Coping with Pet Loss, May 3 - May 9, 2015

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

Losing Our Pets, http://j.mp/1Quptef « Personal Growth and Grief Support Center

End of Life Doesn’t Mean Life Must End, http://j.mp/1Rko23h « The Davis Enterprise

Pet Loss: Sharing The Sad News with Grandchildren, http://j.mp/1DZEhcX « Grief Healing Blog

 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.
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Pet Loss: Sharing The Sad News with Grandchildren

[Reviewed and updated October 24, 2017]

Heartbreak is life educating us.  ~ George Bernard Shaw

Source

A reader writes: I very sadly had to euthanize my wonderful dog of 8 years last night. She has been with me with so many other losses and helped me through. Now here I am and at a loss without her. I am having a terrible time but am contacting you to help with my two grandchildren, who are ages 6 and 3. They live across the street and have grown up with our Great Dane Suzanna, and I am at a loss as to what to say to them that they will understand. They lost their pet turtle just last week and have been sad about that, and now their dog. I was wondering if you could recommend any age appropriate books that I could purchase.

My response: I’m so very sorry to learn of the death of your beloved Suzanna, and I can only imagine how difficult this must be for you and your family. Not only must you deal with your own grief at the loss of your precious companion, but with that of your dear little grandchildren as well.

Caregiving and Hospice, April 26 - May 2, 2015

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

Who Guides Hospice Volunteers? An Interview with Steven Willey, Hospice Volunteer Manager, Part Two, http://j.mp/1Jgzc3E « Seven Ponds Blog

Overcoming The Death Taboo By Just Talking About It, http://j.mp/1bp2Jwc « KUOW.org

Brilliant: Does Everything Happen for a Reason? http://j.mp/1GM1K4B « HuffPost GPS for The Soul

Understanding and Managing Grief, April 26 - May 2, 2015

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

After a spouse's suicide: Scared of the Anger, http://j.mp/1QYaZo9 « Widow's Voice

Tips for Who Should Be In Your Grief Support System, http://j.mp/1GCKsob « GriefMinisterDotCom

5 Things to Do Before Visiting a Psychic Medium, http://j.mp/1EVRgCn « Modern Loss

Coping with Pet Loss, April 26 - May 2, 2015

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

End-of-life care: What I learned from a pet's death, http://j.mp/1AnCuNg « Kevin MD

Man's Best Friend: 5 Considerations for Grieving The Loss of a Pet, http://j.mp/1JKF45c « What's Your Grief?

How to Defeat Sadness Over the Loss of Your Animal in One Easy Step, http://j.mp/1KnTZmN « HuffPost GPS for the Soul

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.

Consoling A Bereaved Parent, From A Distance

[Reviewed and updated June 10, 2024]

A reader writes: My husband and I are dealing with his mother's grief over losing his father (her husband), who passed away last month in a wonderful hospice in another state. I have visited your online grief support website, and although it helps calm my nerves somewhat to see that other widows are experiencing the same acute grief emotions as my mother-in law, we are at a loss for how to help and support her most effectively, as she is in one state and we live in another. We are concerned that she definitely needs to get one-on-one grief counseling, but she is so distraught that she cannot even call her doctor and arrange that, or even speak with the wonderful supportive people at the hospice there. What can we do from a distance?

Caregiving and Hospice, April 19 - April 25, 2015

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

We Need a Role Reversal in the Conversation on Dying, http://j.mp/1JBCmi5 « The New York Times

Yes. Amen. Being Superman, http://j.mp/1OhrH2V « GeriPal

Dying With a Disability, http://j.mp/1bgs8IR « Grief Digest Magazine

Understanding and Managing Grief, April 19 - April 25, 2015

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

 Grief is powerful. Here are 6 lessons survivors learn from tragedy, http://j.mp/1HDpUzR « Vox

How To Deal When Your Widowed Parent Starts Dating Again, http://j.mp/1Gg3TTv « Adequate Man

Groundbreaking Guidelines Address Grief, Trauma, Distress of Suicide Loss, http://j.mp/1z1CxmW « Grief after Suicide Blog

Coping with Pet Loss, April 19 - April 25, 2015

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

What to Say [or Not] to Someone Mourning a Pet, http://j.mp/1GnpmiM « Pawcurious

Must read: What I Learned From My Son After the Death of Our Dog, http://j.mp/1HZBENs « HuffPost Parents

Peaceful passings: Hospice, Palliative Care for Pets, http://j.mp/1PirkSE « New Hampshire Business Review

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.

Is Grief A Normal Reaction to Divorce?

Source

[Reviewed and updated March 8, 2026]

Freeing yourself was one thing, claiming ownership of that freed self was another.  ~ Toni Morrison

A reader writes: I recently tried to join a grief group. When the leader found out that my wife had not died, she told me that the others in the group would not feel that my grief was as deep as theirs. She suggested that I look for a divorce-recovery group. I wish I was certain that recovery will eventually happen. It has been over 17 years since I lost my wife. Isn’t it pretty clear by now that I will not ever recover?

My response: I’m so sorry to learn that you were met with such insensitivity from a support group leader. I also think your story illustrates the importance of the language we choose to use when speaking about grief.

First, it is pointless to compare one person’s loss with another’s, or to argue whether one type of loss is “deeper” than another kind. Better to say that the grief associated with divorce is different from the grief experienced when a spouse dies, but it is still a death – the death of a relationship – and it still engenders grief.