Monday, November 19, 2018

Helping Another in Grief: Suggested Resources

[Reviewed and updated May 27, 2024]

Why do we keep looking for support in all the wrong places? It's like shopping for milk in a hardware store!  ~ David Kessler

The ability to reach out to others, empathize with their pain and give hope in the face of the most devastating of circumstances is a rare and precious gift ~ and not always easy to find. Unless they've encountered death in a very personal way, most people really don't know what grief feels like and they may not know what, if anything, they can say or do to help us.

Dealing with the insensitivity of others when we're wanting and needing their support is one of the hardest aspects of mourning, most especially when it is our own friends and family members who just don't "get it." In such cases, we can look to others who stand ready to offer the understanding, comfort and support we need and deserve. We might also find it in our hearts to forgive the insensitive ones their shortcomings, find ways to inform and educate them, and show them how to do it better.

In my travels around the Internet, I've encountered a vast array of resources specifically addressing this matter of helping another in grief, and many are listed below ~ including links to a number of articles I've found, some books I've read myself and personally recommend, and several helpful and informative websites. As always, if you have a resource you'd like to see added, please let me know in the Comments section below.

Articles

6 Coping Skills to Work Through Grief by Hope Gillette and Sandra Silva Casabianca















My Ex-BFF Keeps Posting About Grief. Should I Reach Out? by Nayomi Reghay

Pet Therapy: Therapeutic Use of Pets

Pet Therapy: Visiting Pets and Animal Assisted Therapy

Public Grief Rituals: What You Can Do by Joy Johnson

Re-membering Practices by Lorraine Hedke, MSW

7 Characteristics of Safe, Supportive People by Gary Roe

Stuffing Emotions Isn't a Good Grief Strategy  by Steve Harris

Support the Support by Pamela Hester King

Supporting a Bereaved Parent, From a Distance by Marty Tousley

Supporting a Grieving Person from AGIS

Sympathy Gift Ideas for People Who've Lost A Loved One by Angela Morrow, RN

The Etiquette of Bringing Meals for Friends by Marilee McKee

The Mistake I Made With My Grieving Friend by Celeste Headlee

Tools for Healing - Grief Healing Discussion Groups Forum

Tools for Healing - Grief Healing Pinterest Board

Understanding Abortion Grief and the Recovery Process 

Understanding the Griever: How Others Can Help by Alice Wisler

Using Children's Books to Help with Grief by Marty Tousley

How Can I Control My Anger? by Christian Nordqvist

What I Wish My Friends Had Said to Me After My Mom Died by Chelsea Gray

Words That Comfort by Robbie Miller Kaplan

Books

A Good Friend for Bad Times: Helping Others Through Grief by Deborah E. Bowen and Susan L. Strickler

Angel Catcher: A Journal of Loss and Remembrance by Kathy Eldon

Barbara Karnes Books by Barbara Karnes, RN

Companioning the Bereaved: A Soulful Guide for Caregivers by Alan D. Wolfelt

Dying to Be Free: A Healing Guide for Families after a Suicide by Beverly Cobain and Jean Larch

Facing Death and Finding Hope: A Guide To The Emotional and Spiritual Care Of The Dying by Christine Longaker

Finding Your Way through Grief: A Guide for the First Year by Marty Tousley

Grief Bibliography compiled by the bereaved, for the bereaved

Healing After Loss: Daily Meditations for Working through Grief by Martha Whitmore Hickman

Helping Grieving People When Tears Are Not Enough: A Handbook for Care Providers by J. Shep Jeffreys

How to Survive the Loss of a Love by Colgrove, Bloomfield and McWilliams

Living Life Dying Death: A Guide to Healthy Conversations by Jennifer Collins Taylor

Grieving Beyond Gender: Understanding The Ways Men and Women Mourn by Kenneth J. Doka and Terry L. Martin

Mourning Has Broken: A Collection of Creative Writing about Grief and Healing by Liz Pearl and Mara Koven-Gelman

Past Perfect! Present Tense! Insights from One Woman's Journey As the Wife of a Widower by Julie Donner Andersen

Please Be Patient, I'm Grieving: How to Care for and Support The Grieving Heart by Gary Roe

Sheltering Thoughts about Loss and Grief by Sharon Gilchrest O'Neill

Stepping Through The Awkwardness by Marilyn Gryte

Tear Soup: A Recipe for Healing after Loss by Pat Schwiebert

The Art of Condolence : What to Write, What to Say, What to Do at a Time of Loss by Leonard M. Zunin and Hilary Stanton Zunin

The Depression of Grief: Coping with Your Sadness and Knowing When to Get Help by Alan D. Wolfelt, PhD

The Precious Present by Spencer Johnson, MD







Other

Centering Corportation 
- YouTube Video

Griefcast: Informational Series with J. Shep Jeffreys, Ed.D. - Audio

How Do You Help A Grieving Friend? - YouTube video

How to Comfort Someone Who's Lost a Loved One - YouTube video

How to Help A Grieving Friend - Resources Overview via Refuge in Grief

My Sister Won't Let Go of Her Daughter's Death - Video with Byron Katie

Sorry for Your Loss - 10-episode series on Facebook Watch

What to Say - What Not to Say - to Someone Who's Grieving - GriefHaven

What *Should* You Say When Someone Dies? - Megan Devine Interview

Your feedback is welcome! Please feel free to leave a comment or a question, or share a tip, a related article or a resource of your own in the Comments section below. If you’d like Grief Healing Blog updates delivered right to your inbox, you’re cordially invited to subscribe to our weekly Grief Healing NewsletterSign up here

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