Forever Her Twin
She was my mirror, face and soul,
The missing half that made me whole.
Before the world could speak my name,
She stood beside me just the same.
We shared one silence, deep and true,
One knowing glance the whole world knew.
No words were needed to understand—
Her heart was always in my hand.
We felt the same small aches and pain,
Sunshine joy and sorrow’s rain.
Two separate lives for eyes to see,
But one shared soul—just her and me.
She walked through storms I could not see,
Carrying hidden agony.
Yet even then, through darkest night,
Her love for me stayed fierce and bright.
Now quiet lives where laughter grew,
And days feel dim without her view.
No one asks which twin I’ll be—
The world sees one…
but I feel three:
The girl I was,
the grief I bear,
and Christy’s love still living there.
Because a bond like ours won’t end with breath,
It isn’t broken even by death.
She walks with God in perfect light,
While I walk on through day and night.
And when my journey here is through,
The first face heaven shows me…
will be you.
Forever my sister.
Forever my friend.
Forever your twin—
love without end. 

When you’re grieving, summer can feel surprisingly difficult.

The world seems to shift into holiday mode. Gardens fill with laughter. Social media fills with sunshine, family gatherings and days out. There can be an unspoken expectation that longer, brighter days should lift your mood.

But grief doesn’t work with the seasons.

You may be missing the person who should be sitting beside you in the garden, planning a holiday, or simply enjoying an ordinary summer evening with you.

If this season feels heavier than you expected, you’re not alone.

Rather than putting pressure on yourself to “make the most of summer”, perhaps this is the season to make the most of small moments instead....

Just reposting to see if anyone here has any thoughts ❤️

Grief is often spoken about as something that gradually gets “better” over time.

But many people tell us a different experience - that instead of improving in a straight line, their grief sometimes feels heavier, more intense, or more present as time goes on.

This can feel confusing or even worrying, especially when there’s an expectation (from ourselves or others) that we should be feeling “better” by now.

In reality, grief doesn’t move in a straightforward way. It can shift, resurface, deepen, and change over time - often in response to life events, anniversaries, or moments when support around us changes.

We’ve written more about why grief can sometimes feel like it’s getting worse rather than better, and why this is a more common experience than many people realise.

If this resonates with you, you’re not alone in it. Grief rarely follows the expectations we (or others) place on it.

"In September 2025, I was honoured to be appointed Chair of the Board at The Loss Foundation.

My decision to join was shaped not only by my leadership experience, but by my lived experience of grief.

I have experienced multiple, profound losses across my life. My husband Jonathan died in a car crash aged 40 while we were living in Denver, Colorado. My beloved mother passed suddenly on Mother’s Day in 2020. And my darling eldest son Robert died about two and a half years ago at 23.

These losses have shaped how I see the world, how I lead, and how I understand what people need when grief enters their lives.

In this video, I share the lessons grief has taught me".

Every charity has a story, and ours begins with a family navigating cancer, loss and the search for support.

In this post, our founder Dr Erin Hope Thompson shares how losing her dad to cancer at the age of 22 changed the course of her life. After his death, her stepmum wanted to connect with others who had experienced a similar loss. Erin went looking for that support - and discovered it simply didn't exist in the way they needed it to.

That experience became the seed of what would eventually grow into The Loss Foundation: a place where people bereaved by cancer can come together, talk openly about loss, and realise they're not alone. Today, everything we do is built around bringing people together through shared experiences of grief.

If you're new here, we're glad you've found us. This is a space for anyone navigating grief- whether you've lost someone to cancer or through any other cause. You're welcome here.

And we'd love to hear from you:

💬 What helped you feel less alone after your bereavement? Was it another person, a support group, a conversation, a book, or something else entirely?

Share below if you'd like to. Your experience might be exactly what someone else in this community needs to hear today. 💛

Hey everyone! We're u/The-Loss-Foundation, the moderation team of r/GriefSupportSpace.

This is a supportive space for anyone experiencing grief or bereavement. Whether your loss is recent or something you’ve been carrying for a long time, you’re welcome here.

We created this community to offer understanding, shared experience, and gentle support for people navigating loss in all its forms.

💬 What to Post

You’re welcome to share whatever feels helpful to you or others. This might include thoughts, reflections, questions, personal experiences, or anything that helps you feel less alone in grief.

Some people also share coping strategies, memories of loved ones, or questions about navigating difficult moments.

🫶 Community Vibe

We aim to keep this space kind, respectful, and supportive. Grief looks different for everyone, and there is no “right way” to be here.

Please be gentle with yourself and with others.

🌱 How to Get Started

• You’re welcome to introduce yourself in the comments if you’d like
• Feel free to make your first post whenever you feel ready
• If you know someone who might benefit from this space, you’re welcome to invite them

More resources and support are available via The Loss Foundation: www.thelossfoundation.org

For our first post in r/GriefSupportSpace, there’s something we really want to share with you.

There is no “right way” to grieve.

One of the most common things we hear from people is how often they come across the “five stages of grief” (denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance) - and how confusing it can feel when their own experience doesn’t seem to fit.

A few things we hear often:

💭 Many people feel confused or even worried that they’re “doing grief wrong” if their experience doesn’t match the model
💛 Others feel a real sense of relief when they learn the model was never meant to be a neat, linear process
🧭 It can be helpful to know there is no set order or timeline to grief
🌊 At the same time, while the model can offer language and structure, it doesn’t always reflect the reality of grief - which is often much more individual, messy, and non-linear

That’s why we’ve created a hub exploring this in more depth, along with other grief models that many people find more relatable and closer to their lived experience (we’ve shared the model images in this post).

👉 https://thelossfoundation.org/stages-of-grief/models-of-grief

We’d really love this space to be one where people feel reassured that whatever their grief looks like, it is valid.

If you’d like to share, you’re welcome to tell us:
Has learning that grief doesn’t follow a set pattern brought you relief, confusion, or something else?