Grief Educator

Via David Kessler

The Best Things to Say to Someone in Grief

  • I am so sorry for your loss.

  • I wish I had the right words, just know I care.

  • I don’t know how you feel, but I am here to help in any way I can.

  • You and your loved one will be in my thoughts and prayers.

  • My favorite memory of your loved one is…

  • I am always just a phone call away

  • Give a hug instead of saying something

  • We all need help at times like this, I am here for you

  • I am usually up early or late, if you need anything

  • Saying nothing, just be with the person

Grief changes everything. Those in grief are no longer the person they once were. Their place in the world changes. Their roles change as does their identity. Relationships with friends and family are not the same. Their future is no longer as they imagined.

Grief arrives without our permission.

We live in a grief illiterate society. We avoid the D words. We don’t talk about death and dying. Yet one thing is certain, every one of us will die.

David Kessler, author of “Finding Meaning: The Sixth Stage of Grief” is one of the world’s experts on grief and loss. He, along with a host of others are leading a charge to open conversations pertaining to grief, correct misconceptions around the five stages of grief, and spread understanding that grief is not something to be fixed.

Each person’s grief journey is unique - yet we share commonalities. We are no longer the person we were before our loved one died and we never will be. Our stories must be witnessed. Only then can begin forging a path forward so that in time we can remember those who died with more love than pain.

I am a grieving wife, daughter, granddaughter who has embarked on a path of educating others around grief. Will you join me?

The Worst Things to Say to Someone in Grief

  • At least she lived a long life, many people die young

  • He is in a better place

  • She brought this on herself

  • There is a reason for everything

  • Aren’t you over him yet, he has been dead for awhile now

  • You can have another child still

  • She was such a good person God wanted her to be with him

  • I know how you feel

  • She did what she came here to do and it was her time to go

  • Be strong