Chapter 1: An introduction to grief

What is grief?

I was surprised at how the grief came in waves for me. One day I was fine and the next I wasn’t. You can live with the grief, but it changes you forever.

Grief hasn’t ended for me, but it has changed. I think we need to work on making space for people to just be with one another, without trying to fix it or put a timeline on it.

Grief is a normal response to loss that is often misunderstood. Whenever a person loses someone or something that is important to them, they grieve, but not always in the same way. Some losses are more significant than others and have a greater impact on the person who has experienced the loss. 

Click on the arrows below to reveal some facts about grief.

A person’s thoughts and feelings when grieving may be surprising and may not fit with their previous experiences of grief. They may feel that grief is taking up a large part of their life. They may also be grieving for the past and for how things and are maybe worried or wondering about the future.