This is a guide and journal created by a surviving sibling for surviving siblings. In this guide, you will learn more about what being a surviving sibling means and understand why surviving siblings are called the "forgotten mourners." This guide was created to help you along your grief journey as a bereaved sibling. It has information about being a bereaved sibling with plenty of writing prompts to help you along the way.
Regardless of where you are in your grief journey, this is a guide for you if you have lost a sibling as it helps you learn that while you may never "move on" from this loss, you can move forward. You will learn what the difference is between the two, and trust me, there is a massive difference.
Within The Grief Guide for Surviving Siblings, you will also have the following exercises:
Validating your Loss and Feelings
The Seven Stages of Grief
Grief Timeline Exercise
Getting Unstuck
Moving Forward Together
This is not only a guide but a journal for you as a bereaved sibling, a forgotten forgotten or surviving sibling as we call it on our podcast. Please use these prompts and empty pages however you like to help you along your grief journey.
GrieveWell is a nonprofit based in Michigan that seeks to build a community that promotes healthy grieving and healing so that adults can grieve well and lead a full life after loss.
Grief is universal and a natural part of life. Yet our society has lost many of the customs and traditions that once surrounded and supported those in grief.
The bereaved continue to experience grief long after the funeral, as others return to the “real world,” leaving them feeling isolated and alone. Such unresolved grief has significant negative physical and emotional impacts, yet the vast majority (80%) do not seek outside help.
Our One-to-One Peer Support, offered to Michigan residents, provides healing and a compassionate, supportive, non-judgemental connection for those in grief. Under the support and direction of a licensed social worker, GrieveWell Peer Counselors are trained to provide compassionate support to adults in grief.
We also provide numerous educational webinars and creative healing workshops for those in grief as well as those who surround them. These are mostly hosted online so we can serve as many grievers as possible. Lastly, our website and social media platforms house a plethora of resources aimed to help grievers and those supporting a loved one who's grieving. We are proud to offer all of our services free of charge as we know the journey to healing can be a long road with no one particular path.
Please join our community of hope and healing by visiting our website at www.GrieveWell.com, that's (spelled out) grievewell.com. You can also find us on Facebook @grievewellannarbor, on Instagram @grievewell_a2, on Twitter @grievewell and on LinkedIn @grievewell.
We look forward to connecting with you!
On August 12, 2023 my world was shattered when my little brother, Chad, passed away. Chad was a Naval Aviator who was living his dream life. The world looks a little bit darker without my little brother in it. Everything that I thought about my future changed with one phone call..
Who was going to be the Best Man at my wedding someday? Who was going to be the Fun-Uncle to my future kids? I was and still am lost. The Navy did their routine, “I’m sorry for your loss,” but it was tailored towards my parents. At this moment, I came to realize that the military was missing a critical piece to the death notification process. As a sibling, there are no protocols in place to help with the grieving process. Though time went on, I got more irritated at the fact that not one Navy Personnel asked me if I needed anything. I mean, I’m just the brother, right?
Operation Flags From Chad was created on the foundational beliefs that the siblings of fallen service members deserve to be recognized and thanked for sacrifice of their sibling. As someone who has gone through this nightmare, I couldn’t just sit back and watch this happen to someone else. Our mission and goal at Operation Flags From Chad is to make sure that no Gold Star Sibling goes through this alone. When we lose an active-duty service member, our goal will be to deliver a wooden flag, handmade by me, to the siblings of the fallen. While presenting these flags, I will tell these new Gold Star Siblings, “Thank You For Your Sacrifice” because the service members weren’t the only ones who gave something up.
We may be a new foundation, but our goal is to give a flag to every Gold Star Sibling in the future. When we sell a flag, this money is to help fund our mission at the foundation.
Thank you for all of your support!
- Andrew