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Continuing Bonds Theory of Grief
How To Write a Condolence Letter in a Meaningful Way
Grieving for my Mother: Part One

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The Conversation We All Avoid…End of Life Plans

By Camille Johnson | April 23, 2025 | 0 Comments

How to Talk With Loved Ones About End-of-Life Plans   We tend to dance around it. We find polite ways to change the subject, to promise “another time,” to chuckle uncomfortably and pivot. But the truth doesn’t bend: every one of us, at some point, will leave this world. And those we love will feel […]

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Power Of Rituals And Memorialization In The Grieving Process

By Melissa Calvert | April 16, 2025 | 0 Comments

by Melissa Calvert A ritual is a ceremony of meaning, a continued observance of ceremonies which are repeated routinely are known as rituals. Rituals can either be done in an isolated manner or by gathering lots of people; it varies from person to person. Rituals are held to mark important events in one’s life, for […]

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Eulogy or Remembrance…the Value of Remembering Backward

By Alan Wolfelt | April 16, 2025 | 0 Comments

Eulogy or Remembrance: The Importance of Educating the Family About the Value of Remembering Backward   While teaching a recent workshop for mental health clinicians, a participant raised his hand and asked, “Is the eulogy all that important to a funeral?” His question reminded me that when people question the value of funerals (or a […]

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It Would Have Been Enough

By Larry Lynn | April 9, 2025 | 0 Comments

Grief Poem 124 Dayenu: It Would Have Been Enough by L.R. Lynn If we had been given one more year to watch the sun set on the far mountains, float on our backs in salt ponds shaded by ancient willows that protest the weight of their leaves, and hold each other close as the seasons […]

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Educating Families About the Value of Music

By Alan Wolfelt | April 2, 2025 | 0 Comments

“Don’t Play Music, We Might Cry” Educating Families About the Value of Music Sadly, I frequently have families experiencing grief state some variation on the following: “Don’t play music, we might cry.” Of course, when they say this I remind myself that I have the opportunity to teach them why music is often an important […]

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Why losing a dog can be harder than losing a relative or friend

By Larry Lynn | March 26, 2025 | 0 Comments

EDITOR’S PREFACE It’s been a rough couple of weeks for me. I lost I close friend I’ve known since 1966, my former psychologist (cancer), and my beloved dog Penny who has been by my side for over 14 years. I loved her so much I cannot write these words without crying. She died peacefully through […]

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“Living Funerals” They Just Might Be Out of Order

By Alan Wolfelt | March 19, 2025 | 0 Comments

A common media question I have been asked recently is “What do you think about having funerals before the person is dead?” As you probably know, these are often referred to as “living funerals.” Living funerals have been referred to by the media as an “up and coming” trend that appears to be growing in […]

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A Professional’s Grief Box

By Frannie Gaeta | March 12, 2025 | 0 Comments

Grief is a natural response to death and non-death losses. Everyone experiences the impact, acknowledged or not. I didn’t acknowledge it but felt its presence in my body. Influences on thoughts and feelings are subtle yet strong enough to activate older losses. As a grief therapist, I recognize grief symptoms in others, but not myself. […]

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Rediscovering Yourself: Finding Strength…

By Camille Johnson | March 5, 2025 | 0 Comments

Rediscovering Yourself: Finding Strength and New Purpose in Life After Loss Losing someone dear can leave a profound void, challenging us to find new paths forward. In the wake of such loss, searching for renewed purpose becomes a journey of self-discovery and healing. This journey is not about replacing what was lost but about honoring […]

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African-Americans and Grief: A Grief Observed

By Larry Lynn | February 26, 2025 | 0 Comments

A Grief Observed From Emmett Till to Trayvon Martin, the power and pain of Black mourning. BY MYCHAL DENZEL SMITH June 22, 2017 Mamie Till-Mobley wrote her memoir, Death of Innocence: The Story of the Hate Crime That Changed America, in 2003, the same year she died of heart failure, and 47 years after the lynching of her son, […]

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