­

Letters

‘Querida Amor’

By

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

Letters To My Dead Mother

By

I’d imagined these words, penned on the anniversary of Mom’s death, as an emotional storage unit for my grief — only to realize there’s no such thing.

What People (Don’t) Do After Hearing About a Friend’s Loss

By

After a mother's death, a woman's inbox gets the cold shoulder from some valued pals. Our advice guru weighs in.

How To: Acknowledge a Sympathy Note

By

In the aftermath of your loved one’s death, you'll likely be overwhelmed by sympathy cards, emails and, yes, texts. But how to respond?