Loss of a Family Member

  • The Price We Pay

    Posted on September 24, 2026 - by Colleen Friesen

    The Price We Pay is a gentle, honest exploration of grief told through the lived experience of a support group — a place where vulnerability becomes connection, and connection becomes healing. Through my own story of loss, I invite readers to witness what it feels like to sit in a circle of people who are learning to breathe again after life has changed forever. Each chapter ends with tender, reflective questions designed to help readers pause, feel, and find language for what hurts. These questions aren’t instructions — they’re invitations. They create space for readers to meet their grief with […]

  • Daisy A Day

    Posted on March 5, 2026 - by Harriet Hodgson

    Just like you, Harriet Hodgson has lost loved ones. Just like you, she sought help. When Harriet couldn’t find the help she wanted, she wrote Daisy a Day, 365 short readings about coping with grief. Her tender, thoughtful words can help you find your healing path and keep walking toward the future. Daisy a Day is the hug you need.

  • Grief Doodling

    Posted on February 20, 2026 - by Harriet Hodgson

    From the very first page, Grief Doodling invites action. Topics range from the benefits of doodling to why doodling is fun to doodling tips and responding to doodling prompts. The prompts, based on grief research, promote self-worth and healing. This is a hopeful book—something all grieving kids need.

  • Spiritual Woman

    Posted on February 18, 2026 - by Harriet Hodgson

    Spiritual Woman is like a dear friend, at your side when needed, reliable and ready to help. From the first page to the last, this daily guide empowers you. Read it in chronological order or pick any page and start reading. Keep Spiritual Woman on your bedside table. Stick it in your backpack or purse. Give a copy to a friend or colleague. Tell other women about it too, for we’re all in this life together.

  • Grief In Your Own Words

    Posted on February 13, 2026 - by Harriet Hodgson

    Feel like you’re stuck in grief? Write your way out by following the steps in this concise, easy-to-use book. You need to tell your grief story. This book helps you do it with tips on your thinking place, writing place, how to write, what to write, and resources to boost your spirits. Grief in Your Words helps you create a path to the future.

Articles

  • When Friends Disappear After Your Loss: Why It Happens and What to Do

    Posted on September 24, 2026 - by Heidi Horsley

    When friends disappear after a loss, the second wound can hurt almost as much as the first. Why does it happen, and what can you do? Here are 7 compassionate insights for bereaved people whose friend circles changed after the death.

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  • It Was Not the Same: Caregiving After Sibling Loss 

    Posted on September 22, 2026 - by Dr. Angela Dean

    When my mother had a recent medical crisis, on my way home from the hospital nearly in tears, I called a first cousin.  I was overwhelmed by a grief that felt new and heavy. I reached for someone who loves me and my mom, someone who has been in our family for longer than I have. She was kind enough to answer and stay on the line. She listened, was empathic, and said the right things.   After we spoke, I felt I still needed more. So, I called my aunt. Similarly, I felt heard, empathized with, and truly supported. While the conversation left me feeling better than the one with her daughter, somewhere in the middle of that conversation, I […]

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  • Coping With the Sudden Death of a Spouse: A Therapist’s Compassionate Guide

    Posted on September 17, 2026 - by Heidi Horsley

    Sudden death of a spouse is one of the most disorienting experiences a human can survive. There is no preparation, no goodbye, no chance to say what mattered. Here are 9 compassionate, therapist-tested ways to cope with the sudden death of a spouse and start finding your footing again.

