Disenfranchised grievers experience strong feelings that are often complicated or exacerbated by the relationship, by the type of loss or by isolation. These lead to the central paradox of disenfranchised grief: though grief is often intense, the social support that assists other grievers is absent. ~ Kenneth J. Doka
A colleague writes: I hope you can give me some advice. One of our staff members lost her 18-year-old stepson last week in a car accident. She and her husband married six years ago, combining two families. Each had three children by previous marriages. They all lived together as a blended family, although their children's other parent remained involved. I went to the wake and it was painful to see my friend excluded from all the collage photos. Her kids were there in some of them and all the kids are very close. Her daughter and his son (the one who died) are the same age and were close. She's got a lot of disenfranchised grief going on. I know there is information out there on step-parent grief, but wondered if you knew of any books or resources that are particularly good?
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