ABSTRACT
Boundaries can be a big issue when dealing with grief generally. People often mean well but, unless they are giving us something we want, the help can feel inappropriate, intrusive and unwanted. This can range from the people who try to cheer a person up with a funny story, to people who share their own grief story in the hope that a person might find some relief. Every family has its own grief narrative, which originates around the way grief has been handled generationally. One level is giving themselves the time and space to look at their own feelings and reactions, which can feel like a luxury in itself, to step back and away from the sharp end of holding someone else’s grief, and the second level is suddenly developing a new empathy for the way in which children might experience loss. The act of being read to and listening to a story transports people into their feelings quickly.
