Understanding and Managing Grief, June 2 - June 8, 2019

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

How Can You Recover Emotionally After Causing Accidental Death or Injury? http://j.mp/2R0bYd1 « Seven Ponds Blog

18 Caregiving Skills I Can Use on Me! http://j.mp/2R02Vc7 « The Artful Caregiver

Creativity in Grief, http://j.mp/2QWAL1v « Grief Dialogues Blog

Understanding and Managing Grief, March 25 - March 31, 2012

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

• What women should know about male grief, http://shar.es/pFKhT « The Grief Toolbox
  
  
• Women turn to social media for support after miscarriage, http://ow.ly/9XNuy from @PureEssenceLabs via @USATODAY
  
  
• Great article: 'Common Myths and Misconceptions about Grief,' http://bit.ly/xbyEIe  from @GriefHealing via @tweet_ACGB
  
  
• How to help a child recover from a traumatic death, http://goo.gl/oT43W via @BDeskey
  
  
• Loss, grief and persons with developmental disabilities, http://j.mp/GZk2m2 by @HFAHospice

Understanding and Managing Grief, January 29 - February 4, 2012

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

• Dr. T. Byram Karasu: Is grief a pathological condition? http://bit.ly/zcak0B via @MontefioreNews
  
  
• Memorial Service Basics: Honoring the Deceased, Comforting the Bereaved, http://dlvr.it/18yqH8 via @houstonfunerals
  
  
• Death Is Nothing at All, http://j.mp/y2TKZd
  
  
• Loss As A Catalyst For Spiritual Awakening, http://j.mp/zQGJDA
  
  
• Lovely! Butterfly Suite helps bereaved parents, http://bbc.in/zVGu14 via @_lizzy_

Understanding and Managing Grief, November 20 - November 26, 2011

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

• The Unspoken Feeling: Grief And Its Impact on Teens, http://bit.ly/t9LAWi via @ChildsWork

• Cheryl Eckl: What Does It Mean to Be Grateful? http://bit.ly/s6e71p 

• Do you have books that have helped you deal with grief? by @raidswindmills [Yes! Go see http://bit.ly/9J8Wa4]

• Bittersweet Paradox: Talking about Death is Talking about Life, http://bit.ly/tTqyca by @jen_c_taylor

• Terrific grief support for teens: "Teens' Talk about Grief," http://ow.ly/7i4ML via @HelloGrief

Understanding and Managing Grief, October 2 - October 8, 2011

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

• Free download: Mystie's Magical Message for grieving children, http://ow.ly/6Py6r by @BarbaraASimone

• Ain't No Sunshine: Men Reveal the Pain of Heartbreak, http://bit.ly/oeligm via @KindleCoyote

• Outstanding! How hospice helps with grief, in @upheremag http://bit.ly/oUrs9g via @OutCareTweets @virtualhospice

• Writing and Creative Expression in overcoming grief, http://ow.ly/6PzcH by @storyforhealing

• Grief and Children with Special Needs, bellaonline.com/articles/art56… by @DownSynAdvocacy

Featured Web Site: Recover-From-Grief

The stated mission of this comprehensive, clinically accurate and easy-to-navigate site is to promote understanding of the grief process and provide practical strategies for dealing with it. Developed by Jennie Wright, RN, RRT, GC-C, a registered nurse and certified grief counselor, Recover-from-Grief is designed as a "stand-alone workshop," enabling visitors either to select the topics they wish to explore, or to progress through the site in the order suggested on the navigation bars. Topics include signs and symptoms of grief, strategies for coping, ideas for memorializing, and suggestions for expressing comfort and sympathy. Creative mourning techniques designed to help mourners express their bereavement are offered, and visitors are invited to explore the site to find the expressive techniques that feel "just right" for them.

Coping with Pet Loss, April 3 - April 9

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

• When pets outlive owners, 'retirement homes' offer refuge, http://bit.ly/gS5bIG

• Tears of men from a veterinarian's perspective, http://goo.gl/GdvGD by @DrMartyBecker

• Using Photography and Creativity to Ease Grief, http://bit.ly/fOHY8f by @sandyrakowitz via @NEPetHospice

• Elegant elegies: Grieving pet owners find solace in online tributes, http://bit.ly/gC6lFH

Using Art As a Path for Healing

[Reviewed and updated January 31, 2025]

I have discovered that, in my opinion, grief often inspires creativity.  When everything is hunky-dory, you just don't have the same compelling need to express yourself creatively, nor to do all the hard work it requires.  That is probably why so much of the world's great literature is about grief and loss. ~ Mary Semel, in A Broken Heart Still Beats

As amazing as it sounds, bereavement does have a bright side.  It is the "sweet" in the bittersweet journey of grief.  A nationwide niche of artists who know how to bring it out and celebrate the life of a loved one can be found at BereavementArtists.com -- a non-profit directory of artists who specialize in custom bereavement work.  From quilts, collages, portraits, jewelry, urns and more, the purpose of the site is to connect anyone, anywhere, to a desired art form and artist that speaks to their taste, need, and budget.

