This New York Time’s article, shared with me by a close friends’ mother, tackles some of the helpful things you can do and say after someone looses a loved one. Jane Brody’s writing is beautiful, thoughtful, and helpful for people struggling to figure out how to support a friend through a loss. Here is a little piece of the wonderful article:
“Many caring people have cautioned me to take care of myself — to be sure to eat well and exercise regularly — but thankfully no one has told me how to grieve. As Rabbi Grollman wrote in his book of poems:
There is no way to predict
how you will feel.
The reactions of grief are
not like recipes,
with given ingredients,
and certain results.
Each person mourns in a
different way.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/18/health/18brod.html?emc=eta1