ABSTRACT
Although I had the privilege of meeting several sponsoring organizations and support group facilitators I had been invited to attend only one meeting. As part of the introductions each person was encouraged to say why they were there and what they hoped to get from the experience. When it was my turn I explained my motivation and added that I wanted to learn more about how to support people in their grief because I believed that loss provided a powerful opportunity to grow. One of the bereaved mothers responded, “If you had told me during the funeral arrangements that I would grow from my son’s death, I probably would have punched you.” I learned a couple of things from that encounter. Specifically, that the concept of growing through grief is a delicate issue. While the philosophy behind providing aftercare may hold that growing through grief is a desired outcome, it is only with hindsight that the bereaved may be willing and able to see that growth. And secondly, I learned that aftercare does help people move through their grief as was evidenced in this case by that woman’s acknowledgment that she could now speak out in public and state her point of view.
