Loss of a Family Member

  • Life Without a Manual

    Posted on November 10, 2026 - by valerielamber

    My name is Valérie Lamber, a self-published Belgian author of Greek origin. Now 58 years old, I share, through this book, the story that changed my life forever. It took me 26 years to find the strength to reopen the drawers of my memory and put into words the unimaginable. After finishing my studies, I spent three months in Purley, England, as an au pair, fulfilling a lifelong dream of improving my English. I translated this book myself into English and Greek. As I am not a professional translator, there may still be a few imperfections. I simply hope that […]

  • Dying to Live: Choosing Love and Adventure in the Face of Terminal Illness

    Posted on November 9, 2026 - by Jerry

      Writing has always been another part of Jerry’s creative life. A longtime poet, he was the founding editor of Volume Number poetry magazine and Los Angeles Poets’ Press. His earlier book, Background Noise: Poems, Vignettes and Word Explosions, brings together poetry and short-form writing that reflects the same curiosity about love, loss, humor, relationships, and the sometimes messy experience of being human that runs throughout his creative work. His newest book, Dying to Live: Choosing Love and Adventure in the Face of Terminal Illness, is his most personal work. After his late wife Angela was diagnosed with terminal cancer, […]

  • You Will Smile Again (Even If You Can’t See How Yet)

    Posted on November 8, 2026 - by Rodney D. Nielsen

      You will smile again. Even if tonight you can’t see how. It’s 3 a.m. and the worst moment is playing again. You pray, you replay, you bargain, and in church on Sunday you smile like nothing happened. Hear this: you are not crazy, and you are not faithless. You are wounded. And you are seen. After 32 years of walking with people through their darkest nights, and surviving his own (losing his sight at twenty, a heart attack at thirty-eight, financial collapse, and the marital betrayal that broke his world), Rodney D. Nielsen wrote the book he wishes someone […]

  • The Trimesters of Grief

    Posted on November 2, 2026 - by Katierizzo

        Katie Rizzo’s debut memoir, The Trimesters of Grief, is a raw and intimate account of one family’s devastating struggle with opioid addiction and loss. Published by Koehler Books, with Blackstone Publishing handling audio licensing.   The Trimesters of Grief is a bereaved mother’s memoir and prescriptive guide that reframes the experience of losing a child to opioid addiction through the lens of gestation. Rizzo moves readers through invisible, undeniable, and public stages of grief toward the lifelong work of living with loss. Her book blends raw journal entries, original poetry, along with prescriptive tools. The book is pitched […]

  • 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 […]

Articles

  • Grief Brain: Why You Can’t Think Clearly After Loss (And What Actually Helps)

    Posted on November 9, 2026 - by Heidi Horsley

    Grief brain is real. The fog, forgetfulness, and slow-moving thoughts that follow loss are not a weakness or a sign you’re “going crazy.” They’re a measurable neurological response to grief. Here’s what’s actually happening in your brain after loss, and 7 therapist-tested ways to think more clearly while you’re grieving.

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  • Grief—the unwanted Hero’s Journey

    Posted on November 8, 2026 - by Greg Adams

    Sometimes, we are called to a new journey, and we don’t want to go. And why would we when the call comes in the form of a loss? Loss of health with a new diagnosis. Loss of certainty about the future. Loss of faith. Loss of life for a family member or friend. Such significant losses call us to leave the life and places we knew into a journey toward the unknown. Resistance to this call is understandable, sometimes for as long as we can. This journey offers no guarantees except uncertainty and distress. To accept the call and begin […]

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  • When Should You See a Grief Therapist? 7 Signs It’s Time

    Posted on November 4, 2026 - by Heidi Horsley

    Wondering if you should see a grief therapist? Most grievers don’t need formal therapy — but some do, and the signs aren’t always obvious. Here are 7 signs it’s time to see a grief therapist, plus what to look for in finding the right one.

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  • A New Kind of Autumn

    Posted on October 23, 2026 - by Bill Beckett

    My wife, Bonnie, passed away in 2020, and she was the one person who might have loved fall even more than I do. She had a childlike excitement about the weather changing and the fall color. She would run out and buy yellow, orange, and maroon mums to plant in the front yard. She’d happily start pulling the fall decorations out of the boxes. Hanging the strings of orange leaves, putting out the pumpkins and setting up the scarecrows and bales of hay. Fall has always been my favorite season too, and honestly, it’s not even close. I know plenty […]

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  • The First Anniversary of Death: What to Expect and How to Cope

    Posted on October 20, 2026 - by Heidi Horsley

    The first anniversary of a death is one of the hardest days of the entire grief journey. The body remembers what the mind tries to brace for. Here’s what to expect on the first anniversary of a death, and 8 compassionate ways to cope with the day they died.

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  • Birthday Grief: How to Honor Your Loved One on Their Birthday After They Die

    Posted on October 18, 2026 - by Heidi Horsley

    Birthday grief is one of the most underestimated parts of bereavement. The world keeps the date on the calendar but the person is gone. Here are 8 meaningful ways to honor your loved one on their birthday and turn a day of loss into a day of remembrance.

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  • Grief and Anger: Why You Feel So Angry After Loss (And What Helps)

    Posted on October 14, 2026 - by Heidi Horsley

    Grief and anger are uncomfortable companions. Many bereaved people are blindsided by the rage that comes with loss. Here’s why grief produces anger, who that anger often targets, and 7 compassionate ways to work with it instead of being run by it.

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  • Grief Brain: Why Loss Makes You Forgetful, Foggy, and Unable to Focus

    Posted on October 10, 2026 - by Heidi Horsley

    Grief brain is the very real fog, forgetfulness, and trouble concentrating that follow a major loss. Here’s the science behind why your mind feels broken after grief, and how to be gentle with yourself while it heals.

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  • How Grief Affects Your Physical Health, From Your Heart to Your Immune System

    Posted on October 8, 2026 - by Heidi Horsley

    Grief isn’t only emotional — it takes a measurable toll on the body, from the heart to the immune system. Here’s what research reveals about grief’s physical effects and how to protect your health while you mourn.

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  • Anticipatory Grief: How to Cope When You’re Mourning Someone Who Is Still Here

    Posted on October 5, 2026 - by Heidi Horsley

    Anticipatory grief is the mourning that begins before a loss has happened, often during a loved one’s serious illness. Here’s why it’s normal, what it feels like, and how caregivers can carry it with more self-compassion.

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  • The Widowhood Effect: How Losing a Spouse Affects Your Own Health

    Posted on October 3, 2026 - by Heidi Horsley

    The widowhood effect is the measurable rise in a surviving spouse’s own risk of dying in the months after their partner’s death. Here’s what the research shows, why it happens, and how to protect your health while you grieve.

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  • 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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