21 Ways to Help a Grieving Friend

How to Support Someone Who Has Lost a Loved One

Tips to help you know what to say and do when someone dies.

By Lori A. Pederson

Losing a loved one can be an extremely difficult time in a person’s life. When I lost my mother in 1993 to ovarian cancer, the support of my friends and family were the cornerstone to helping me re-establish a sense of well being in my life. Death is not a topic we like to talk about. The unfortunate truth is that at some point we will all be faced with the uncomfortable reality of losing a loved one. Our friends and family play a big part in how we deal with this loss and their love and support can make all the difference.

These 21 tips are meant to help you find supportive ways to assist someone you care about through the journey of restoring balance in their life after a loss.

This is adapted from the e-book "25 Supportive Things You Can Do For Someone That Has Lost a Loved One” by Lori A. Pederson, founder of IDidNotKnowWhatToSay.Com. Download the full e-book here.