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  • He’s Everywhere

    Posted on September 14, 2026 - by carolbethanderson

    Five days after my husband’s death of cancer at the age of fifty-five, I stood in our master bathroom.  To my right was our closet, stuffed with my clothes and Jason’s—ties he’d barely worn in years since his company got more casual, wrinkle-free button-downs and khakis, t-shirts from concerts he’d attended, and F-1 racing fan gear. I walked past the vanity, spotting his razor and toothbrush. His towel was still hanging over the shower’s glass door. When I stepped into our room, I saw Jason’s shoes organized perfectly in the soft, compartmented contraption hanging off the bathroom door. Far less […]

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  • Rethinking Sympathy in Times of Loss

    Posted on September 9, 2026 - by Hope Reger

    Judgment in Grief: A Societal Reflection As a society, we must ask ourselves: have we reached a point where the level of sympathy offered to grieving families depends on the choices made by their loved ones? It is troubling to consider that families may receive varying degrees of compassion based on how their loved one passed away—whether from cancer, overdose, accident, suicide, heart attack, or murder. This raises the question: are we so critical of others that we allow our judgments to influence who is deserving of more or less sympathy? Debating Irrelevant Issues While debates about whether addiction is […]

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  • 25 Years After September 11th: What I Learned About Grief, Families, and Hope

    Posted on September 7, 2026 - by Heidi Horsley

    Twenty-five years after September 11th, I continue to think about the families I came to know through my work with the FDNY–Columbia University Family Guidance Program. I worked closely with families who lost a firefighter in the World Trade Center attacks. I remain in touch with some of these families today, which has allowed me to witness how grief, resilience, and hope continue to evolve over time. Some of the children I once knew have grown into adults and even followed in their parents’ footsteps by becoming firefighters themselves. One of the most important things I learned is that grief […]

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  • Grief and Sleep: Why Loss Steals Your Rest and How to Get It Back

    Posted on September 5, 2026 - by Heidi Horsley

    Grief and sleep problems go hand in hand — loss disrupts rest for the vast majority of grieving people. Here’s why grief wrecks your sleep, when to be concerned, and gentle, practical ways to rest again.

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  • New York City: 25 Years of Healing and Hope

    Posted on September 1, 2026 - by Heidi Horsley

    Over the past 25 years, I have watched New York City carry unimaginable loss while continuing to grow, rebuild, and find hope. What stays with me most is how people came together. Families, first responders, neighbors, volunteers, and strangers supported one another in extraordinary ways. In the midst of grief, there was also an incredible sense of connection and community. As the years passed, I watched the city change. Lower Manhattan came back to life. New buildings rose, families grew, and children like mine came of age in a city forever shaped by 9/11. The 9/11 Memorial and Museum became […]

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  • Returning to Work After a Death: A Guide to Grieving on the Job

    Posted on September 1, 2026 - by Heidi Horsley

    Returning to work after a death is one of grief’s hardest transitions, especially when bereavement leave runs out fast. Here’s how to navigate grieving on the job, what to ask for, and how to be gentle with yourself.

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  • Grief and Anxiety: When Loss Brings Panic, Dread, and Worry

    Posted on August 23, 2026 - by Heidi Horsley

    Grief and anxiety often arrive together — loss can trigger panic, dread, and constant worry. Here’s why anxiety is such a common part of grief, when it needs extra attention, and how to calm a grieving, anxious mind.

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  • Grief and Faith: When Your Beliefs Are Shaken by Loss

    Posted on August 20, 2026 - by Heidi Horsley

    Grief and faith have a complicated relationship. When you lose someone you love, your beliefs can deepen, shift, shatter, or all three. Here are 7 compassionate ways to navigate grief and faith after loss, whatever your tradition (or lack of one) looks like.

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  • Good Husband, Good Father

    Posted on August 18, 2026 - by Bill Beckett

    Before Bonnie’s death, I had never thought of myself as a caregiver. Husband, father, provider—yes. I used to tell Bonnie that what I wanted on my tombstone was: Good husband, good father. If I had accomplished that, I would be proud of the life I lived. I never imagined I’d make a very good caregiver. Not because I didn’t love Bonnie—quite the opposite. I simply didn’t see myself in that role. Nurses and doctors had gifts I didn’t believe I possessed. But love has a way of unlocking capabilities we never knew we had. When the woman I loved needed […]

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  • Broken Heart Syndrome: When Grief Physically Injures Your Heart

    Posted on August 6, 2026 - by Heidi Horsley

    Broken heart syndrome is a real, temporary heart condition that intense grief or shock can trigger, mimicking a heart attack. Here’s what the science says, who is most at risk, and when to seek emergency care.

