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What to Say to Someone Who Lost a Parent or Loved One

By Matt Berical — 2021

No matter what you say to someone whose parent or loved one died, it should be derivative of the same goal: communicating empathy and offering assistance, understanding what a person might need from you, and knowing how to phrase sentiments the right way.

Read on www.fatherly.com

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Life’s Last Gift: Giving and Receiving Peace When a Loved One Is Dying

After four decades of training volunteers to sit at the bedsides of the dying, psychologist and Shanti founder Charles Garfield has created an essential guide for friends, family, and healthcare professionals who want to ease someone’s final days but don’t know where to begin.

Book
Charles Garfield
2017
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The Greatest Beer Run Ever: A Memoir of Friendship, Loyalty, and War

One night in 1967, twenty-six-year-old John Donohue—known as Chick—was out with friends, drinking in a New York City bar. The friends gathered there had lost loved ones in Vietnam. Now they watched as antiwar protesters turned on the troops themselves.

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John "Chick" Donohue, J.T. Molloy
2021
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Loving Your Friend Through Cancer: Moving Beyond “I’m Sorry” to Meaningful Support

“It’s cancer.” When you hear the two words you dread most from someone you care about, you know at once that your friend’s life has been turned upside down. Whether she’s a good friend, a best friend, or just an acquaintance, you want to be supportive.

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Marissa Henley
2025
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The death of a beloved is an amputation.

Quote
C. S. Lewis
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We meet no ordinary people in our lives.

Quote
C. S. Lewis
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What Do I Say? Talking and Praying with Someone Who Is Dying

Talking with those who are dying can be difficult even in the best of circumstances.

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Margrit Anna Banta
2014
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Final Gifts: Understanding the Special Awareness, Needs, and Communications of the Dying

In this moving and compassionate classic—now updated with new material from the authors—hospice nurses Maggie Callanan and Patricia Kelley share their intimate experiences with patients at the end of life, drawn from more than twenty years’ experience tending the terminally ill.

Book
Maggie Callanan, Patricia Kelley
2012
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There Is No Good Card for This: What to Say and Do When Life Is Scary, Awful, and Unfair to People You Love

The creator of the viral hit “Empathy Cards” teams up with a compassion expert to produce a visually stunning and groundbreaking illustrated guide to help you increase your emotional intelligence and learn how to offer comfort and support when someone you know is in pain.

Book
Kelsey Crowe, Emily McDowell
2017
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Death Benefits: How Losing a Parent Can Change an Adult’s Life—for the Better

When psychotherapist Jeanne Safer lost her mother, she was determined to turn her loss into an opportunity for insight and growth. Through her own experience, her work with patients, and in-depth interviews, Safer shows that the death of a parent can be a catalyst for change.

Book
Jeanne Safer
2025
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Fabulous Friendship Festival: Loving Wildly, Learning Deeply, Living Fully with Our Friends

Create new friendships, deliciously celebrate the ones you have, practice new ways to be a better friend . . . with others and yourself.

Book
SARK
2007
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EXPLORE TOPIC

Death or Loss of a Parent