Understanding and Managing Grief, November 28 - December 4

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

• ‘We Never Fought’ and other lies Widows Tell, http://bit.ly/dMcgSj by @crazywidow

• Beautiful remembrance of children who have died, http://bit.ly/e1QzqO via @BrknHrtsBigBend

• Dealing with Grief During the Holidays, http://ht.ly/3jBTm by @griefhealing via @Selfhealingexpr 

• Giving the Gift of Story After a Loss, http://ow.ly/3jzVX RT @StoryForHealing

• How to Help A Child or Teen Cope With The Loss of A Loved One During the Holidays, http://bit.ly/ihXVkl 

• You'll find links to dozens of helpful 'Coping with Holidays' articles here, http://bit.ly/3jkKKh 

• Remembering the Late Wife during the Holidays, http://bit.ly/hhTB4U by @abelkeogh 

• Holiday Grief: How To Best Support The Mourning, http://huff.to/gMFtcg via @romans_mama @huffingtonpost 

• Holidays can be horribly quiet for the grief-stricken, http://ow.ly/1agADi via @GriefHelp 

• Supporting grieving children during the holidays, http://bit.ly/dRZgtj via @TAPS4America

• Therapeutic Writing Brings Joy to the World, http://bit.ly/fpNGU4 via @CreateWriteNOW 

• Is This Season About Healing Transitions for You? http://ht.ly/3hTRC via @Selfhealingexpr 

• Trauma to Art: Turning Grief into creative expression, http://bit.ly/dZVxsw 

• Dealing with Grief and Loss: Helpful Do's and Don'ts, http://bit.ly/h3D7nn by @jodiperelman 

• A Gift from Another Father, http://wp.me/pVxlX-4c by @GrievingDads 

• I’m in Shock! But It’s Nothing Personal, http://bit.ly/i7HWWd by @stangoldberg 

Understanding and Managing Grief, October 24 - October 30

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

• Are widows exempt from having to send thank-you notes? http://bit.ly/biXCGQ via RT @Freshwidow

• Sleeping with a widower: Widower Wednesday, http://bit.ly/bx6HQp by @abelkeogh via @Freshwidow

• Parenting your grieving child, by the founder of Rainbows, http://bit.ly/buqeP3 via @Freshwidow 

• Grief and Creativity discussion group over on Facebook, http://on.fb.me/brd0P1 via @motherhenna 

• Free podcasts and prompts on grief and creativity, http://bit.ly/bB379j by @motherhenna

• Mrs. Duck, a grief outreach story by @motherhenna, free as PDF eBook, http://bit.ly/9aa6N9

• Personal story: Getting real with kids about grief,  http://bit.ly/1kHrMp by @annie_fox via @ronitbaras

• Sorting belongings: A Widow Deals With Her Grief, http://bit.ly/bkVWsg via Oprah.com

• Child loss and grief triggers: The Halloween Graveyard | Open to Hope Foundation, http://j.mp/1r9KlZT

• Pet therapy brightens day for hospice patients, http://bit.ly/cNvuYF

• Understand Your Limits - Truisms About Grief, http://wp.me/pVxlX-3Iby @GrievingDads 

• Finding your unique way through grief, http://bit.ly/cxo1TM by @motherhenna 

Blogs (and Books) for Bereaved Parents

[Reviewed and updated June 23, 2026]

Blogs are becoming increasingly popular and effective as yet another way for the bereaved to process their grief.  Below I've featured four blogs that I think are especially helpful, developed by mothers whose children have died.  (As you can see, some of these bloggers have turned their blog entries into books, or have based their blogs on books they've already written.)

If you've discovered a blog (or book) you would recommend to other bereaved parents, or if you're a parent who's written a blog (or book!) yourself, please feel free to tell us about it in the Comments section beneath this post.
   