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  • Grief and Guilt: Why We Blame Ourselves After a Loss

    Posted on August 3, 2026 - by Heidi Horsley

    Grief and guilt are deeply intertwined — “what if” and “if only” haunt many grieving people. Here’s why guilt is such a common part of loss, the different forms it takes, and how to release blame you were never meant to carry.

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  • Crying and Grief: Why Tears Are Healing (And When They Stop)

    Posted on August 1, 2026 - by Heidi Horsley

    Crying and grief are deeply connected, but the relationship is complicated. Some bereaved people cry constantly; others can’t seem to cry at all. Here’s what the science actually says about crying in grief, and 6 ways to honor your own pattern — whatever it looks like.

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  •  The “Phantom Limb” of the Soul

    Posted on July 28, 2026 - by Bill Beckett

    It is a well-documented phenomenon: a person loses a limb, yet they can still feel it. The brain continues to fire signals to a hand or a leg that is no longer there. They reach for objects with fingers that do not exist or try to stand on a foot that has been gone for years. The nerves are firing based on a map of the body that has not been updated. When I lost my wife, Bonnie, six years ago, I discovered that grief creates its own version of a phantom limb. Except, I did not just lose a […]

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  • Caregiver Grief: Mourning After a Long Illness or Caregiving Journey

    Posted on July 26, 2026 - by Heidi Horsley

    Caregiver grief is a complex, layered mourning that unfolds both during and after a loved one’s long illness. Here’s why caregivers grieve so uniquely, the guilt and relief that often follow, and how to heal after the caregiving ends.

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  • Grief and Faith: When Loss Shakes or Deepens Your Beliefs

    Posted on July 25, 2026 - by Heidi Horsley

    Grief and faith are deeply connected — loss can shake your beliefs or deepen them, sometimes both at once. Here’s how grief affects spirituality, why doubt is normal, and how faith can become a source of comfort in mourning.

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  • Grief in Marriage: When You and Your Partner Grieve Differently

    Posted on July 24, 2026 - by Heidi Horsley

    Grief in marriage can be devastating when you and your partner grieve differently. After losing a child, parent, or other shared loved one, couples often find themselves out of sync. Here are 8 compassionate ways to navigate grief in marriage and protect the relationship.

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  • Grief Rituals: Creating Meaningful Memorials That Actually Help You Heal

    Posted on July 24, 2026 - by Heidi Horsley

    Grief rituals aren’t just tradition — research shows they genuinely help us cope with loss. Here’s why rituals ease grief, ideas for creating your own meaningful memorials, and how small acts of remembrance can bring comfort.

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  • Dreamtime

    Posted on July 21, 2026 - by gyanirichards

    As I drifted off to sleep last night, my heart hummed with a familiar warmth and, in its secret way, sent out a quiet invitation to those nocturnal angels who watch over us at night. I found myself in one of those quasi-dream states in which most of me was dreaming, but there was a sliver of awareness that could witness what unfolds.  I was standing alone in the gauzy grey of twilight, underneath a large exterior deck of a familiar ski lodge from my childhood. I don’t know what I was doing there but the mood was expectant, preparatory. […]

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  • Life Maxxing: Living Life to the Fullest

    Posted on July 18, 2026 - by Katty Douraghy

    I may be the last person in the world who didn’t know the meaning of life-maxxing. Earlier this week, I came across it for the very first time in a social media post and realized the word embodied everything I believe in and have learned through my grief journey. Life-maxxing (or maxing) started as slang, and now I see it everywhere. On social media, it’s all about maximizing and optimizing mental and physical health, productivity, career, aspirations, and financial success. And yet this word triggers a much deeper meaning for me. It means living life to the fullest because my loved […]

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  • Grief vs. Depression: How to Tell the Difference (and When to Get Help)

    Posted on July 15, 2026 - by Heidi Horsley

    Grief and depression can look alike, but they are not the same — and knowing the difference matters. Here’s how to tell grief from clinical depression, why they sometimes overlap, and when it’s time to reach out for help.

