The Funeral.com Journal

Resources to help you create tributes as unique as the people (and pets) you love. Learn how engraving, photos, colors, and symbols add meaning; discover scattering rituals and at-home memorial ideas. We focus on the details that matter—because small choices can carry a lifetime of comfort.

Grief and Romantic Relationships: Supporting Each Other, Handling Conflict, and When to Seek Help

Grief and Romantic Relationships: Supporting Each Other, Handling Conflict, and When to Seek Help

Grief is a profound experience that reaches far beyond the individual. Grief and romantic relationships can be deeply affected when one or both partners experience loss. Whether the death is...

Online Grief Groups vs In-Person Support: Which Works Better After a Loss?

Online Grief Groups vs In-Person Support: Which Works Better After a Loss?

In the weeks after a death, many people describe their world as split in two. On one side are the practical tasks: calling relatives, making funeral planning decisions, choosing between burial...

The First Night Without Your Pet: What People Actually Experience

The First Night Without Your Pet: What People Actually Experience

For those whose pets slept nearby, on the bed, at its foot, on their own pillow, or in a crate, the bed itself may feel alien. Reaching out instinctively, you...

Remembering With Food: Memorial Meals, Favorite Recipes, and Family Traditions After a Death

Remembering With Food: Memorial Meals, Favorite Recipes, and Family Traditions After a Death

Food carries memories. The aroma of a favorite dish, the warmth of a shared meal, and the comfort of familiar flavors can help keep a loved one’s presence alive even...

Helping Kids Create Their Own Memorials: Drawings, Letters, Crafts, and Comfort Items

Helping Kids Create Their Own Memorials: Drawings, Letters, Crafts, and Comfort Items

When a child experiences the loss of a loved one, helping children express grief can feel both delicate and overwhelming for adults. The sadness they carry is often complex, expressed...

The Shock of Losing a Pet Suddenly: Emotional Reactions, Guilt, and What Helps

The Shock of Losing a Pet Suddenly: Emotional Reactions, Guilt, and What Helps

Sudden loss changes something inside you instantly, even before your mind fully understands what has happened. One moment, your pet is part of the rhythm of your home, the quiet...

Should You Watch Your Pet’s Cremation? What Families Need to Know

Should You Watch Your Pet’s Cremation? What Families Need to Know

Choosing pet cremation often brings unexpected decisions. One of the most personal is whether you want to witness the process. Some cremation providers allow families to be present for the...

Self-Care in Grief: Sleep, Nutrition, Movement, and Gentle Routines When You Feel Numb or Overwhelmed

Self-Care in Grief: Sleep, Nutrition, Movement, and Gentle Routines When You Feel Numb or Overwhelmed

Grief is not linear, and in its wake, even the simplest daily tasks can feel monumental. Taking care of yourself after a death may seem impossible when exhaustion, sorrow, and...

How to Know When It’s Time to Say Goodbye: Making End-of-Life Decisions for a Pet

How to Know When It’s Time to Say Goodbye: Making End-of-Life Decisions for a Pet

When Love and Responsibility Collide There is a particular kind of silence that settles over a home when a pet is nearing the end of life. The sound of nails...

When You Couldn’t Afford Treatment: Coping with Financial Guilt After a Pet’s Death

When You Couldn’t Afford Treatment: Coping with Financial Guilt After a Pet’s Death

When Money and Love Collide There are few feelings more gutting than standing in a veterinary exam room while someone explains what your pet needs and realizing you cannot afford...

Cultural Differences in Grieving and Funerals: Learning from Traditions Around the World

Cultural Differences in Grieving and Funerals: Learning from Traditions Around the World

Grief touches every human life, yet the way we express it can look profoundly different from one culture to another. When someone we love dies, we reach for rituals that...

Pet Cremation: A Practical & Emotional Guide for Families

Pet Cremation: A Practical & Emotional Guide for Families

The quiet moments in your home feel different when a beloved companion is no longer there. The walks, the naps beside you, the little routines that filled your days with...

Coordinating Memorial Dates for Both Pets and People: Avoiding Overwhelm While Honoring Everyone

Coordinating Memorial Dates for Both Pets and People: Avoiding Overwhelm While Honoring Everyone

When the Calendar Starts to Feel Heavy For many families, loss does not happen just once. A parent dies, then years later a spouse. A beloved dog is euthanized after...

Why Losing a Pet Hurts So Deeply (and Why Your Grief Is Real)

Why Losing a Pet Hurts So Deeply (and Why Your Grief Is Real)

If you are reading this after losing a pet, there is a good chance you are surprised by how hard it is hitting you. You might find yourself crying in...

Should You See or Hold Your Pet After They Have Passed? What People Say Helps

Should You See or Hold Your Pet After They Have Passed? What People Say Helps

There are moments in life that arrive without preparation, moments that ask your heart to make a decision it never wanted to face. Standing at the edge of goodbye with...

Going Back to Work After a Death or Pet Loss: Managing Grief in a Workplace Setting

Going Back to Work After a Death or Pet Loss: Managing Grief in a Workplace Setting

Going back to work after someone you love has died—whether that is a parent, partner, friend, or a beloved pet—can feel like stepping onto a moving treadmill when you are...