Blog Post

Grief and Secondary Loss

January 12, 2022

Post by Maureen Pollard, MSW, RSW Grief and Secondary Loss Secondary losses are those that often accompany the death of a loved one and may go unacknowledged beside the more recognized experience of that primary loss. Secondary loss includes such things as role, family structure, support systems, identity, faith, purpose and security. These connections are related to…

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Reflections on Mother’s Day

May 8, 2023

Mother’s day is a holiday where we show appreciation and care for the maternal roles in our lives. However, this holiday can feel very overwhelming for those of us who are grieving the death of a mother figure, a mother grieving their child, or those of us grieving the loss of not being able to become mothers ourselves.

Bereavement Professionals' Insights / Blog Post / Death of a Child / Death of A Loved One / Death of a Parent / I Am A Griever / Perinatal

You Can’t Always Get What You Want

May 19, 2025

“Happiness is a choice.” A friend of mine posted this quote on Facebook the other day. She then asked others what that quote meant to them. The responses were interesting and expected, and some were even inspiring. It’s so easy to say “I choose to be happy” when life is going well. On the other…

Blog Post / Death of a Partner / I Am A Griever

Things That Helped When My Dog Was Dying

August 28, 2024

I lived with a dog named Althea, who belonged to my roommate, during my undergrad. Every year, my partner, our roommate, and I would go to a summer solstice festival. The year Althea was pregnant, my roommate brought her to the festival. The first night there, he retired to his tent to nap in preparation…

Blog Post / pet loss

Grief, Breastfeeding, and Care

September 30, 2024

In this essay, I share a bit about my story of grief and breastfeeding. I also share some thoughts about the cultural grief some people are carrying about the lack of support afforded to lactating families whose goal it is to feed their baby from their body. I use some gendered language throughout this essay…

Bereavement Professionals' Insights / Blog Post / Collective/Community Grief / I Am A Griever / I Am A Professional / I Am A Supporter / Perinatal / Supporting Others

Mourning a Man I Never Knew

June 15, 2023

This spring, I turned fifty-four. I have now outlived the father I never knew: my biological father. It’s been almost twenty-three years since we spoke; eighteen years since I learned of his death. I’m still dealing with the strange grief of his loss.

Blog Post / Death of a Parent / I Am A Griever

It’s World Suicide Prevention Day and I Hope You Stay

September 10, 2020

Post by Maureen Pollard, MSW, RSW It’s World Suicide Prevention Day and I Hope You Stay It’s World Suicide Prevention Day (WSPD) and in keeping with the theme of working together to prevent suicide, I have worked with a team of amazing artists to create a song called I Hope You Stay. As a Registered Social Worker,…

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Infant & Reproductive Loss Toolkit [Free Downloadable PDFs for Individuals and Professionals]

October 2, 2024

Navigating life, death, and loss can be overwhelming. Mental health professionals designed this toolkit for individuals, parents, caregivers, and families navigating perinatal and reproductive loss. Reactions to pregnancy and reproductive loss are as unique as fingerprints. Some can process the experience relatively quickly, while others experience unrelenting pain and grief. We hope that this toolkit…

Bereavement Professionals' Insights / Blog Post / Collective/Community Grief / Death of a Child / I Am A Griever / I Am A Professional / I Am A Supporter / Perinatal / Supporting Others / Toolkits

Holding Space for The Many Faces of Grief on Father’s Day

June 15, 2024

A lot of blog posts and articles about grief and special days tend to focus on how to navigate these moments when our loved one has died. Often these articles of grief also talk about the ways we have deeply loved or cared for the person who has died. Grief is a natural response to…

Blog Post / I Am A Griever

Grief and Parenting in the Disability Community

October 5, 2022

In this blog post, Carrie writes about being the parent and primary caregiver to a child with disabilities and grieving the loss of a child dying from their disabilities.

Blog Post / Death of a Child / Grief and Trauma / I Am A Griever / I Am A Professional / I Am A Supporter / Living with Dying / Supporting Others

Creative Outlets for Grief

August 13, 2020

Post by Maureen Pollard, MSW, RSW Creative Outlets for Grief In the depth of raw, deep grief it can be hard to find words to express your feelings. Perhaps you are not much of a talker, anyway. Maybe this terrible tragedy has left you speechless. There may be no words for the terrible experience you find yourself…

Blog Post

The First Fathers’ Day Without Dad

June 18, 2023

When you lose a person in the generation before you, you begin to think about what they meant to you. When you lose a parent, you think about all they meant, and you hoped you either lived up to the best of yourself, or in some cases where the parenting was not as instructive or kind, you hope you’ve raised yourself beyond difficult circumstances.

Blog Post / Death of A Loved One / Death of a Parent / I Am A Griever