Holidays

A Trauma Therapist’s 3-Part Holiday Grief Plan

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Advice on dealing with All The Feelings during a complicated season.

‘Tis the Season for Hot Widower Movie Dads

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Apparently, sad dads are sexy and sad moms are a burden. But who am I to complain? Here are my top four.

Modern Loss 2020 gift guide

A Gift Guide for Grievers (and Those Who Love Them)

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From ego-boosting apparel to frame-worthy puzzles to an instant community, these gifts say ‘I know the holidays are rough, and I'm here for you.'

How the Modern Loss Holiday Gift Swap Sparked a Powerful Friendship

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We were complete strangers who disentangled our lonely and complex feelings about grief together.

How to Support a Grieving Child During a Year That Makes No Sense

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We're all trying to figure out life as we move through COVID-19. That includes kids living with loss.

2020: The Year Mom Didn’t Live To See

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We made it past Thanksgiving and Christmas. Now comes everything after.

It’s The Worst Wonderful Time of The Year

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I'm heading into my first 'festive' seasonal stretch after my husband's death and have no clue what I'll do. Weirdly, that's ok.

21 Things I Hate — and Love — About Being a Widow

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Few things in life are black and white, especially in the wake of a death.

‘Querida Amor’

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My father was scary to me except on Valentine’s Day. When he died, those treacly annual expressions of fatherly love went with him.

The Modern Loss Holiday Gift Guide — 2018

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From scalp whisks to s’mores to soups that arrive at your doorstep, these gifts for the grieving say ‘the holidays are rough, but I love you.’

The Un-Telling

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I shared our pregnancy news early — asserting that I wanted my community with me in joy, but also in potential sorrow. Now that I had miscarried, there were so many calls to make.

Saying No to the Fourth

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After my mother died July 4th weekend, I tried to keep celebrating the holiday with cookouts and fireworks — until I found a better way.

Purple Rain on Father’s Day

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My dad and the rock star Prince had everything and nothing in common. This is the time of year I feel their absence most acutely.

Our Christmas Décor Became a Metaphor for My Grief

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What is the protocol for embroidering a Christmas story that stops abruptly in the second chapter?

Tips For Getting Through the Holidays When You’re Totally Sad

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Maybe someday the season won’t feel like someone is taking a melon baller to my heart, but for now getting through it is about knowing what to avoid and what to embrace.

Rebecca Odes for Modern Loss

DNA and Middle C

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My son's resemblance to my father was always striking. But after my dad died, it took on new meaning.

Father's Day listicle

Random Acts of Dadness

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From rejecting perfectly good restaurant food to donating to worthy causes, I'm spending the first Father's Day after my dad's death trying to emulate his character.

Modern Loss Mother's Day gift swap

The Modern Loss Mother’s Day Gift Swap

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Missing someone special on the Hallmark holiday? Sign up to send a gift to (and receive one from!) someone else who is, too.

The Widow's Yoga Tribe_Modern Loss

A Widow and her Galentines

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After my husband died, I stumbled about looking for my tribe. Counterintuitive to my nature, I found it in yoga class.

In Defense of Magic

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The winter holiday rituals have soothed our grieving souls. So has our son's belief in Santa.

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