I Have No Intention of Saying Goodbye – Offered by bereaved mother and author Sandy Fox, whose 27-year-old daughter Marcy was killed in an automobile accident, this blog is meant "to help bereaved parents move on with their lives."  Sandy’s first publication, I Have No Intention of Saying Goodbye,  lets parents open their hearts and share stories of hope and healing after a child's death.  Her second and most recent book, Creating a New Normal . . . After the Death of a Child, has more than 80 articles on coping techniques to help the bereaved parent, including a huge resource section.

 

Sunshine In a Blue Cup – In the span of 36 months, Diana Doyle  experienced the death of her mother, her sister and her four-year-old daughter.  Today Dee uses her blog “ to write about my everyday comings and goings which I find to be miracles and how my family and friends have become one of my survival tools and give me a reason to smile again . . . I want it to inspire others to realize that you can face any challenge and survive...even become a better person sometimes because of hardship. I want to remind people to look at the joy the little things in life can bring you.”

Gratitude in Grief is a blog journal created by Kelly Buckley to document her journey in the first year of grief following the accidental drowning death of her son Stephen on July 4, 2009. “One thing has helped me breathe, and that is finding at least one little thing to be grateful for each day, in spite of the pain,” says Kelly. She writes in hopes of helping others to find their “one little thing” as well.  Her latest book, Just One Little Thing is an evolution from and a revision of her first book, Gratitude in Grief: Finding Daily Joy and a Life Purpose Following the Death of My Son, which was published early in 2010.

Grief + Creativity – Founded after the death of their son Dakota in 1999 by commercial artists Hawk and Kara LC Jones (aka Mother Henna), KOTA (Knowing Ourselves Through Art) supports bereaved parents and those who care for them after the death of a child, by “exploring the art of healing” –  encouraging the use of art in creative, healing ways.

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 Newsletter. Sign up here. 

Related:

• Child Loss: Supporting A Sibling in Grief
• Disaster Falls: A Family Story
• Does Child Loss Destroy A Marriage?
• "Follow The Child": Book Review via Seven Ponds
• Fathers' Refuge | Blog Posts
• Follow the Child: Planning and Having the Best End-of-Life Care for Your Child
• Helping a Grandparent Who Is Grieving
• Just Playing House
• Loss of A Child: The Pain That Never Ends
• Mother Struggles to "Accept" The Death of Her Son
• Now You See the Sky
• Surviving A Child's Homicide
• When An Adult Child Dies: Resources for Bereaved Parents
• Where Do I Fit? Understanding an Aunt's Grief after Losing a Nephew

© by Marty Tousley, RN, MS, FT

Understanding and Managing Grief, October 17 - October 23

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

• Contacting communicating with spirits, http://bit.ly/b1uvPB by @pendletonauthor

• The New Grief: Is Creativity the Way out of Mourning? by Joseph Nowinski, Ph.D., http://huff.to/csvl1t

• Does Grief After Traumatic Death Ever End? Grief Expert Says No, http://ow.ly/19AKOV

• Approaching the Holidaze when grief doesn't go away, http://bit.ly/asnWnc by @motherhenna

• Creating a Grief Recovery Bucket List | Open to Hope Foundation, http://bit.ly/cNWQIX 

• Healing through community service and volunteering, http://bit.ly/dbLIrd 

• Men Coping With Grief by Linda N. Edelstein, Ph.D., http://bit.ly/9ujEMa via @tcm007 @addthis 

• Another's perspective on multiple loss and learning to live! http://bit.ly/ai7YRH by @DoyleDiana

• Simple but effective tip: If You're Grieving, Don't Forget to Breathe, http://ow.ly/19zypG by @WorldbytheTail 

• Surviving Halloween and the holidays when grieving,  http://bit.ly/aeds6z by @DoyleDiana

• 25 Inspirational Thoughts on Coping with Grief: Free e-book by Ellen Gerst, http://bit.ly/coLFMq

• Ways to Survive Grief During Halloween Season | Open to Hope Foundation, http://bit.ly/barnly

• He Keeps Talking about the Late Wife http://bit.ly/9bNhmz by @abelkeogh

• New site to help in search for healing from grief http://bit.ly/dyTYKp via @stangoldberg

• Griefwalker Canadian independent film about embracing life by befriending death http://icio.us/eufzxl via @ctsinclair 

• Unexpected healing from father-loss http://bit.ly/bSsJYv via @HelloGrief 

• Is the second year of grief harder than the first? http://bit.ly/btZ77Y by @sbaffone via @soaringspirits

• The New Grief: When Your Family Can't Cope with Your Diagnosis, http://ow.ly/19w5YB via @GriefHelp

• New research suggests adversity builds resiliency: http://bit.ly/cvekAP What do you think? via RT @soaringspirits

