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.

Online vs In-Person Grief Support: Pros, Cons, and How to Choose What Fits You

Online vs In-Person Grief Support: Pros, Cons, and How to Choose What Fits You

In the first days after a death, the world can feel too loud and too quiet at the same time. Your phone keeps lighting up, yet the house can feel...

Traumatic Loss and PTSD: When Trauma Complicates Grief and What Kind of Help Works

Traumatic Loss and PTSD: When Trauma Complicates Grief and What Kind of Help Works

Some losses break the world in two. A fatal accident. A homicide. An overdose. A sudden medical crisis that leaves you replaying the last minutes on a loop. Even when...

AI Grief Bots: Talking to a Digital Version of a Loved One (Technology, Benefits, and Concerns)

AI Grief Bots: Talking to a Digital Version of a Loved One (Technology, Benefits, and Concerns)

In the first weeks after a death, many families describe the same strange moment: you reach for your phone to text them, or you half-expect their name to appear on...

Faith Leaders vs Therapists vs Support Groups: How Each Can Help in Your Grief Journey

Faith Leaders vs Therapists vs Support Groups: How Each Can Help in Your Grief Journey

In the first days after a death, support can feel strangely practical. Someone brings food. Someone texts “I’m here.” Someone offers to make phone calls. And then, when the house...

Physical Symptoms of Grief: Is It Normal to Feel Sick, Achy, or in Pain After Loss?

Physical Symptoms of Grief: Is It Normal to Feel Sick, Achy, or in Pain After Loss?

There’s a specific kind of fear that can arrive after a loss, and it often sounds like this: “I know I’m grieving, but why do I feel physically unwell?” You...

Grief Retreats and Camps: What to Expect and Whether a Weekend Away Can Help

Grief Retreats and Camps: What to Expect and Whether a Weekend Away Can Help

The first time you hear the words “grief retreat,” you might imagine something dramatic—an instant turning point, a before-and-after story. But most people who attend a retreat aren’t looking for...

Exercise and Grief: How Movement Helps Mood, Sleep, and Stress (and How to Start Small)

Exercise and Grief: How Movement Helps Mood, Sleep, and Stress (and How to Start Small)

Grief can make your body feel unfamiliar. Your chest might feel tight for no clear reason. Your stomach may forget hunger. Your sleep can turn patchy and unpredictable, as if...

Grief and Insomnia: Why You Can’t Sleep After a Loss (and Ways to Find Rest)

Grief and Insomnia: Why You Can’t Sleep After a Loss (and Ways to Find Rest)

The house can be full of people all day—phone calls, casseroles, paperwork, the steady shuffle of “just one more thing”—and then night comes and everything goes quiet. That’s often when...

Phantom Hunger After Pet Loss: Why You Still Reach for the Food Bowl (and How to Reshape Routines) - Funeral.com, Inc.

Phantom Hunger After Pet Loss: Why You Still Reach for the Food Bowl (and How to Reshape Routines)

You might catch yourself doing it without thinking: turning toward the pantry at the usual hour, scooping food into a bowl that no longer needs filling, listening for paws that...

After a Pet Accident: PTSD-Like Symptoms in Owners and How to Get Support - Funeral.com, Inc.

After a Pet Accident: PTSD-Like Symptoms in Owners and How to Get Support

Witnessing a traumatic accident can leave owners replaying images, avoiding reminders, and feeling constant “what if” anxiety. This guide explains the difference between normal acute stress and longer-term PTSD-like symptoms,...

Compassion Fatigue in Veterinarians: Why It Happens and How Clinics (and Clients) Can Help - Funeral.com, Inc.

Compassion Fatigue in Veterinarians: Why It Happens and How Clinics (and Clients) Can Help

Most people meet their veterinary team on an ordinary day: a vaccine appointment, a new puppy exam, a quick phone call about a rash. But veterinary professionals spend a meaningful...

Caregiver Fatigue With Chronically Ill Pets: Signs of Burnout and Compassionate Ways to Get Relief - Funeral.com, Inc.

Caregiver Fatigue With Chronically Ill Pets: Signs of Burnout and Compassionate Ways to Get Relief

You can love your pet fiercely and still feel depleted. In fact, those two truths often show up together when you are living inside the daily reality of caring for...

Keeping a Pet Skull: Legal and Ethical Considerations and Safe, Respectful Cleaning Options - Funeral.com, Inc.

Keeping a Pet Skull: Legal and Ethical Considerations and Safe, Respectful Cleaning Options

There’s a particular kind of grief that shows up after a pet dies—quiet, domestic, and strangely physical. Their food bowl is still by the wall. The leash is still hung...

Trolls and Cyberbullying on Memorial Pages: How to Protect Grieving Families Online - Funeral.com, Inc.

Trolls and Cyberbullying on Memorial Pages: How to Protect Grieving Families Online

In the first hours after a death, families often move through two realities at once: the private world of shock and the public world of notifications. A cousin shares a...

How to Choose a Health Care Proxy: The Traits That Prevent Crisis Confusion - Funeral.com, Inc.

How to Choose a Health Care Proxy: The Traits That Prevent Crisis Confusion

Choosing a health care proxy can feel like an emotional assignment: “Pick the person who loves you most.” But in real emergencies, love isn’t the only trait that matters. A...

Guilt After Euthanizing a Pet: Why It’s So Common and How to Find Self-Forgiveness - Funeral.com, Inc.

Guilt After Euthanizing a Pet: Why It’s So Common and How to Find Self-Forgiveness

If you chose euthanasia for a pet you deeply loved, you may be surprised by how quickly your mind turns love into accusation. You can know—logically—that you were trying to...