In Grief: Coping with Deaths "Close Enough to Hurt"

Find a more recent version of this post here:

In Grief: Coping with Traumatic Loss

A reader writes: For the sixth night in a row I can't sleep. Last Monday a friend of mine was killed in a car accident. Her three children were in the car, the nine and eleven year old were perfectly fine, in fact just scratched. Her four year old was severely injured and helicoptered to another hospital. She died the next day. Mother and child were buried together in one casket. She was a friend from the past, but we had parted ways over the years. She still had a close relationship with my sister, and my niece and her eleven year old are close friends. This was not a death I would consider very close to me, although close enough to hurt. Anyway, I've become so paranoid I can't sleep.

Caregiving and Hospice, May 20 - May 26, 2018

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

The dangerous precedent of Alfie Evans, http://j.mp/2LucRaI « Kevin MD

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's Royal Wedding Flowers Were Made Into Bouquets for Hospice Patients, http://j.mp/2GD6cqY « Glamour

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.

Understanding and Managing Grief, May 20 - May 26, 2018

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

MemorialDay: The Story Of A Hero Son, A Dad's Grief And A Hit Song, http://j.mp/2INZ558 « Newsweek

The Need for Self-Compassion in Grief, http://j.mp/2ILeHWY « What's Your Grief ?

My Name is Grief, http://j.mp/2IMY60X  « Bryan C. Taylor

Voices of Experience: Why I Wrote You Are Not Alone

You are not alone. No matter what you endure in this life, you never endure it alone. Those are the four most important words in all of grief support – you are not alone.  ~ Bryan Taylor

Debbie Augenthaler is a psychotherapist in private practice in New York City, where she has specialized in trauma, grief, and loss. Her husband, Jim, died suddenly in her arms when she was only 36 years old. He had been healthy and vibrant ~ the doctors compared the probability of his death by heart attack to being struck by lightning. That lightning strike ended her life as she knew it and thus began the “baptism by fire” that brought her to her new future.

Caregiving and Hospice, May 13 - May 19, 2018

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

Film Review, "End Game" Directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman, http://j.mp/2IsjtZr « Seven Ponds Blog

16 Things Smart People Do to Prepare for Death, http://j.mp/2rISEpb « Reader's Digest

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.

Understanding and Managing Grief, May 13 - May 19, 2018

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

Powerful: After a Teenager's Death, Metaphors Fail, http://j.mp/2IrHgZe « Modern Loss 

'Keep living your story' ~ Shadow Narratives, http://j.mp/2IqnihH « Bryan C. Taylor

Woman Has Photos Taken of Herself in Wedding Dress after Death of her Fiance, http://j.mp/2rSqGHH « Seven Ponds Blog

Coping with Pet Loss, May 13 - May 19, 2018

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

Nancy LeVine Captures the Beauty of Aging in Her Portraits of Senior Dogs, http://j.mp/2L2hqsG « Seven Ponds Blog

In Grief: Preparing for The Loss of a Pet, http://j.mp/2GdpiE6 « Grief Healing

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.

In Grief: Preparing for The Loss of a Pet

[Reviewed and updated December 8, 2022]

What we have once enjoyed we can never lose; all that we love deeply becomes a part of us.  ~ Helen Keller 

A reader writes: I am a 44-year -old male with Sonny, an 8-year-old Golden Retriever who is spoiled rotten and so much a part of us. I really dread losing him. I mean really dread losing him. How do I stop worrying about losing him and just enjoy having him? I know you will think I am crazy for caring about a dog so much but I have very little in my life. I also want to know: Do you think dogs are with us in the afterlife? I do...

Caregiving and Hospice, May 6 - May 12, 2018

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

Meet Daisy, a dog that brings comfort to the dying, http://j.mp/2jShpeA « CTV News

Why Should All Nurses Be Ready to Provide Palliative Care? http://j.mp/2KYoB58 « Palliative Nursing Network

Dying With Dignity: A Look at the Life of a Hospice Nurse, http://j.mp/2KLo1rp « US News

Understanding and Managing Grief, May 6 - May 12, 2018

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

The ever creative and wise @stacylondon has thoughts on repurposing and reinterpreting items left behind by loved ones. Read them and then rock something inherited as your own. Trust us; it’ll feel good. http://bit.ly/2KSUyM0 « Modern Loss

The Milestone Cipher, http://j.mp/2KSlPOH « Bryan C. Taylor

The Silver Lining, http://j.mp/2G3hvZ6 « Second Firsts

Disenfranchised Grief: Mourning An Invisible Love

[Reviewed and updated June 30, 2024]

Ever has it been that love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation.
~ Kahlil Gibran

A reader writes: Three months ago, I lost my friend of 11 years to breast cancer. It happened suddenly when treatment seemed to be going ok. It was a long distance, unusual and complicated friendship. Trapped in an unhappy marriage, she lived in a different country, me across the ocean. We would text, phone, Skype, email every single day. Every day. Write letters. Send gifts every Christmas. I wear clothes she bought me on most days. It wasn't just a friendship. We loved each other. And I do mean loved in the strongest possible terms. Loved. Soul mates. Eleven years. Our friendship was so beautiful. We told each other we loved each other every single day. We laughed so much together. We supported each other through the hard times. I was there for her always. She was there for me always. We never physically met.

Caregiving and Hospice, April 29 - May 5, 2018

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

Official Trailer for Graceful Death Documentary 'End Game' on Netflix, http://j.mp/2FL5Caj « FirstShowing.net

How Can Hospice Care Providers Help in the Later Stages of Cognitive Disabilities? http://j.mp/2KzNsf8 « Serenity Hospice

Five Tips for Families Facing End-of-Life Care, http://j.mp/2jwoBwK « TIME

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.

Understanding and Managing Grief, April 29 - May 5, 2018

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

In grief, keep living, http://bit.ly/2jwTjpt « Bryan C. Taylor

The Good and the Bad of Life After Loss, http://j.mp/2KEerWV « Second Firsts

Shared by Megan Devine: Here's a handy Do This/Not That cheat sheet on how to help a friend in grief, http://j.mp/2KBwInQ « Pinterest