Understanding and Managing Grief, December 31 - January 6, 2024

Best selections from Grief Healing's X feed this week:

Normal grief is a process that varies from person to person. Prolonged Grief Disorder occurs when this process is derailed. Normal grieving is supported by joining specialized groups of mourners and cultural and religious customs. Prolonged Grief Disorder Therapy focuses on healing themes and achieving milestones as recovery progresses. Grief: What Is Normal and What Is Prolonged Grief Disorder « Psychology Today

Understanding and Managing Grief, October 29 - November 4, 2023

Best selections from Grief Healing's X feed this week:

Death and grief are not easy to talk about. Talking to children about these can be harder still. Our instinct to protect children from harsh realities means we might avoid these topics altogether. But, as we discovered in our recently published research, bereaved children have lots of questions about death and grief. 'Why did he Leave Me?' 5 things grieving children want to know about the death of a loved one « The Conversation

Disenfranchised Grief: When A Friend Dies

Some people come into our lives and leave footprints on our hearts and we are never ever the same.  ~ Flavia Weedn

A reader writes: A friend of mine died last month. I have been struggling to cope since then. We met only a few months ago when I did some work at the theater where he was based. We knew each other a very short time and I realize that if you've lost someone you've known for years this may seem so selfish and silly, but we really connected and I miss him so much.

In Grief: A Teen Mourns The Death of Her Best Friend

Because children and teens grieve differently than adults, their needs, especially support through the grieving process, are often overlooked. Consequently, children and teens are frequently forgotten, even invalidated, as mourners.  ~ Kirsti A. Dyer, MD, MS

A reader writes: When I was 12 years old, my best friend in the whole world died, one month before her 12th birthday. She was in the swimming pool playing that game—you know, who can hold their breath the longest—she was under but when she came up she inhaled a lot of water. She stood up and went over to the ladder and she was wheezing. She got up to the ladder and fell backwards, but her cousin caught her.

Disenfranchised Grief: When A Friend Dies, At A Distance

[Reviewed and updated March 29, 2025]

What we have once enjoyed deeply we can never lose. All that we love deeply becomes a part of us.  ~ Helen Keller

A reader writes: One of my very good friends died from lung cancer. We live far apart and I hadn't been in touch with her recently and I learned a few days ago that she passed away two weeks ago. I missed the funeral and I'm having a very difficult time dealing with her death.

In Grief: College Student Struggling with Too Many Losses

[Reviewed and updated April 25, 2025]

What we once enjoyed and deeply loved we can never lose, for all that we love deeply becomes part of us. ~ Helen Keller

A reader writes: I don't know what to say, what to do, or where to go anymore. I have lost four very good friends within a 10 month time span -- two to death, one to multiple strokes and the other is in a psych institution for the entirety of his life. They were all my good friends, friends I trusted, friends I confided in, friends I did things with; they were all I had, and, now, they are gone. I am lost, sad, alone, and as each and every day goes by I get lonelier and lonelier without them.

Death of A Friend: A Disenfranchised Grief

Find the updated version of this post here:

Disenfranchised Grief: When A Friend Dies

A reader writes: A friend of mine died last month. I have been struggling to cope since then. We met only a few months ago when I did some work at the theater where he was based. We knew each other a very short time and I realize that if you've lost someone you've known for years this may seem so selfish and silly, but we really connected and I miss him so much . . . There wasn't a funeral. If there was one, it was a family only affair. I have no contact with anyone else who knew him. 

Voices of Experience: When My Story Ends

Music can touch and heal that secret wound of the soul which nothing else can reach.  ~ Debasish Mridha

The Mammals are an indie-roots trailblazing band founded by Mike + Ruthy (Michael Merenda and Ruth Ungar). In the group’s first incarnation (which featured founding member Tao Rodriguez-Seeger) the band energized audiences in the ‘00s with its “Trad is Rad” folk message. The Washington Post described them as “gleefully aware that the sound barriers separating old-timey music, vintage pop and contemporary folk are as permeable as cotton.”

Voices of Experience: Death of a Friend and the Lesson of Feathers

Feathers appear when angels are near.  ~ Karen Borga

Julie Siri, LCSW is a licensed clinical social worker with over 25 years' experience in death, dying and bereavement. She is a seasoned hospice worker, grief therapist, dynamic speaker and educator, having taught several years at Whittier College and as a guest lecturer at the University of Southern California, UCLA and Keck Medical School. Here Julie describes how the death of a dear friend helped her learn one of life's most important lessons ~ that although death ends the life of a loved one, the relationship we have with that person doesn't end; it changes form. And if we pay close attention, reminders are everywhere.

Understanding and Managing Grief, April 9 - April 15, 2017

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

Megan Devine: Some things in life can't be fixed, http://bit.ly/2ohD9QH « The Start Up Sessions

Sheryl Sandberg: Option B and Life After Grief, http://ti.me/2nN0f6c « TIME

My Marathon Towards Healing, http://bit.ly/2otgiVB « Maria Shriver

Understanding and Managing Grief, November 8 - November 14, 2015

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

Talking to Kids about the Paris Attacks, http://j.mp/1MIvwfc « What's Your Grief?

Grief and Shame: An Unacceptable Combination, http://j.mp/1LdIuvV « The Adversity Within

Researchers call for hospitals to establish bereavement programs for families of deceased patients, http://j.mp/1HLDcI2 « Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Guilt And Regret Following The Death of a Friend

Source

[Reviewed and updated November 27, 2025]

Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.  ~ Maria Robinson

A reader writes: Do you have any articles or can you suggest a book that will be helpful to me? I lost a long time friend. We had some unresolved conflict caused by me. I was unable to be with her during the past 2 years as she fought cancer. She shut me out. I deserved it. I am grieving the loss, the lack of closure, and guilt. It is hell. Can you point me to some help? Please?

My response: I’m so sorry to learn of the death of your friend, and of course there is nothing I can say to erase the load of guilt that you are carrying around with you in the wake of your loss. In the end, the only one who can forgive you is you, as I'm sure you already know.

I certainly can tell you that guilt is one of the most common reactions in loss – guilt for what you may have done or failed to say or do.

Understanding and Managing Grief, April 5 - April 11, 2015

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

How Can a Labyrinth Help in the Grieving Process? http://j.mp/1PwFP6A « SevenPonds Blog

Jane Hirshfield On Turning To Poetry In Grief, http://j.mp/1yiTMQc « KUOW.org

In Grief: Us vs. Them, http://j.mp/1ylbL8T « Alive in Memory