“What were they like?”
There’s more to someone’s life than how it ended. Their humor, habits, favorite stories—all things someone may still want to talk about.
“If you ever want to tell me about them, I’d like to listen.”
What do you wish people knew about someone you miss?
#grief #continuingbonds

My grandparents raised me; they were my parents. They still influence my life today.

Bereavement scholars call ongoing connections with the dead “continuing bonds.”¹

What’s something you still do because of someone who died?

¹ doi.org/10.4324/9781...

#grief #loss #bereavement #griefwithoutapew

Since my grandparents died, I’ve mostly grieved alone—caught between religious explanations & people who don’t want to hear about it.
“Safety in solitude” appears in bereavement research.¹
I recognize it. I still want connection.
#grief #bereavement #loss #griefwithoutapew
¹ doi.org/10.1177/2167...

I knew I’d miss the people who died. I didn’t know I’d have to defend how I miss them to the people still here.

Grief can change our relationships with the living, too.

Art: Frederic, Lord Leighton, *Lachrymae* (1894–95), The Met. Public domain.
#grief #griefsupport #loss

After my grandparents died, I could feel conversations close around their names. Sometimes I just wanted to finish a story about them, but it felt like I sucked the air out of the room.
If there’s someone you still want to talk about, you can tell me about them here.

#GriefWithoutAPew #GriefSupport

After losing my grandparents, I found myself looking for a place to talk honestly about grief without having my feelings explained away or the conversation shut down.

I started Grief Without a Pew for people who want to talk about death, loss, and the ways we stay connected to those who’ve died.