Coping with Grief on Mother’s Day: Selected Resources

[Reviewed and updated May 12, 2024]

If I had a single flower for every time I think of you, I could walk forever in my garden.  ~ Claudia Adrienne Grandi

This coming Sunday is Mother’s Day, a day set aside for honoring one’s own mother and for celebrating motherhood. But for those who are mourning the loss of a mother or grandmother, or for mothers who are mourning the loss of a child or grandchild, this can be instead a most difficult day to endure.

If you find yourself or someone you love in these circumstances, know that you are not alone.

For practical suggestions on how to cope with grief on Mother’s Day ~ or on how to better understand and support a mother, mother figure, daughter, grandmother (or a dad!) in grief ~ you're invited to access one or more of the helpful articles and resources listed here:

7 Tips for Speaking With A Bereaved Mother - by Monica Wesolowska

7 Ways to Remember the Hurting Mothers This Mother's Day - by Lexi Behrndt

A Letter to Infertile Women on Mother's Day - by MeLissa LaFleur

A Letter to My Living Children for Mother's Day - by Maria Kubitz

A Motherless Mother's Day - by Cheryl Amari

A Widowed Mother’s Day à la COVID-19 - by RoseAnna Cyr

An Apology to My Grieving Mother on Mother's Day - by Katherine Thome

Complex Holidays - by Sarah Treanor

Coping with Grief on Mother's Day - by Maria Aranda

Coping with Loss on Mother's Day - by Aly Prouty

Daughters Without Moms Find Support in Each Other's Grief - by Tracee Herbaugh

Does My Mom with Alzheimer's Know It's Mother's Day? - by Lisa Hirsch

Feeling Marginalized and Not in the Mood on Mother's Day? - by Elizabeth Grill

Forget the Flowers and Skip the Brunch. I Hate Mother's Day - by Darcy Krause

Grieving The Loss of Your Mom: How to Cope with Grief on Mother's Day - by Julia Gomez

Helping You Support Grieving Children - via KidsGrief.ca

How I'm Making Mother's Day My Bitch - by Kate Spencer

How to Be More Thoughtful About Your Mother's Day Greetings - via OptionB

How to Cope with Grief on Mother's Day - via URMC

How to Spend Mother's Day on Your Own Terms - via OptionB

How to Take Care of Yourself If Mother's Day Feels Hard For You - by Annie Wright

I Am Not a Mother!! - by The Widower Dad

I Hate That Mother's Day Rips Me Apart With Sadness and Guilt - by Nicole Belanger

I'm a Grieving Mom. This Is The One Thing I Most Want to Hear on Mother's Day - by Danielle Roderick

In Honor of Bereaved Mothers on Mother's Day - by Deborah Davis

Infertility and Mother's Day? Seriously? RMACT Weighs In - by Kerry Anne Ducey

International Bereaved Mothers Day - by Carly Marie

Learning to Love Mother's Day {While Facing Infertility} - by Natasha Metzler

Lessons My Mother Never Taught Me - by Eleanor Haley

Missing - by Pat Schwiebert, RN

Mother's Day - by Pat Schwiebert

Mother’s Day: A Happy and Sad Occasion - by Randah Hamadeh

Mother's Day: A Time of Grief for Parents and Children - by Julie Siri

Mother's Day After Losing A Child - by Phyllis Sudman

Mother's Day Grieving: A List of WYG Articles to Help You Cope - by Eleanor Haley

Mother's Day: How It Feels When 'The Wrong' Parent Dies - via Women's Health 

Mother's Day Is Here. Again - by Karla Helbert

Mother's Day Isn't A Celebration for Everyone - by Madeline Holcombe

Mother’s Day: ‘It was savage grief pushing through’ - by Anna Pasternak

Mother's Day Reflection: Coping with A Death Loss and Celebrating Love - via AMF

Mother's Day Rituals, Millenial Style - by Ruby Dutcher

Mother's Day Story for Grieving Moms - by Anne Moss Rogers

Mother's Day Webinar: Coping After Loss - via Open to Hope

My Two Mother's Days - by Sarah Treanor

On Mother's Day, Remembering Mothers Without Living Children - by Tara Shafer

One Day I'll Tell My Daughter about My Mother's Death. Until Then, I'll Show Them How She Lived - by Marisa Bardach Ramel

#OptionBThere for Mother's Day - via OptionB

Our First Mother's Day Without My Wife - by Jason Tippetts

Parents Who Lost A Child Need A Day Like Mother's and Father's Day - by Helen Raleigh

Planning Ahead for Observing Mother's Day - via Open to Hope Radio

Sharing Memories on Mother's Day - by Eleanor Haley

Spending Mother’s Day with Ghosts - by Eleanor Haley

Still A Mother - by Angela Miller

The First Motherless Mother's Day - by Elaine Ambrose

The Grief, Guilt and Joy of Being A Caregiver for My Mom - by Tracy Grant

The Hardest Job of All: Mourning Mothers and Mother's Day - by Dr. Joanne Cacciatore

The Pain of Mother's Day for Grievers - by Larry Barber

To My Friends Who Still Have Their Mothers - by Jessica Wolstenholm

Tough Mothers - by John Schwiebert

What Grieving Mothers Want for Mother's Day - via The Compassionate Friends

What Is Mother’s Day After Mother Is Gone? - by Lauren Muscarella

What Kind of Mother Has No Child? - by Annah Elizabeth

Widowers and Mother's Day - Abel Keogh (video)

Yes, You Should Binge-Watch Netflix Alone on Mother's Day - by Nora McInerny Purmort

You're Not Alone If You Have Mixed Feelings About Mother's Day - by Jill Dahl

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. 

Related Articles: 

• Mother Loss: A List of Suggested Resources 
• When Mother’s Day Hurts: Selected Resources 
• Remembering My Mom On Mother's Day 
• 5 Great Gift Ideas for Moms In Assisted Living
• Daughter Feels Little Support for Mother Loss
• How Grief Rituals Can Help on Special Days

© by Marty Tousley, RN, MS, FT, BC-TMH