How to best support someone who has lost a spouse

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Transcription:

The best thing that anybody can do when someone’s partner’s died is just to do the things that you think need to be done. What I’ve found is that you don’t want to ask somebody what you can do to help, because they’re so overwhelmed with their grief and they’re so overwhelmed with sadness at that point that they don’t really care if their floor gets swept. They don’t even care if they’re eating at that point. So what I’ve found is if you just do the things that need to be done, sweep the floors, call in a cleaning person, do whatever you can to make their life easier without impacting them in any other way, because they’ve got bigger things, whether it be the death of their partner or it could just be dealing with the financial implications of having that person gone. So there are much bigger issues than the things we might be able to help with. So bringing food over, doing those kinds of things is incredibly helpful, and if they’ve got a child, the best thing you can sometimes do is take that child away from them for a little while. Let them get some time away. Let them go out to a restaurant by themselves or with friends. Let them go see a concert. Let them feel as normal as they possibly can now that they’re in a completely different world that they never expected to be a part of.

Video Categories: ALL PARENTS, Grief and Loss, Suffering and Grief Support

Matthew Logelin, Bestselling Author & Blogger, shares advice from personal experience on the best ways that people can support someone whose partner has recently died

Transcript

Expert Bio

Matthew Logelin

Bestselling Author & Blogger

Matthew Logelin is the author of the New York Times bestselling memoir, Two Kisses for Maddy, as well as the acclaimed and award-winning blog, Matt, Liz, & Madeline. His essays have been featured in the Huffington Post, Glamour Magazine, Mamalode Magazine, and The Shriver Report: A Woman’s Nation Changes Everything.

Two Kisses for Maddy was the winner of the Goodreads Choice Award in the Best Memoir & Autobiography category, 2011, has been translated to four languages and was recently optioned by the Lifetime network, to be adapted for the small screen by Marta Kauffman (Friends) and Denise DiNovi (Crazy, Stupid Love; The Lucky One).

Matt is also the founder and president of The Liz Logelin Foundation, a non-profit organization founded in honor of his late wife, with the sole purpose of providing hope for young widowed families (regardless of marital status or sexual orientation) through financial assistance and necessary resources. Since its founding in 2009, The Liz Logelin Foundation has given grants to more than 120 families. Most importantly, Matt is the father to four-year-old Madeline. His toughest critic most days, she is also his biggest fan. He spends his days helping her refine her taste in music and books. They live in Los Angeles but travel often to see as much of the world as possible.

Parenting expert on: Suffering and Grief Support, Children and Grief, Parents with a Purpose, Teachable Moments

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