Grief Dialogues

Sometimes, grief looks like continuing the routines you shared with the one you loved. 🐾❤️

This touching story is a beautiful reminder that when we lose our animal companions, the love doesn’t disappear, it simply finds a new way to walk beside us.

That’s the heart of Our Loving Companions: honoring the joy, devotion, and profound grief that come with loving them.

Because some bonds are forever. ❤️

A dog trainer noticed a man walking every day with a dog leash but no dog. She asked why, and his reply brought them both to tears. "Don’t be afraid to reach out to someone," dog trainer Jerri Scherff tells Upworthy.

There’s something beautiful about watching artists use their gifts to build bridges, create connection, and turn unexpected relationships into something meaningful. ❤️

We were honored to have Dwight Stackhouse as one of the performers in our In the Wake of Life May performances in Detroit, and it’s wonderful to see what he’s creating next.

This new artistic collaboration is a reminder that sometimes the most unlikely partnerships can lead to powerful stories, wisdom, and transformation.

Read more about Dwight’s new work and the journey behind it: https://nonegative.energy/2026/08/10/interview-from-foes-to-friends-warnings-and-wisdom-from-an-unlikely-artistic-duet/

Out Of Grief Comes Art!! 🎶

There are some stories that remind us that grief doesn’t simply disappear, it changes, evolves, and comes in waves. 🌊

Carly Simon’s new album Comes in Waves is described by the Associated Press as a deeply personal journey through love, loss, family, aging, and reflection. After nearly two decades without releasing an album of original songs, Simon has created music that seems to embrace the complicated truth that grief and healing can exist alongside one another.

Perhaps that is one of the most important things we can remember about grief: we don’t “get over” the people and experiences we have lost. We learn to carry them differently. Some days the waves are gentle. Other days, they knock us off our feet. And sometimes, our memories, our art, and our stories become the very things that help us keep moving forward.

🎶 What role has music played in your experience of grief?

🔗 Read the AP review here of Carly Simon’s “Comes in Waves”: https://apnews.com/article/carly-simon-waves-review-49c7b4023c84c7dcf7ca1e8db082f226

Music Review: Carly Simon's 'Comes in Waves' is a journey through love and loss Carly Simon's new album “Comes in Waves” arrives in the aftermath of her announcement that she has been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and treated for skin cancer.

Sometimes, the words we couldn’t say at the funeral stay with us for years.

In “The Eulogy I Never Gave My Mother,” Barri Leiner Grant reflects on losing her mother suddenly, and on the eulogy she wasn’t able to give at the time. Years later, she finally wrote it and read it aloud to honor her mother and the life they shared.

It’s a beautiful reminder that grief doesn’t follow a timeline, and it’s never too late to say the words that still live in your heart. ❤️

Read the article: “The Eulogy I Never Gave My Mother”⁠ 🔗 https://barri.substack.com/p/the-eulogy-i-never-gave-my-mother-7a8

the eulogy i never gave my mother you can still say it, grief has no deadline

Sometimes, fear shapes the way we experience death and anticipatory grief. ❤️

This thoughtful piece from Barbara Karnes, RN explores how fear of the unknown can influence the way we respond when someone we love is approaching the end of life, and how knowledge and understanding can help lessen that fear.

Understanding the dying process doesn’t take away the sadness, but it can help us feel more prepared, present, and able to connect with our loved ones during an incredibly meaningful time.

A beautiful reminder that sometimes, understanding can open the door to comfort, connection, and meaningful goodbyes. 🕊️

“It is through the eyes of fear that we react to the unknown of how life ends…”⁠

🔗 https://bkbooks.com/blogs/something-to-think-about/it-is-through-the-eyes-of-fear-that-we-react-to-the-unknown-of-how-life-ends

🕷️ What can Spider-Man teach us about grief?

More than you might expect.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day explores loss, loneliness, and what it means to continue living after someone, or something, important is gone. Peter Parker’s story reminds us that grief isn’t something we simply “get over.” It can change us, shape us, and become part of who we are.

This thoughtful article from The Conversation looks at the ways Spider-Man’s journey reflects the very human experience of living with loss, and why connection and reaching out to others can matter so much along the way. 💙

Read the article: “What Spider-Man: Brand New Day can teach us about loss and grief”⁠
🔗 https://theconversation.com/what-spider-man-brand-new-day-can-teach-us-about-loss-and-grief-289173

What Spider-Man: Brand New Day can teach us about loss and grief Peter Parker has lost all of his support network in this new film – but navigating his grief proves transformative.

What if the people who loved us most continue to find their way to us, even in our dreams? 💙

A fascinating and deeply moving article about hospice physician Dr. Christopher Kerr’s observations of end-of-life experiences and the loved ones who appear in them. His work offers a beautiful perspective on love, connection, memory, and the ways we may carry those we’ve lost with us.

For anyone navigating grief, this is a thought-provoking read. 🕊️

Read the full article: https://www.upworthy.com/hospice-doctor-reveals-the-loved-ones-who-will-visit-and-those-who-wont-in-your-final-dreams/

Hospice doctor reveals the loved ones who will visit and those who won't in your final dreams "They had a pivotal role in the formation of who you were."

We’d never heard of Hildegard House before reading this beautiful story, but its mission is a powerful reminder of what compassionate end-of-life care can look like.

No one should have to face the end of life alone. Karen Cassidy’s vision has created a place where dignity, kindness, and human connection are at the heart of every final chapter. It’s an inspiring reminder that even in our deepest grief, compassion has the power to change lives.

Take a few moments to read this moving article, it just might restore a little hope. ❤️

https://www.voice-tribune.com/post/karen-cassidy-s-seed-of-compassion-continues-to-grow-at-hildegard-house

At Grief Dialogues, we believe stories like these help us reimagine what it means to support one another through loss and remind us that every life deserves to be honored with compassion.

Karen Cassidy’s Seed of Compassion Continues to Grow at Hildegard House By Alisha Proffitt • Photos By Matt JohnsonThe idea that became Hildegard House began with a gap in care that Karen Cassidy encountered every day as a palliative care nurse practitioner. Working at St. Mary & Elizabeth Hospital in Louisville, she cared for patients approaching the end of life who ...

: Friendly nudge to register, if you're planning to join us. We've added some extra guestrooms, and once these are reserved there will only be space for learners who can commute to IslandWood, our gorgeous training site on Bainbridge Island (Seattle).
As always, we've gathered an impressive team of PI faculty and international guest presenters for this year's PI Retreat. You can expect world-class educators, researchers and grief therapists with a broad index rich knowledge and lived experience to share - many attendees have noted measurable personal and professional growth inspired by the PI Retreat experience.
This an intimate, welcoming and carefully curated training series that also offers learners an opportunity to connect with likeminded people, including many global experts and emerging innovators in the field -- all taking place in a beautiful setting.
=>> Find out more and register here:
https://portlandinstitute.org/trainings/grief-counseling-training-in-united-states

A wonderful new resource is here for grieving children, teens, the adults who love them, and the professionals who support them. 💙

The newest issue of Get Griefy Magazine is dedicated to helping young people navigate grief with compassion, practical tools, real stories, and meaningful conversations. Best of all, the digital edition is free!

We’re grateful to share resources like this with our Grief Dialogues community. 💛

🔗 https://issuu.com/legacylettersjournal/docs/get_griefy_issue_9-the_kid_s_issue_83b42a2000ca22