Your friend just lost her mother. You showed up with a casserole and no idea what to say. Learn that presence — not answers — is what people actually need.
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Supporting Someone Through Grief →
Your friend just lost her mother. You showed up with a casserole and no idea what to say. Learn that presence — not answers, not silver linings, not advice — is what people actually need.
Skills you'll build
What happens in this story4 scenarios
Your friend just lost her mother. You're standing at her door with a casserole and no idea what to say. The casserole is doing more work than you are right now — and that might be enough.
You try to find a silver lining. 'At least she's not suffering anymore.' Your friend looks at you and the look says everything — stop trying to make this make sense.
You stop talking. You sit next to her on the couch. The silence is uncomfortable and necessary. For the first time, you're not trying to fix anything — you're just being in it with her.
You leave. You're not sure if you helped. You're not sure what you said that mattered or if anything did. But you showed up — and sometimes that's the whole thing.
More stories in this course
View all →The Month After
Everyone else has moved on. Your friend hasn't. Four chapters on what sustained presence looks like when grief outlasts everyone else's attention span.
4 scenarios →The Anniversary
Her mother's birthday is in three days. You almost forgot. Four chapters on grief dates, anticipatory grief, and how to show up around the hardest calendar moments.
4 scenarios →The Long Grief
Two years later. She still has hard days. Someone in your social circle is losing patience. Four chapters on being a grief witness when everyone else has moved on.
4 scenarios →The Casserole
Your friend just lost her mother. You showed up with a casserole and no idea what to say. Learn that presence — not answers — is what people actually need.
Start free →4 scenarios · 80 min · No account required to try