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  • The Threshold of Truth

    Posted on July 10, 2026 - by Dan Stern

    When you meet someone new, it’s the heat that won’t break, the dry cleaner down the street that’s too expensive,  how you take your coffee.    We sat over dinner.  He sent the dish back—  too spicy, he said,  as if it were the dish  that missed the mark.    They brought something softer. He thanked them,  moved on.    So did I.    The questions came  in their usual spacing—  easy enough  to keep things level.    He asks it  and reaches for his glass  before I answer.    How many children?    I feel the ice in my […]

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  • Post-Traumatic Growth: How Grief Can Transform You

    Posted on July 9, 2026 - by Heidi Horsley

    Post-traumatic growth is the scientifically documented experience of being changed for the better — not in spite of grief, but because of it. Here’s what post-traumatic growth actually means, the 5 areas it appears in, and how bereaved people slowly grow around their loss.

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  • A CROWD IS THE  WRONG PLACE FOR A WHISPER

    Posted on July 7, 2026 - by Dan Stern

    A crowd is the wrong place for a whisper.  Sound there is measured in weight,  not meaning.    A whisper asks something else.  For proximity.  For stillness.  For the small kindness  of someone leaning in,  of meeting a mild breeze.    It does not compete.  It waits.  It listens  for the quiet of a wave  braking at ocean’s edge.    In a crowd,  it is mistaken for absence.    But in the dark,  when one person turns  and another is already listening,  it becomes a bridge—  not loud enough to impress,  only strong enough to cross.   POEM GUIDE AND […]

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  • The Loneliness of Grief: Why You Feel So Alone (And What Actually Helps)

    Posted on June 29, 2026 - by Heidi Horsley

    The loneliness of grief is one of the most universal and least talked-about parts of bereavement. Even surrounded by people, you can feel utterly alone. Here are 7 compassionate ways to navigate grief loneliness and slowly build connection through the hardest season.

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  • Father’s Day After Loss: 8 Ways to Cope When the Holiday Hurts

    Posted on June 21, 2026 - by Heidi Horsley

    Father’s Day after loss can feel like a long, loud reminder of everything you no longer have. Whether you’re grieving your dad, your child, your partner, or another father figure, here are 8 compassionate, therapist-tested ways to cope with grief on Father’s Day, honor the man you loved, and find a quiet thread of hope on a tender day.

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  • Grief Triggers: When a Song, Smell, or Phrase Knocks You Sideways

    Posted on June 19, 2026 - by Heidi Horsley

    Grief triggers are the unexpected reminders that knock you sideways months or years after a loss — a song on the radio, a familiar smell, a stranger’s phrase. Here’s why grief triggers happen, what to do when one ambushes you, and 8 ways to live alongside them.

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  • Communing with the Dead

    Posted on June 16, 2026 - by Sara Striefel

    There is a phone booth in the middle of the desert in Joshua Tree. It was installed by Colin Campbell and Gail Lerner in honor of their two children, Ruby and Hart, who died in a 2019 car crash. It lives out there amid the tall cholla cacti and the wind that sweeps circles into the salt and sand. I have been thinking about this telephone lately, of how few spaces we have to offload our grief.   In her book, Motherless Daughters: The Legacy of Loss, Hope Edelman offers a handful of events that she believes have the potential to change […]

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  • The Quiet Work of Healing After Loss

