well-meaning (and not so well-meaning) friends, family, spiritual “leaders” and “professionals. In the days soon after Matt died people said such weird, mean, cruel, unthinking things. It’s unbelievable, the crap we hear. So. How do you respond? I think it depends – on…
LGBTQIA+ Pride Without Your Person
With Pride celebrations kicking off this week – both IRL and virtual – it’s easy to feel left out. If your person is missing, parades and parties just don’t feel the same. Certainly after this last year, nothing really feels the same. Celebrations of any kind are hard when there’s a hole in your world.…
5 Kind Things to Say to a Lonely Person Who’s Grieving
Supporting a grieving friend is hard, especially when they seem lonely. You don’t want to force someone to be social, but you do want them to know they’re loved and supported. Here are five compassionate things you can say to a grieving friend who seems lonely. 1. “Are you feeling lonely?” Grieving people won’t always…
Five Ways to Manage Your Grief and Loneliness
Loneliness and isolation are a giant cause of suffering for grieving people. Maybe you’re geographically separated from your support system. Or maybe people have stopped reaching out and think they’re respecting your boundaries, not realizing they’re actually leaving you feeling alone. Whatever the reason, loneliness inside grief is both common and normal. Try these five…
Honoring your loss on Memorial Day
It’s Memorial Day weekend in the States. In pre-covid times, that meant cookouts, barbecues, parades, and a day off from work – all in the name of honoring loss on memorial day. I’ve written about the need to make a national day of acknowledgement before (find that here), but this year, Memorial Day feels a…
How do you help a grieving friend?
What’s the best way to help a grieving friend – Give them advice? Cheer them up? Remind them that life is for the living? Ack! No! It’s so hard to know what to do when your friends are hurting. The thing is, you can’t cheer someone up by telling them to look on the bright…
Memorials and funerals are not the end of the grieving process. They’re part of the beginning.
So many people have been unable to hold or attend funerals and memorial services because of the pandemic. Are you one of them? When we asked grieving people what they’re looking forward to doing one pandemic restrictions ease, the most common responses concerned finally being able to gather for memorials and other mourning rituals, and…