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.

“In Lieu of Flowers” Wording: Donation Language That Feels Warm

“In Lieu of Flowers” Wording: Donation Language That Feels Warm

The phrase “in lieu of flowers” is small, and yet it often ends up carrying a surprising amount of emotion. Families use it because they are trying to make the...

What to Say When Someone Dies: What Helps, What to Avoid

What to Say When Someone Dies: What Helps, What to Avoid

If you are searching what to say when someone dies, you are probably in the same emotional knot most people find themselves in: you care, you want to show up,...

How to Ask for Donations Instead of Flowers: Clear, Respectful Language

How to Ask for Donations Instead of Flowers: Clear, Respectful Language

When you’re planning a funeral or memorial, the question of flowers can feel deceptively loaded. Flowers are a long-standing way people show up. They’re beautiful, they signal care, and they...

How to Talk to Kids About Cremation: A Parent Script by Age

How to Talk to Kids About Cremation: A Parent Script by Age

When adults are grieving, our brains look for something solid to hold onto. Kids do the same thing, except they don’t always have the words for it. They notice the...

Helping Children Grieve a Pet: What to Say in Simple Language

Helping Children Grieve a Pet: What to Say in Simple Language

If you’re searching helping children grieve a pet, you’re probably not looking for a perfect speech. You’re looking for a few steady words that won’t make things worse. You want...

Pet Loss Support When You Live Alone: Practical Coping Options

Pet Loss Support When You Live Alone: Practical Coping Options

When you live alone, pet loss can feel louder—not because you loved your companion more than anyone else, but because your day-to-day life changes in a very physical way. The...

Post-Mortem Photography: The Memento Mori Tradition and Why Families Chose It

Post-Mortem Photography: The Memento Mori Tradition and Why Families Chose It

Content note: This article discusses post mortem photography and historical mourning practices. It does not include images, but some linked museum and archival resources may feature photographs of the deceased....

Spiritual Crisis in Grief: Anger at God, Loss of Faith, and How to Find Support

Spiritual Crisis in Grief: Anger at God, Loss of Faith, and How to Find Support

There are losses that hurt so sharply they don’t just break your heart; they shake your whole inner framework. One day you might have had a sense of how the...

Catholic Grief and Purgatory Anxiety: When Loss Triggers Guilt, Fear, or Scrupulosity

Catholic Grief and Purgatory Anxiety: When Loss Triggers Guilt, Fear, or Scrupulosity

In the first days after a death, many Catholics find that grief doesn’t only feel sad. It can feel urgent. Your mind may replay the last conversation, the last hospital...

Jewish Grief and Sitting Shiva: How Ritual Structure Supports Mourning and Community Care

Jewish Grief and Sitting Shiva: How Ritual Structure Supports Mourning and Community Care

In the hours after a Jewish funeral, many families return home feeling both full and hollow at the same time. The house is familiar, but the world inside it has...

Returning to Work After a Death: Managing Brain Fog, Mistakes, and Office Expectations

Returning to Work After a Death: Managing Brain Fog, Mistakes, and Office Expectations

There is a particular kind of exhaustion that shows up when you return to work after a death. You may be standing in the same parking lot, opening the same...

Compassionate Leave (Bereavement Leave): How to Advocate for Time Off After a Death

Compassionate Leave (Bereavement Leave): How to Advocate for Time Off After a Death

When someone dies, work often keeps moving as if nothing happened. Your inbox does not pause. Meetings stay on the calendar. People ask how you are and then—sometimes in the...

Grief Coaching vs Therapy: Which One Do You Need—and How to Choose Safely

Grief Coaching vs Therapy: Which One Do You Need—and How to Choose Safely

After a death, people often tell you to “take it one day at a time,” but nobody hands you a map for the weeks that follow. You might be handling...

Grief Support Groups: Online vs In-Person—Pros, Cons, and How to Choose

Grief Support Groups: Online vs In-Person—Pros, Cons, and How to Choose

Grief can make you feel alone even when people are around you. A bereavement support group can be a practical bridge back to connection, because it’s one of the few...

Post-Traumatic Growth After Loss: Finding Strength Without Forcing a ‘Silver Lining’

Post-Traumatic Growth After Loss: Finding Strength Without Forcing a ‘Silver Lining’

Grief has a way of making ordinary life feel unfamiliar. You may be handling calls, paperwork, and decisions you never wanted to learn—while also trying to eat something, sleep at...

The Dual Process Model of Grief: Why You Bounce Between Loss and “Getting Life Done”

The Dual Process Model of Grief: Why You Bounce Between Loss and “Getting Life Done”

One of the most confusing parts of grief is how inconsistent it can feel. One hour you’re teary and raw, thinking about what you wish you’d said. The next, you’re...