Understanding and Managing Grief, October 1 - October 31, 2025

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

Grief is a universal experience that touches everyone—from kids to adults. And for fourth grade teacher Ryan Brazil, she used her own recent loss to help educate and open up to her students about grief. She explains what grief is to her students using a vase. Fourth Grade Teacher Explains Grief to Her Students « Upworthy

If ever there is a time when you’re entitled to ignore the rules of etiquette, or a time when immediate thanks is neither expected nor required, it is when you are in mourning.It is perfectly acceptable to express your gratitude for gifts of flowers, donations and other acts of kindness later, when other affairs are in order and when you may feel more up to the task. It is also appropriate to delegate this task to those family members and friends who are willing and able to do it on your behalf. In Grief: On Writing Sympathy Thank-You Notes « Grief Healing

In Grief: On Writing Sympathy Thank-You Notes

Appreciation can make a day, even change a life.  Your willingness to put it into words is all that is necessary.  ~ Margaret Cousins

Upon the death of a loved one, it is customary to send written thank you notes as soon as possible, usually within two weeks of receiving a gift. But if ever there is a time when you’re entitled to ignore the rules of etiquette, or a time when immediate thanks is neither expected nor required, it is when you are in mourning. 

Understanding and Managing Grief, November 7 - November 13, 2021

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

Although we may want to cure someone's grief with a simple quick fix solution, it's not something that you as the gift giver have control over. Instead, it's necessary to be there for them as a reliable support system when they need to talk. But while your presence is the most important gift of all, you can also show up in other ways. 45 Best Sympathy Gifts for Those Who Are Grieving 2021 « Well + Good

What to Say (Or Not) to A Person in Grief

[Reviewed and updated March 15, 2025]

Be mindful when it comes to your words. A string of some that don't mean much to you, may stick with someone else for a lifetime. ~ Rachel Wolchin

When a death is anticipated or when someone we know has died, the words we choose to write or speak to a caregiver or to a person in mourning can carry significant impact and can be remembered for a very long time. The newly bereaved are especially vulnerable and sensitive. Depending on what is said and how it is expressed, our words can be perceived as helpful and comforting, or as unkind, insensitive and hurtful.

Coping with Pet Loss, March 19 - March 25, 2017

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

Things I Wish I Had Known When My Dog Died, http://nyti.ms/2nnlc5T « The New York Times

It can be harder to lose a dog than a relative or friend -- here's why, http://read.bi/2o01MTc « Business Insider

Respond to Friends' Pet Loss with Sympathetic Calls, Letters, http://bit.ly/2mZF1Nm « A Good Goodbye

Understanding and Managing Grief, January 11 - January 17, 2015

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

Cancer Loss: When Everything, Including Sympathy, Hurts, http://j.mp/1BkdSd2 « Inquisitr

Grief In The Classroom: 'Saying Nothing Says A Lot,' http://j.mp/1AsuR7y « NPR Ed

Important! Grief After Abortion, http://j.mp/1zo5c4A « What's Your Grief?

When Words Matter: Tips On Writing A Condolence Letter

[Reviewed and updated October 26, 2025]

A letter of condolence provides the opportunity for a very special form of writer/reader inter-connection, one that proclaims simply, 'I acknowledge your loss, and, in some measure, I share your pain.' This is the essential human message in all letters of condolence. ~ Leonard M. Zunin, MD and Hilary Stanton Zunin

A reader writes: I would like to know if you could assist me in writing a letter of condolence.

My response: I think this is a very important question, and I commend you for asking it. With our busy lifestyles nowadays, electronic communication alternatives such as cell-phones, texting and email have made letter-writing seem like such a daunting task for so many of us, if not a forgotten art altogether. Yet in times of sorrow, few things are more appreciated than a handwritten note, which can be held and read by the recipient, then saved and re-read over and over again.

Understanding and Managing Grief, March 6 - March 12

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

• Dealing with grief through yoga, http://bit.ly/dEpo8G via @MikeWolpert

• Men and Grief, http://bit.ly/e5dKUp by @Esdeer

• Shep Jeffreys on grief: ‘How Long Will It Take?’ http://bit.ly/eKsUCY

• Powerful advice for helping another in grief, http://bit.ly/h8zWyY via @MatthewLindgren

• Children and grief, http://bit.ly/hGKwBH via @AliveHospice