A place to begin
When someone has just died
A gentle way to gather what matters now—and leave what can wait for another day.
Open this guideGrief resources
Resources for grief, remembrance and the days that follow.
Practical guidance, personal reflections and caring next steps from people who understand how much loss can change.
Begin where you are
You do not have to take in everything.
Some visitors arrive with something they need to do. Others are trying to understand what they feel. Choose the kind of help that fits today.
Practical help after a loss
When life asks things of you before you feel ready.
You do not have to handle everything at once. These simple guides can help you find the next step—and recognize what may be able to wait.
Funeral and memorial planning
Planning a meaningful farewell
Questions to help shape a service that reflects the person you love and the people gathering to remember.
Open this guideCarrying their memory
Honoring and remembering
Personal ways to keep a loved one’s presence, stories and influence close.
Open this guideFor friends and family
Helping someone who is grieving
You do not need perfect words. Steady, thoughtful presence is often the greater gift.
Open this guidePersonal reflections
Find a reflection that meets you here.
Grief can affect family, faith, relationships and everyday life in different ways. Begin with the subject that feels closest to what you are experiencing.
Understanding grief
When grief changes how life feels.
Language for the fog, the second year and the ways grief keeps changing without following a timetable.
Everyday life
For the days that ask more of you.
Reflections on sleep, boundaries, holidays and the ordinary moments that can suddenly feel difficult.
Family loss
Every relationship leaves its own absence.
Personal words about sibling loss, child loss and the family relationships that grief can reshape.
Relationships and change
When loss changes more than one life.
For complicated relationships, changing connections and decisions that can look different after loss.
Helping someone
Presence matters more than perfect words.
Practical, human ways to sit beside someone in grief without trying to explain or repair their loss.
Faith, meaning and hope
Comfort can arrive in many forms.
Reflections on prayer, hope and faith offered as companionship—not as a requirement or an easy answer.
Additional trusted resources
Guidance beyond FHGR’s own programs.
Carefully selected people and books that may help with practical decisions or offer another source of understanding.
Vetted by FHGR
Financial advisors
Two trusted professionals recommended as places to begin when loss brings financial questions and decisions.
View recommended advisorsEducation and resources
Books for the grief journey
Recommended titles about grief, particular kinds of loss, faith, meaning and hope.
Browse recommended booksMost often found
Reflections readers return to.
These reflections have helped many readers feel understood and less alone.
About Grief
Why You Should Consider Moving After the Loss of a Loved One
Death of a loved one and moving are among the most stressful situations one can endure in a lifetime, so why consider relocating after losing someone close to you?
August 19, 2019 · Sara BaileyRead this reflection →
About Grief
The Lesson from Job’s Friends
I’ve been slowly reading and studying the book of JOB in the Bible, and pulling the possible lessons we can glean from Job’s friends, into the light. I’ve joked with others that lately, I feel like the female version of this man of God!
May 1, 2022 · Julie WolfRead this reflection →Healing
Prayer Shawl
I am often asked, “What brought you comfort in the early days?” The same memory usually pops in my mind that I like to share. It was about a week after my husband’s funeral when my cousin, Becky, stopped by our home holding a box in her hands. She said it was a gift from […]
March 20, 2019 · Karen BuchananRead this reflection →Browse all 145 reflections
About Grief
We Prepare You for the Second Year.
August 26, 2026About Grief
IS GRIEF A MENTAL HEALTH DISORDER?
May 24, 2026About Grief
HOLDING JOY AT ARMS LENGTH
April 13, 2026About Grief
GRIEVING SOMEONE YOU NEVER MET
February 23, 2026About Grief
Am I OK?
