Her absence is like the sky, spread over everything.
Losing a loved one can be extremely difficult. SightLife offers a range of resources on bereavement—from articles to websites—to support you in your grieving process. Individuals experiencing loss often also find it useful to connect and build community with others who are navigating grief. Our Family Services Department is available to discuss options and answer your questions at any time.
When a Parent Dies: Dealing with the Loss of Your Mother or Father by David Kessler
This article is about the opinions and feelings of adults who are grieving the loss of a parent.
Helping Yourself Heal when a Parent Dies by Alan D. Wolfelt, Ph.D
This article was written by a grief counselor, and it explains some of the emotions that may be associated with grieving the loss of a parent as well as possible effects on relationships.
Helping Yourself as you Cope with the Loss of a Parent
This is a practical list of things you can do to help yourself heal after losing a parent.
When an Adult Experiences the Death of a Parent
This page provides affirmation of the feelings you may experience, as well some ideas for how to best emotionally support yourself through the grief process.
Father’s Day Sulking Without Apology
A list of ideas of how to let yourself be as sulky as you want on Father’s Day when your father has passed away.
Oprah: Connections When a Parent Dies
This article addresses some more challenging emotions that may surround a parent’s death: those of relief, freedom, and liberation.
Spending Mother’s Day with Ghosts: Mother’s Day Grief
An article about balancing the past and present when it comes to Mother’s Day.
Mother’s Day Grief: Life Without a Mother’s Love
Suggestions for how to cope with Mother’s Day when your mother has passed away.
A Letter to My Daughters: Mother’s Day After a Death
A letter written by a mother to her daughters explaining why she feels the way she does on Mother’s Day without her mother.
Parentless Parents: Why is Mother’s Day So Hard?
An article about what it is like to be without your mother on Mother’s Day, and some suggestions for making it less difficult.
Coping with the Loss of Your Partner or Spouse
This resource provides a list of practical things to help take care of yourself and honor the memory of your spouse.
Coping with the Death of a Spouse – Oprah.com
This page provides reaffirmation of the feelings a grieving spouse may experience, as well some ideas for how to best emotionally support yourself through the grief process.
National Widower’s Organization
This organization is specifically for men who have lost a spouse. It provides resources, articles, FAQs, and support groups for men.
WidowNet
This practical and inclusive website provides articles, links, stories, facts, and resources for widows and widowers. There are also chat rooms and email lists that provide access to the online community.
Losing a Partner: How to Recover from the Loss of a Loved One
Some tips on how to take care of yourself after losing your spouse.
Online Grief Support – Losing a spouse
A forum where people who have lost their spouses can connect with one another.
Widow’s Voice: Seven Widowed Voices Sharing Love, Loss, and Hope
This is an active daily blog written by recent widows sharing their daily grief journey and their process toward healing. Make sure to visit often, as it changes every day.
When a Child Dies from OurHouse Grief Support Center
This resource is for parents who have lost their child at any age. It reminds you that your grief journey is unique, but outlines some emotions you may feel after the loss.
GriefHaven: Providing support and resources to parents and others who have lost a child
GriefHaven is an inclusive site for parents who have lost a child of any age. It provides a free newsletter, a memory wall, chat rooms, and numerous other resources for parents.
Grieving the Loss of an Adult Child from CancerCare
A list of suggestions of ways to comfort yourself while you hold onto memories of your adult child’s life.
Grieving the Loss of a Child from Cancer.net
This site helps prepare you for some of the emotions you may experience as you move through your grief journey and provides helpful suggestions for helping other family members grieve.
A Letter From a Grieving Mother
A short, sweet letter of advice to parents who have lost a child.
The Dougy Center
This website has helpful resources for children whose parents have died.
Ducking Grief
An article written by the mother who lost her child to suicide and what her grieving process has been like.
Going Beyond Surviving
Some tips for how to cope with the grief of losing a child from IRIS – Infants Remembered In Silence.
What I Wish More People Understood About Losing A Child
An article with a few key points about what it’s like to lose a child.
Our House Grief Support Center : Death of a Sibling
This resource helps process some emotions and thoughts you may experience after the loss of a sibling.
Dealing with death and loss of a sibling
This resource provides a link to a list of valuable ideas for coping with grief, a list of recommended books, as well as online and local groups for those who have lost a sibling.
Online Grief Support – Losing a loved one to cancer
A forum where people who have lost a loved one to cancer can connect with each other.
