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How to Support a Friend Who is Grieving a Miscarriage or Infant Death The death of an infant or a miscarriage is so sad and many times it’s difficult to know what to say, how to say it and of course you may be wondering what not to say. Many times those worries keep people from reaching out to support friends and loved ones who are experiencing this loss. Receiving support and condolences is very important to the grief process. First of all what helps:
 The internet provides a wealth of information in the area of grief. Websites offer a variety of services. This website review column provides you with information about a site that we have researched and feel is relevant and helpful to a grieving person. Two sites will be reviewed quarterly: those that offer resources for people grieving the death of a friend or relative and also sites honoring the death of an animal companion. www.griefandrenewal.com This website was developed by Laura Slap-Shelton who identifies herself as a widow, psychologist and mother. She lives in Maine and many of the resources she has pertain to her locality. Griefandrenewal.com focuses on the healing, renewal, and rediscovery of the self that comes out of the grieving process. The site has information about international widows issues and resources. Site Map Guide Bookstore: which is connected to Amazon.com but gives proceeds back to Dr. Slap-Shelton’s website. Store: has items made by women in India and the proceeds support this website and widows in developing countries. It also has a selection of videotapes and resources to acknowledge and support grief. Widows International: which has articles, resources and information about conferences pertaining to the treatment of widows in other developing countries. Widows lose almost all their rights in some countries; you can learn more about this in this section. Articles: contains poetry, stories of personal experience and essays. You can post your own writings here. Discussion Group: as of this writing the postings in this discussion group appeared to be sporadic, with the last posting being almost a month ago. Dr. Shelton does respond to people and there were some heart felt messages here. Connections That Empower: these are links to sites that provide resources for grievers. Hospice: has a small collection of articles and personal accounts about the hospice movement. You can post your experiences with hospice here. We like Griefandrenewal.com. As a website it is easy to navigate, makes sense and lives up to its name - it truly is about grief and renewal. www.pet-loss.net This website was developed by Moira Allen Anderson M.Ed, the author of Coping with Sorrow on the Loss of Your Pet. Pet-loss.net contains articles about the feelings and experiences surrounding the grief of those who are mourning an animal companion. Moira Anderson, who truly understands the heart and mind of the griever, writes each article. They are available in her monthly newsletter and cover a broad range of topics from conquering guilt to creating a pet memorial. She also has included a State-by-State Guide to Support Groups, Counselors and Pet Cemeteries which delivers exactly what it promises. Click on any state and you get a listing of support groups, counselors and pet cemeteries. Links and Hotlines lists an abundance of links all with a short synopsis by Ms. Anderson. Also available is a comprehensive list of Hotlines throughout the United States. This is a great site for anyone who is mourning the loss of an animal companion. The Box of Comfort™ was Acknowledgements’ first product, created out of the desire to give a sympathy gift that conveyed heartfelt sympathy and provide concrete tools to assist friends during their grieving process. With great attention to every detail, selected items needed to elicit feelings of comfort. We had many lunches together trying various gourmet soup packages that would pass our “taste test”. The brand we picked, Fabulous Fixin’s, is delicious and easy to fix. We decided on chicken noodle because it is a classic comfort food. We often have customers tells us the gift recipient used the soup mix for one of their first dinners after all the company had gone home. What a great time to have a delicious pot of comforting chicken noodle soup! We feel wonderful when we hear this because it tells us the Box of Comfort™ sympathy gift is truly serving its comforting purpose. Staying in the comfort food theme we wanted a warm dessert. After our first taste of the hot fudge sundae cake, our search was over! This cake is truly scrumptious! Add to that, comforting chamomile tea with honey and a comforting moment is created. We receive many comments on how delicious the cake is and many people save it for a special occasion. The Mourning Handbook provides ongoing support throughout the grieving process. It is a comprehensive book, which serves as a source of guidance and comfort. Deciding on The Mourning Handbook was another process of selection with great attention to every detail. The book had to speak to people grieving various types of losses. It had to be easy to read and appeal to people of various faiths and ages. An important test is to randomly open the book to any page and find helpful information. The Mourning Handbook fit all of our criteria. We have received letters, phone calls and e-mails letting us know gift recipients have truly benefited from reading this book. We know we have accomplished our goal – providing a sympathy gift that brings comfort and concrete tools for healing. |
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