    Posted on June 2, 2026 - by Ilana Estelle

    Grief Changes You – Awareness Helps You to Rebuild Loss changes you. It’s natural to feel lonely and unsure when someone important is no longer there. When depression that follows loss is part of the picture, everything can feel heavier and harder to move through. For a long time, that weight can feel constant – like you’re moving through fog. Separation can also create a space you don’t recognize, but it can also help you see yourself without old patterns or expectations. That distance can feel uncomfortable at first, but it is often where something begins to shift. You start […]

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  • Keeping Memories Fresh Despite the Passage of Time

    Posted on May 26, 2026 - by Bob Baugher

    It’s Spring and you find yourself watching people around you excitedly making plans for their upcoming summer vacations. Instead, what are you doing? You are thinking about how much you miss your loved one. How long has it been? Bereaved people are often asked this question. I ask it of you, “How long has it been?” Now answer this question: “How long does it feel like it’s been?” A common answer is, “On one hand it feels like yesterday. On the other, it feels like a long time ago.” Why do we experience our lives like this? How can something […]

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  • Memorial Day After Loss: How to Honor Your Loved One Without Being Overwhelmed

    Posted on May 25, 2026 - by Heidi Horsley

    Memorial Day is meant to be a day of remembrance, but for those who are actively grieving, the holiday can feel like an emotional ambush. Here’s how to cope with grief on Memorial Day, honor the loved one you lost, and protect your own heart on a day designed for remembering.

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  • Sibling Loss: Why Surviving Brothers and Sisters Are the Forgotten Grievers

    Posted on May 14, 2026 - by Heidi Horsley

    Surviving siblings are sometimes called the forgotten grievers. Brothers and sisters lose their oldest witness, their playmate, the keeper of their childhood — and the world too often expects them to be the strong one. Here’s why sibling loss is uniquely complicated, and 7 ways to honor your grief.

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  • Mother’s Day After Loss: 9 Compassionate Ways to Cope with Grief on a Tender Holiday

    Posted on May 10, 2026 - by Heidi Horsley

    Mother’s Day after loss can feel like an emotional minefield. Whether you’re grieving your mother, a child, a sibling, or anyone you love, here are 9 compassionate, therapist-tested ways to cope with grief on Mother’s Day, honor your person, and find a quiet thread of hope on a tender holiday.

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  • How to Help a Grieving Friend: 12 Things to Say (and 5 to Avoid)

    Posted on May 4, 2026 - by Heidi Horsley

    When someone you love is grieving, the fear of saying the wrong thing can keep you frozen on the doorstep. Here are 12 things to say to a grieving friend, 5 things to never say, and the simplest, most powerful gift you can offer when words run out.

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  • Grief, Identity, Change, and Post Pandemic Mental Health

    Posted on March 15, 2026 - by Ilana Estelle

    Grieving Who We Were Before the World Changed I didn’t need another reason to mentally and emotionally struggle. It’s what I have always known, what continues for me. There is a quiet kind of grief that doesn’t always come with a clear ending. It’s the grief for the version of ourselves that existed before Covid struck, before uncertainty became the norm, and before we were reshaped by it. We not only lost loved ones, but we lost ourselves. We were quietly expected to continue, to move forward, but not everyone has been able to do that. Long-Covid is something many […]

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  • Skating for My Beloved Sisters

    Posted on February 26, 2026 - by Judy Lipson

    Skating is a sport I shared with my beloved sisters. When we were young girls, we proudly carried our skates in plaid bags and raced to be the first ones on the ice. Margie, my older sister, the most talented, Jane, the youngest, was athletic, and I, the middle sister, a bit of a klutz. Little did I know that skating would become the chord that would bind me, honor, and remember, and forever find peace and joy with my sisters.   Throughout my life, somehow the ice called me, a pull I never quite understood, my happy place, where […]

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  • A Lighthearted Valentine Evolved Into a Lasting Commitment. A commitment in life and in death.

