Before considering what to do to be helpful, Gavin Ortland suggests four things NOT to do. (Read the full article at “How not to help a sufferer.”) In summary, his four things are don’t be […]
Category: Practical – consolation
10 simple phrases when visiting in the first hours after a death.
I’m sorry. Nothing: (Sixty seconds of silence) May I take care of that? (and take the tissue out of their hands and give them a fresh one and throw it away and wash your hands) […]
Can my loved one hear me?
In the last hours and minutes of people’s lives, laying in hospital and hospice beds, we often hear the question, “Can they hear us?” Chaplains and nurses often say, “Yes. Of course. The hearing is […]
Remember the best conversation, not necessarily the last one.
People often say, “I wish I had told them I loved them” the last time they spoke with their loved one. Instead of worrying about the last conversation, consider remembering the best conversation.
“How trees respond to loss”
Jason’s book is How Trees Deal with Loss.
What to say when you don’t know what to say.
I used to say, “I’m sorry for your loss” when I was in moments of deep pain and death. I’m adding a new phrase. “This is hard.” Let me tell you why.
