Blog
Welcome to the Grief Matters blog. We intend for this space to provide an opportunity for the Grief Matters community to write, read, share, and reflect about ‘all things grief.’ At Grief Matters, we understand grief as the experience of loss. This loss could be a death (a human, an animal). It could also be the loss of something else: your health, a job, an opportunity, a future goal, or dream.
While grief can look and feel different to every individual, we live our grief within our social networks and in our communities. We feel that community matters deeply to the experience of grief. So, we invite you to share with us in order to help create more grief-attuned communities.
How does grief matter to you?
What grief matters are important to you?
Email us your ideas about how you could contribute to the Grief Matters blog. Please see our guest bloggers guidelines.
Read our past newsletters.
How grief found Susan
Rob. Doyle. Jean Pierre. Bill. Greg.
Rob was a first for me. I had been doing volunteer work in the area of HIV/AIDS for some time but had never met someone living with HIV. Not only was he the first person whom I met who was HIV positive, he was the first person I knew to die of it.
Photo by Susan Cadell of a framed Picasso poster gifted back to Susan by Bill upon his death.
What now? The two directions of grief (and a story of a developing a podcast!)
What now?
When I was a Grief and Supportive Care Counselor for Hospice Peterborough, I heard this question hundreds of times. I heard it asked - with all the accompanying emotions – by people who were shattered by the death of someone they love. I also heard it asked by beleaguered individuals and family members after receiving a diagnosis of a life-threatening illness.
Frank is missing! Thinking about grief through the experience of pet loss
Frank is missing! These bold letters screamed out at me from every third telephone pole in my neighbourhood. Frank the cat is lost! He is missing! Help find Frank! My heart broke for the worried family every time I left my house. I physically cringed each time I saw one of these signs. I cringed partly because I know how losing a pet can be devastating.
*Photo by Tuba Karabulut
Are obituaries obsolete?
During the visitation before my father’s funeral, a young guest looked around the crowded room and asked, “How do all these people know Ron is dead?” I had to stifle my laughter at the blunt (and valid) question. For someone who had little experience with death, the scene must’ve looked beyond bizarre: groups of grown-ups gathered in various corners, speaking solemnly at a low volume.
Visiting the exhibit, “Death: Life’s Greatest Mystery”
We wrote this blog post to share our thoughts about visiting the recent exhibit, “Death: Life’s Greatest Mystery,” at Toronto’s Royal Ontario Museum. The exhibit is originally from the Chicago Field Museum. We both found it especially impressive to have the word ‘death’ figure so prominently: the name of the exhibit was on a giant poster on the side of the museum and was widely advertised on social media.
Photo by Stephanie Levac.
Surrendering to My Grief One Step at a Time
Grief has been a journey best travelled on foot for me. Walking helped me navigate through my mother’s unexpected illness and eventual death in 2021. Often, I strolled through the neighbouring streets of the hospice where my mom spent her last months, seeking solace from the looming reality of her impending death. The day I received the call of her passing, my husband suggested a walk in one of my favourite urban parks. Unsure of what else to do, I laced up my shoes and mustered the energy to put one foot in front of the other.
Photo by Sarah Burm
Setting the Stage for Community Grieving
Recently, my mom called me and asked if I wanted to head to Toronto to see a new musical with her. She said, “It’s about death and dying, so it’s right up our alley.” My mom knows me well and quickly added,“Oh, it uses Roy Orbison’s music.” As a musician and long-time admirer of the rock music scene from the 60s to the 80s, I could not say no.
Photo by Kyle Head
We are the ‘public’ in the public health approach to grief. So, why does this matter?
Grief is having a moment. In Canada, at least.
We can thank Canadian Grief Alliance (CGA) for being an early adopter and pushing conversations about grief. CGA was formed by concerned Canadians who anticipated an avalanche of grief due to the COVID-19 pandemic. CGA lobbied successfully to get grief onto the 2023 federal budget for the first time in Canadian history. Amazing.
Photo by Timon Studler