    Posted on February 14, 2026 - by Nan Zastrow

    ““ Success in marriage is more than finding the right person. It’s becoming the right person.” Many of us had those “puppy love crushes” in our teenage years with no expectation of it leading to the altar. I purchased a cute Valentine’s Day card for a “guy” I was dating on-again, off-again. There was no intention in mind other than to get his attention with a bit of lighthearted humor. For all I knew, he could have promptly discarded the greeting card. On the front of the valentine was a picture of a sad, droopy hound dog  and the words: […]

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  • New Year, Old Grief: Now What?

    Posted on January 20, 2026 - by Maria Kubitz

    Another New Year’s celebration has come and gone. For me, the reality of another year my daughter didn’t live to see is a painful one. Even many years after her death. Whether your grief is fresh or seasoned, New Year’s celebration and traditions of new beginnings in the form of yearly resolutions can be extremely painful. I often describe it as a “slap in the face” reminder that the world has moved on without my daughter—while I still think of her and miss her every day. It all started in September 2009, when my 4-year-old daughter died in a sudden, […]

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  • We Are Extraordinary Parents

    Posted on January 5, 2026 - by Larry Carlat

    I’ve always found it strange that there’s no word for a parent who loses a child. Why do widows, widowers, and orphans get to have all the fun? I think it’s time for someone to right this wrong.   Bear with me for a moment as I reaffirm what you already know: children aren’t supposed to die before their parents. That’s just not the way life should work. We give birth to children or adopt them, we love and nurture them, we raise them, they grow up, we grow old, and then we die. The circle of life, sunrise, sunset, […]

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  • The Ash Rose Grief, Art, and Love that Transforms

    Posted on December 25, 2025 - by ianmccartor

    In our culture, grief is often something we are expected to move through quietly and efficiently. After the funeral, after the condolences fade, families are handed the ashes of someone they love and then left largely on their own to figure out what healing looks like. There is an unspoken expectation of “closure,” as if love ends where a life does. But what if grief is not something to close, but something to continue? I came to this question through two worlds that have shaped my life – hospice nursing and the arts. As a hospice nurse, I have sat […]

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  • Mourners Pass

    Posted on December 23, 2025 - by Perry Grosser

    It is the holiday season, and in those first year or two, the pain of not having my son home for the holidays was overwhelming. What hurt most was his absence—no longer buying him his eight Chanukah gifts, not watching him light his menorah alongside his sister’s, and alongside the family menorah that my wife and I light together.  Going to my in-laws’ home on Christmas was just as difficult, seeing gifts under the tree for everyone except him. Simply knowing he was not there was emotionally draining for us, year after year.  Over the years, this particular pain has eased little […]

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  • Grief and Aikido: Relaxing Under Pressure

    Posted on December 5, 2025 - by gyanirichards

     “Heaven is right where you are standing, and that is the place to train.” — Morihei Ueshiba, founder of Aikido Grief is one of the deepest kinds of spiritual work we will ever do because it arises from the deepest parts of who we are. As we explore these depths, we discover one of the most fundamental human behaviors, which is the reflexive habit of turning away from pain. Everything in our mental, physical, and emotional DNA tells us to avoid discomfort at all costs. We are wired to seek pleasure and to avoid pain. But this habit to avoid […]

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  • Reclaiming the Appetite: Learning to Feed Myself Again

    Posted on November 20, 2025 - by JenniferSuki

    For a long time, my go-to stress mode was restriction. Not just with food, but with everything.  When life felt uncertain, I’d tighten my grip. Shrink my schedule. Shrink my appetite. Shrink myself.  It was a way of controlling what I could. A survival reflex from years of starving out my own needs while serving everyone else’s. The irony is that I built a life feeding others, yet often forgot to feed myself.  Grief made that pattern louder. It’s strange how something can feel heavy and hollow at the same time. The weight of loss. The emptiness of absence. The […]

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