January 12, 2026About Grief
WALKING THE LINE OF FUNCTIONAL GRIEF
December 12, 2025About Grief
The Importance of Boundaries During Grief
October 29, 2025About Grief
Hope in the Valley of Dry Bones
October 13, 2025About Grief
When Ignoring It Is Best
September 8, 2025About Grief
Grieving the Loss of My Son: 14 Years Later
June 26, 2025About Grief
Grief Changes Over Time (And Why That’s Okay)
April 30, 2025About Grief
ALWAYS A SIBLING
March 27, 2025About Grief
Worst Case Scenario
March 27, 2025About Grief
Then I Grew Up
March 27, 2025About Grief
Bearer of Trauma
March 27, 2025About Grief
ONE PIECE OF MAIL
March 26, 2025About Grief
NUMBER OUR DAYS
September 30, 2024About Grief
ZACHARIAH’S STORY
May 27, 2024About Grief
PROFOUND WORDS
February 21, 2024About Grief
GRIEF BRAIN
January 14, 2024About Grief
COMPANIONS
January 4, 2024About Grief
War and Unrest
December 11, 2023About Grief
SOMETHING HAD TO GIVE
September 26, 2023About Grief
THE FORGOTTEN LOSS
September 23, 2023About Grief
The Dreaded Day
September 3, 2023About Grief
IMPACT OTHERS
September 3, 2023About Grief
NOT SOMETHING WE CAN FIX
July 4, 2023About Grief
THE WEIGHT OF GRIEF
June 3, 2023About Grief
I WANT MORE!
April 25, 2023About Grief
Music and Grief
February 26, 2023About Grief
TIME-OUT!
February 26, 2023About Grief
Hope Amongst the Punches
January 2, 2023About Grief
When It Was A Complicated Relationship
October 25, 2022About Grief
Is It Possible To Suffer Well?
September 21, 2022About Grief
Birthday Time…Again
August 17, 2022About Grief
SUICIDE—An Interview
July 13, 2022About Grief
Heaven Holds My Heart
June 28, 2022About Grief
Grief’s Impact on Relationships
May 14, 2022About Grief
Mother’s/Father’s Day…The Bereaved’s View
May 6, 2022About Grief
The Lesson from Job’s Friends
May 1, 2022About Grief
LAND—A Movie Review
April 15, 2022About Grief
Do The Right Thing
April 2, 2022About Grief
Not Just That Singular Moment
March 30, 2022About Grief
Is Keeping Busy Better?
March 21, 2022About Grief
Thanks, Social Media
February 25, 2022About Grief
A Prayer For Sleep
February 12, 2022About Grief
Unwanted Companion
February 4, 2022About Grief
BOOK RECOMMENDATION: “Joe’s Table”
January 27, 2022About Grief
What’s Your Trigger?
January 10, 2022About Grief
New Year, Same Grief
January 6, 2022About Grief
A Dark Time
December 22, 2021About Grief
Wishes Don’t Come True
December 12, 2021About Grief
I Miss Everything
December 7, 2021About Grief
How to Be Thankful, When You Don’t Feel Like It
November 18, 2021About Grief
The Caretakers Relief
November 10, 2021About Grief
Comparison: A True Thief
October 29, 2021About Grief
Movie Review: The Starling
October 22, 2021About Grief
The Regular Good Cry
October 14, 2021About Grief
Poem: Web of Sorrow
October 6, 2021About Grief
It’s Up to You
September 28, 2021About Grief
Designed to Mend
September 7, 2021About Grief
The Death of Dreams
August 29, 2021About Grief
It Was Just A Magazine
August 21, 2021About Grief
Am I A Helicopter Parent?
August 13, 2021About Grief
Goals & Grief
August 2, 2021About Grief
Come To Our Senses
July 23, 2021About Grief
Anger & Loss
July 19, 2021About Grief
We Are Not the Same
July 11, 2021About Grief
On Visiting the Cemetery…
July 2, 2021About Grief
Book Review: Permission to Mourn
June 25, 2021About Grief
We CAN Know!
June 20, 2021About Grief
Do Women Really Cry More?
June 11, 2021About Grief
Don’t Let Go
June 3, 2021About Grief
Year Two
May 28, 2021About Grief
It’s Complicated
May 24, 2021About Grief
Oh Brother
May 17, 2021About Grief
My POV
May 4, 2021About Grief
Words Matter
April 28, 2021About Grief
A Dose of Sorrow?
