“What a grieving friend might need most from you”

[Content warnings: grief; loss; death of loved one(s)]

Last night, I heard a report on NPR about supporting friends/loved ones through grief: “What a grieving friend might need most from you”.

In the summer of 2023, I experienced two devastating losses, one of which — the death of my father & the fact that he will never know the real me — will probably haunt me and periodically bring me to my knees for the rest of my life. 

As is mentioned also in this short NPR report, holidays can be a specific trigger for renewed bouts of grief — they definitely are for me — which is one of the reasons NPR published this report last night. 

I can very much relate to what is said in this short NPR report but I also believe it to be a helpful, useful “tool for our life toolkit” (as the NPR reporter says), because as long as we love, we’re bound to experience grief. And once we experience it, grief stays with us forever, sometimes dormant, and comes back in waves or layers, and it is truly exhausting.