Finding A Friend in Grief

Friendship improves happiness and abates misery, by the doubling of our joy and the dividing of our grief.  ~ Marcus Tullius Cicero

A reader writes: Marty, I just wanted to write and thank you for your Grief Healing Discussion Groups website. It's been 6 months since I lost my horse, Domino. I know you recently heard from my friend, Anita, who lost her dog shortly after I lost Domino last August. Although Anita lives in Canada and I live in the States, we have developed a wonderful friendship via email and telephone calls.

Understanding and Managing Grief & Pet Loss, May 29 - June 4, 2022

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

The addition of this new disorder is intended to help clinicians and patients recognize what ‘normal grief’ looks like versus ‘a long-term problem’. Opinion: There is now a disorder for ‘prolonged’ grief. But what does ‘normal’ grief look like? « The Globe and Mail 

Our dying and grieving processes have been disrupted during COVID. The Loss of a 'Good' Death « MedPage Today 

In Grief: A Priceless Gift Goes Unacknowledged

Often you think when you're rejected that you are not good enough, But the truth is they weren't ready for all you have to offer.  ~ Melchor Lim

A reader writes: My friend who died of cancer 14 months ago had been estranged from his family of origin the last year of his life. About 6 weeks before he died, they reached out to him, in the hope of reconciliation. Plans were made for a face-to-face meeting on neutral turf. Unfortunately, my friend began to physically deteriorate, and neither the meeting or the reconciliation took place.

Understanding and Managing Grief, December 10 - December 16, 2017

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

Coping with grief during the holidays, http://j.mp/2yE1Uvu « Fox 10 News

The grief chronicles: Reflections from those who loved and lost during the past year, http://j.mp/2yF0Bwd « The Washington Post

A Millennial's Guide to Grief in a Digital World, http://j.mp/2yvcHYO « Crossroads Hospice and Palliative Care

Caregiving and Hospice, December 25 - December 31, 2016

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

Give the gift that keeps on giving: straight talk on end-of-life care, http://bit.ly/2hWhnQ6 « STAT

Dying Isn't Fighting Death, http://bit.ly/2iGoZKA « Seven Ponds Blog

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Coping with Grief on Father’s Day: Selected Resources

[Reviewed and updated June 15, 2025]

A boy loses his father, he quickly becomes a man. I was 22. I remember clearly the sobriety I felt in the pain of my father’s passing. The sorrow refined me, and I never looked at the world the same again. Everything I revered and looked up to suddenly dropped to eye level and felt more mortal and attainable, while everything I had patronized and looked down upon rose up to a more respectful eye level and wasn’t beneath me. The world was suddenly flat, and I looked it square in the eye with more courage and incentive than ever before. ~ Matthew McConaughey
                                             
Sunday is Father’s Day, a day set aside for honoring one’s own father (or father figure) and for celebrating fatherhood. But for those who are separated from or mourning the loss of a father or grandfather, or fathers mourning the loss of a child or grandchild, this can be instead a most difficult day to endure. If you find yourself or someone you love in these circumstances, know that you are not alone.

Understanding and Managing Grief, December 27 - January 2, 2016

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

Powerful: What do grown children owe abusive parents? http://j.mp/1YWAzjZ « Slate

Coping with New Years Eve Blues, http://j.mp/1mt2eHl « What's Your Grief?

Helping Your Parents Deal with Loss, http://j.mp/1Or64Y8 « Hospice of the Red River Valley

Understanding and Managing Grief, December 21 - December 27, 2014

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

Feeling Profound Loss After a Death Means the Person Had a Profound Impact, http://j.mp/16T4vEn  « Maria Shriver

Beautiful! Winter's Light, http://j.mp/1x5OW5R « Widower's Grief

On coping with holidays in grief: The Art of Regrouping, http://j.mp/1zhLqSR « What's Your Grief?