• Grief: the most available untapped emotional resource for personal transformation, http://bit.ly/dx3B28

• Pieces of Me: Staying connected to deceased loved one, by Dave Roberts | Open to Hope Foundation, http://bit.ly/b4P6n2 

• Love remains even as closets are emptied: Meaning of Mementos | Open to Hope Foundation, http://bit.ly/cCdQ1Z

• To help another in grief: Share Memories of the Deceased | Open to Hope Foundation http://bit.ly/anlJuC

 

Understanding and Managing Grief, August 22 - August 28

From Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

• After the Loss of Your Baby, For Teen Mothers: Book Review, http://bit.ly/diJvTD by @motherhenna

• Do I Have To Tell My Loved One He's Dying? http://bit.ly/bgSJ21 via @angelamorrow

• Sibling Loss from both adult and child perspecitve, by @DianaDoyle http://bit.ly/aeds6z 

• Six yrs ago today, I lost my baby brother, http://bit.ly/aphVT6 via @oh2bnMT @mtgoldeneagle

• Spouse Loss Makes Life Doubly Hard by Christine Thiele | Open to Hope Foundation, http://bit.ly/9sfsMm 

• Best way to support the bereaved? Listen! by Catherine Tidd | Open to Hope Foundation, http://bit.ly/borcC7 

• When a Dog Loses a Loved One: An Interview with Dr. Michael W. Fox, http://bit.ly/ac1NFA via @lauralassiter 

• Creative ways to help one cope with grief and loss, http://bit.ly/bDIl6Vvia @SanDiegoHospice 

• Sorry For Your Loss: What People Who Are Grieving Wish You Knew, http://bit.ly/aBSqxp (via @thegrieflady)

• 10 Tips to Make Funeral Planning Easier, Part 2, http://bit.ly/cRmhu7 @ValleyofLife (via @thegrieflady)

• Extensive child loss resources, updated grief articles, welcome page, etc. @ Kota site, http://bit.ly/a47Hb5  via @motherhenna

• Men’s Grief: It’s Time to Get it Out | Open to Hope Foundation, http://bit.ly/a36IDo 

• Dave Roberts: The Importance of Adequate Support for the Bereaved | Open to Hope Foundation, http://bit.ly/byRsRL

• Mentors support families of fallen soldiers, http://bit.ly/a3CYTy via @TAPS4America

• Trauma and Loss: Losing Faith vs Gaining Perspective by Terri Daniel, http://exm.nr/byf0eL

• Tears help reveal the truth: Crying Serves a Purpose (NPR.org), http://n.pr/dvAqKx via @caregiving

• Coming to terms with the death of a mother, http://bit.ly/9Dwmvu

• How Long is Too Long to Grieve? | Open to Hope Foundation, http://bit.ly/cR6WXC

• Can I distribute personal property after Mom's service? http://bit.ly/b9NZ7n via @caring

• Dreams can help in grief, by David Kessler: Oprah.com, http://bit.ly/b6ixeS via @joannefunch

• Grieving mom offers swim lessons to poor Ohio kids, http://bit.ly/cWQXf0

• Writing brings comfort to those dealing with grief, http://ow.ly/2trwL @StoryForHealing via Ft Lewis Ranger

• Giving thanks for a terrific article on child loss, http://bit.ly/9ox60s RT @KSBuckley

• Making Space for Grief, by Jerry Kolber, http://bit.ly/bzhMDA

Understanding and Managing Grief, July 25 - July 31

From Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

• David Kessler: 10 Best Things to Say to Someone in Grief - Don't ask, just help, http://bit.ly/bTPvLC

• @GrievingDads: “Anything That You Need” - Truisms About Grief, No. 5, http://wp.me/pVxlX-1P 

• @ctsinclair Re: Examples of online forums for family support, see Hospice of the Valley's (where I moderate), http://bit.ly/9FrPSq

• @OneLifeTherapy  Ever wondered what depression might look like if you could photograph it? Find out here, http://bit.ly/di1J6k

• How Might We Grieve in a Death-Denying Society? (Part 1) | http://bit.ly/a8RWpD (via PsychCentral)

• Tabitha Jayne on Sibling Loss: Don’t Just Heal Grief, Transform it | Open to Hope Foundation, http://bit.ly/aZ05xX 

• David Roberts: Grief Lessons from the Wal-Mart Truck | Open to Hope Foundation, http://bit.ly/byBo60 

• Ken Doka: When a Friend Dies | Open to Hope Foundation http://bit.ly/aRJsPq 

• Clever! From Mother Henna: Creative Prompt: Business Card of Grief and Enews for July 27, http://bit.ly/980cyo 