April 23, 2021About Grief
Mind Over Mourning
April 21, 2021About Grief
It Is Inevitable
April 1, 2021About Grief
Never Normal
March 26, 2021About Grief
A Matter of Time
March 19, 2021Healing
The Hope of Spring
March 13, 2021About Grief
Grief "Recovery?"
March 8, 2021About Grief
All The Feelings
February 21, 2021About Grief
All The Stuff!
February 12, 2021About Grief
Can I Forgive?
February 5, 2021About Grief
Grief upon Grief
February 1, 2021About Grief
How Are You? – The Impossible Question
January 18, 2021About Grief
Letting Others In
January 15, 2021About Grief
Honoring a Loved One During COVID-19
December 21, 2020About Grief
Calm Down, Move On, Get Over It?
September 19, 2020Loss By Suicide
Suicide in Teens and Children
June 29, 2020About Grief
Dating After Death: Part One
June 10, 2020About Grief
Post-Traumatic Growth
May 30, 2020About Grief
Honor Your Loved One During COVID-19
April 13, 2020About Grief
Grieving Uncertainty
April 1, 2020About Grief
GUILT
January 9, 2020About Grief
The Wonderful Bundle
December 10, 2019About Grief
Broke My Holiday Rule
December 4, 2019About Grief
My Last Day with William
November 11, 2019About Grief
Why You Should Consider Moving After the Loss of a Loved One
August 19, 2019About Grief
He’s Here!
July 22, 2019About Grief
Who Will Be Next?
July 16, 2019About Grief
Relationships
July 8, 2019About Grief
Survivor?
May 15, 2019About Grief
6 Reasons Losing a Child Can Put Your Marriage at Risk
April 10, 2019About Grief
Just a Day at the Gym or so I Thought…
March 26, 2019Healing
Prayer Shawl
March 20, 2019Loss By Suicide
Find A Plane Please!
March 13, 2019Loss of a Spouse
It Doesn’t Grow On Trees
March 8, 2019About Grief
Advice & Mentoring
March 5, 2019About Grief
Floating Clouds….(Brain fog)
February 1, 2019About Grief
How to Deal with Anger When You’ve Lost a Loved One
January 26, 2019About Grief
Leave It At The Front Door
January 19, 2019Healing
I Didn’t Cry This Year
January 2, 2019Healing
Finding Peace Through Better Sleep: Advice for People in Grief
December 31, 2018About Grief
6 Reasons You Should Consider Attending a Grief Support Group
December 28, 2018About Grief
Ideas For Healthy Grieving
December 21, 2018About Grief
Bonus, Bonus, Bonus, Bonus
December 14, 2018About Grief
The Big “D” Word….
December 7, 2018About Grief
Going back to school? Why not?
November 30, 2018About Grief
Sitting on the Jet…Pause… Observe…
November 23, 2018About Grief
Laugh out loud!
November 16, 2018About Grief
Tips for Bystanders
November 9, 2018About Grief
Navigating The Holidays
November 2, 2018About Grief
Longer Nights
October 26, 2018About Grief
Run south child…
October 19, 2018About Grief
Do I have to go…?
October 12, 2018About Grief
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
October 5, 2018About Grief
Valleys and Mountain tops….
September 27, 2018About Grief
Close the blinds
September 21, 2018About Grief
Survivors Guide To Four Letter Words
September 14, 2018About Grief
What’s with the paddles and a lava lamp?
September 7, 2018About Grief
What’s in a monogram?
August 31, 2018About Grief
Stairwell Reveal
August 24, 2018About Grief
Permission, yes.
August 17, 2018About Grief
Step Out
August 10, 2018About Grief
Tough Dates
June 26, 2016About Grief
God and Me
June 22, 2016Loss By Suicide
Out of the Darkness
June 17, 2016Loss By Suicide
The Candle in the Window
June 11, 2016About Grief
What Grief Feels Like
May 23, 2016How to Help Someone in Grief
Beyond Cards and Covered Dishes
April 23, 2016When reading is not what you need
A conversation with someone who understands may be the next step.
FHGR offers private peer mentoring, always-free grief support groups and TeleConnect access across the U.S.