Saying Goodbye – Coping with a Loved One’s Terminal Illness
A summary of how the grieving process starts even before a loved one has passed when losing a loved one to cancer.
Offering Support Through Loss
Tips on how to help someone who is grieving the loss of a loved one to cancer.
Keep Going – We Believe in You
An article written by a woman who lost her husband to cancer, and her advice on how to honor your loved one’s memory.
Grief – The Human Experience
An article on the grieving process for those who have lost someone to murder.
National Organization for Parents of Murdered Children
An organization for parents who have lost children to murder.
Grief After a Murder
Tips to help with the grieving process after losing a loved one to murder.
Supporting Children and Teens After a Homicide or Murder
Advice for how to help children and teens who have lost a loved one to violence.
Survivors of Violent Loss Network
A support organization for people who have lost a loved one to violence.
Surviving a Violent Death
An article for people who have lost a loved one to violence.
Bereavement Overload – Coping with Multiple Losses by Dr. Lou LeGrand
Written by a grief counselor, this article is a summary of steps to take while going through the grieving process.
Comfort and Joy
This article is about how joy can still be part of your life even through the grieving process.
Online Grief Support – Traumatic and Sudden Loss
A forum for people who have lost a loved one in a sudden, traumatic way to connect with.
Traumatic and Sudden Loss
An explanation of the type of grief experienced following a sudden, traumatic loss, as well as advice on what to do immediately following a traumatic loss.
Homicide and Grief
A short article about what someone may feel after losing a loved one to a traumatic death and some suggestions on what to do about it.
Dealing with a Sudden, Accidental, or Traumatic Death
A comprehensive article on how complicated the grieving process may be for those who have lost loved ones to a sudden, accidental, or traumatic death.
Sudden Bereavement: Responses and Care After a Month
An article about the difference between Traumatic Grief and PTSD and what to do about them.
Alliance of Hope for suicide survivors
The Alliance of Hope for Suicide Survivors provides healing support for people coping with the shock, excruciating grief and complex emotions that accompany the loss of a loved one to suicide. We hope that you will find resources here to help you deal with, and eventually heal from, what may well be the worst pain you will ever feel.
A Grief Like No Other
An article on why the grieving process is so complicated for those who have lost a loved one to murder, as well as stories from other families who have experienced the same type of losses.
Suicide Loss: What Teens Need to Know
A booklet for teens who have lost someone to suicide.
Recovering from Suicide Loss – Survivors of Suicide
A booklet for people of all ages who have lost someone to suicide.
What are the emotions of suicide grief?
An article explaining what grief is like for someone who has lost a loved one to suicide, and how to cope.
The Uniqueness of Suicide Grief
A place for people to read/post about how they have been coping with the death by suicide of their loved one.
Families Coping with Suicide
An article for families coping with the death of a loved one by suicide.
Grief, Trauma, and Resilience After Suicide
A brief article on the resilience of those who have lost someone to suicide.
How to Help a Grieving Child After a Suicide
Advice on how to help a child who has lost a loved one to suicide.
Ducking Grief
An article written by the mother who lost her child to suicide and what her grieving process has been like.
What To Do After A Loved One Dies From Substance Addiction
An article about the do’s and don’t’s of losing a loved one to substance addiction.
Mayor Shares Pain Of Son’s Heroin Death to Spare Others
The Mayor of Seaside Heights shares his story with his sons addiction and death by overdose to help others.
Losing a Loved One to Addiction
An article about what it’s like to lose someone to addiction and how to better care for yourself through the grieving process.
Grief Recovery After a Substance Passing
GRASP is a Nationwide organization with many local chapters for people who have lost a loved one to substance abuse.
Poems About Addiction
Poems written by family members who have been affected by their loved one’s substance addiction.
Surviving the Loss of an Overdose Death
An article AND a podcast about the grief experienced by someone who has lost a loved one to an overdose death, and how to cope with it.
What Not to Say to Someone Who Has Lost An Addicted Relative or Loved One
A list of things to avoid saying to someone who has lost a loved one to addiction.
Ten Ways to Support Someone After a Death From Drugs in Their Family
A list of how to help someone who lost a loved one to addiction.
10 Things to Help Children After a Tragedy
A list of advice to help children who have experienced a tragedy.
How to Help a Grieving Child
An article with advice on how to help a child who is going through the grieving process.
How to Help a Grieving Child After a Suicide
Advice on how to help a child who has lost a loved one to suicide.