• @Joannefunch: For Those Grieving The Loss of a Baby http://bit.ly/9QBces

• Powerful! RT @HylaMolander: Drop Dead Life: A Pregnant Widow's Memoir (Excerpt) on Scribd, http://scr.bi/bPDiB0 

• @GrievingDads: “Positive Attitude Is NOT Enough” – Truisms About Grief, No.4, http://fb.me/DZPFdXzu

• @Joannefunch: David Kessler: Why Birth Is Not a Beginning and Death is Not an End http://bit.ly/d9A7Is

• @TrueLoveAfter40: What is From Loss to Love Again? http://tinyurl.com/losslove via @Joannefunch

• @Joannefunch: Suicide, The Painful Truth - heart wrenching yet inspiring article http://bit.ly/9pk010 

• Fathers suffer too after pregnancy loss | Reuters http://bit.ly/ctJsrr

• Alicia King: None Too Subtle Signs from Beyond, http://bit.ly/cYyLK2 

• @SusanWReynolds: Other People' s Beds- Beliefnet.com http://shar.es/mMYiC In loss, remember the place you lay your head! 

Understanding and Managing Grief, July 18 - 24

From Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

• Father Loss: @Ruyarme: Sharing my year of grieving, and finding wholeness there, http://wp.me/pLgQ6-I0 

• Widow’s Separation From Husband is ‘Temporary’ | Open to Hope Foundation, http://bit.ly/cmQedX 

• Tambre Leighn: The Healing Power of Creativity | Open to Hope Foundation, http://bit.ly/cLYTUW

• @mental_floss via @doclake: Oh, the Places Your Ashes Will Go! Creative things to do with loved one's remains, http://bit.ly/c4wKBb 

• @GriefHelp: Judith Orloff MD: The Health Benefits of Tears, http://ow.ly/18e7Ft 

• @Freshwidow: Angry with God since the death of your spouse? Free Webinar from friends at @Loveafterloss, http://bit.ly/aAAIgm

• How making small changes in our environment can help us revive after loss, http://bit.ly/deYBt5

• @GrievingDads: Number 3 of 31 Truisms About #Grief has been posted http://bit.ly/bbpyEz 

• @Selfhealingexpr: First Year of Grief: Help for the Journey, by @griefhealing, Sensitive online support, http://bit.ly/dxIVcT 

• New Blog from licensed professional counselor @sbaffone: Helping You Make Sense Out of Loving, Losing, and Living, http://bit.ly/dk8UeV 

• @thinthreads: Focusing on Grief and Renewal: An official welcome from co-editor Ellen Gerst, http://bit.ly/aptiPD 

• @soaringspirits: Not sure about attending Camp Widow alone? Worried that you aren't in the right state of mind to come to Camp? http://fb.me/xm3nbZWA

• @americanwp: A veteran's widow writes, "We are his story tellers." Our newest Widow Story, "Cut Way Too Short," by Katie, http://bit.ly/aly0xd 

• Wendie Batho: How To Tell the Difference Between Grief and Depression « Facilitators' Blog, http://bit.ly/cXdkPx

• @hospice_news: Informative article on grief, at Munson Hospice Corner, http://bit.ly/ctDl7E 

• Rondi Lightmark helps you decide: Do You Need Grief Counseling? http://bit.ly/biXBJy 

• Catherine Tidd: Feeling Lost (and Finding Oneself) in the Widowhood | Open to Hope Foundation, http://bit.ly/cosBtC 

• @Joannefunch: Harriet Hodgson on Telling Your Grief Story Without Turning Off Listeners, http://bit.ly/ayAOJb 

• @NAGCnews: When a Death Occurs in a Community: Helping Children and Teens, http://ow.ly/2cpKR 

• @soaringspirits: Michele Neff Hernandez describes a fear shared by most, that of opening her heart again, http://fb.me/A9xBt3T6 

• @courosa: Why we listen to sad music when we're sad, http://is.gd/dy6YT via @openculture 

• Amy Maddocks: Daydreaming About Deceased Son - Healthy or Not? | Open to Hope Foundation http://bit.ly/aMKRPf 

• Laura Slap-Shelton, widowed at age 35, on Death of a Spouse | Open to Hope Foundation http://bit.ly/befoVv 

• @Joannefunch: Disenfranchised Grief: Grieving Without Society's Permission: http://bit.ly/aCMXN9 

• @StephanieSarkis, via @SalonMedia: "The heartbreak of my mother's smoking," http://bit.ly/cl64OD