Supporting Kids Who Can’t Remember Their Dads This Father’s Day
An article about what Father’s Day can be like when your children are too young to remember their father – and what to do about it.
Childhood Grief: The Influence of Age on Understanding
An article about how children of different ages process and understand the loss of a loved one.
Helping Children Grieve
Tips on how to help a child going through the grief of losing a loved one.
Should a Child Attend a Funeral?
An article with advice on how to decide if it is appropriate for a child to attend a funeral.
Talking to Children About Death
An article explaining how to speak to children when a death has occurred.
Helping a Teennager Deal with Grief
An article full of suggestions on how to help a teenager who is experiencing grief.
Kids, Teens, and Grief
This section of What’s Your Grief? is full of resources for children and teens who are grieving.
6 Steps to Survive the Holiday Season After Loss
Tips on how to get through the holidays after losing a loved one.
Holiday Gift Giving Guide for Grievers
A post with suggestions on how to give gifts at the holidays when you’ve lost a loved one.
Grief and Valentine’s Day
A list of suggestions to help with how difficult Valentine’s Day can be after losing a loved one.
In Defense of the Holiday Villain
A post about why holiday villains (i.e., the Grinch) are not so bad, and why it’s okay to be one.
Remembering Ornament: A Holiday Grief Activity for Kids and Teens
An article describing how to make ornaments to honor your loved one.
Holiday Togetherness Game Plan: 11 Tips for Taking a Time Out
A few good suggestions for taking care of yourself through the holidays after losing a loved one.
New Perspective on Old Traditions: Grief and the Holidays
Advice for those who have lost a loved one about how to handle the holidays.
A Wedding Guide for Grievers: Tips for Remembering and Coping
Links to several posts about weddings while grieving – including Wedding Dress Shopping Without Mom and Remembering Loved Ones at Your Ceremony or Reception.
A Practical Plan for Dealing with Grief During the Holidays
Advice on how to formulate a plan for managing your grief during the holidays.
Grief and Easter: Remembering Loved Ones
An article about traditions around holidays and how to continue on with your traditions in a new way after losing a loved one.
64 New Year’s Resolutions for Grievers
An extensive list of suggestions for New Year’s Resolutions for Grievers.
AARP – Grief and Loss
This web resource offered by the AARP includes a toll-free number that you can call to talk to a live person about your grief. The site also has a library of helpful articles.
Donate Life America
Use this website to register to become an eye, tissue, and/or organ donor.
National Kidney Foundation – For Donor Families
The National Donor Family Council is affiliated with the National Kidney Foundation. It offers resources for coping with grief and learning more about organ and tissue donation and transplantation.
How to Help Someone Who is Grieving
Tips on how to help someone who is going through the grief journey.
The Best and Worst Things to Say to Someone Who is Grieving
A list written by David Kessler of what to say – and what not to say – to someone who is grieving.
Center for Loss and Life Transition
Click on Mourner’s Corner to read the Mourner’s Bill of Rights and many related articles.
Grief and the Holidays
Tips for dealing with the pain of going through the grieving process during the holidays.
The Five Stages of Grief Should Be Changed
An article about how fear and anxiety are a normal, yet often ignored, part of the grieving process.
Grief: Coping with the Death of a Loved One
An overview of the grieving process after a loved one has been lost, as well as some suggestions on how to cope.
Quotes About Death of a Loved One
Quotes about the death of a loved one.
Grief Isn’t Something to Get Over
An article that explains why the notion that one gets over grief is a myth.
Understanding Secondary Loss
A podcast about secondary loss – the losses/changes that happen as a result of a primary loss (i.e., losing a loved one).
12 Ways Grief Makes You Feel Crazy
A podcast about how grief can make you feel crazy – and how normal that is.
Dealing with the Anniversary of a Loved One’s Death: 30 Ideas
A list of suggestions on how to cope with the anniversary of a loved one’s passing.
Disen-whaaat?? Understanding Disenfranchised Grief
An article about how sometimes the loss we have experienced may be perceived by society as not important, and how that can change the grieving process.
Comparing Grief: A Useless Endeavor
An article about how everyone’s grief is different.
Capturing Your Loved One’s Story
A guide to help you capture stories of loved ones to preserve their memory and impart their legacy to the generations that follow.
The Healing Power of Story
An article that speaks to how telling and sharing the story of our loved ones, help us during the grief journey.