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WPSU Grief

Speaking Grief is produced by WPSU Penn State with philanthropic support from the New York Life Foundation.

Speaking Grief explores how we can create a more grief-aware society by validating the experience of grievers and helping to guide those who wish to support them. Speaking Grief is a multi-platform, public media initiative that explores how we can create a more grief-aware society by validating the experience of grievers and helping to guide those who wish to support them. The initiative includes

a documentary and website that share diverse representations of grief through candid interviews with grieving individuals and families, whose losses range from stillbirth to su***de, as well as leading grief professionals. It validates grief as a normal, healthy part of the human experience, addresses the importance of support from friends and family, and offers guidance on how to show up for people in their darkest moments.

07/12/2025

If you’ve ever been stumped about what to say to a friend who was going through a hard time, you’re not alone. The good news is that you have an important tool in your kit that almost always lands better than platitudes, advice, or pep talks. That tool is validation. If someone tells you about something hard that happened to them and shares big feelings they’re having, simply validate their experience.

What validation looks like in practice:
▪ “You have the right to feel that way.”
▪ “I can understand why you feel that way.”
▪ “I can tell this is really important to you.”

The next time someone shares a hardship with you, whether it's a breakup or a bad day at work, pay attention to how you respond. Challenge yourself to pause and consider whether the words you are planning to use are dismissive or validating, then choose the latter. Over time, this shift in communication will become easier. And the kids and teens around you will notice.

Learn more at learninggrief.org.

Learning Grief is produced by WPSU and is made possible with funding provided by the Imagine Learning Foundation (). It’s a sister-initiative to Speaking Grief, a public media initiative working to create a more grief-aware society that is produced by WPSU with philanthropic support from the New York Life Foundation.

07/11/2025

“When grief hits, there's little that mirrors the enormity of it.”

Jayne’s husband, Marc, died in 2013.

“I remember just going down to the beach sometime because, the ocean is big enough to contain it. And I think if I lived in the desert I would go out to the desert because, the desert is big enough to contain it. Even just looking at the sky, it's like that's big enough to contain it. Where the rest of what you can see is not big enough for that.”

Jayne is one of more than a dozen people who shared their story with .

For more: https://speakinggrief.org/stories-of-grief/jayne-agena

Speaking Grief is produced by WPSU with philanthropic support from the New York Life Foundation.

07/10/2025

Beatriz McKee's brother, Oscar, died in 2017.

Her story is part of Speaking Grief, a multiplatform initiative that works to create a more grief-aware society.

For more, visit: speakinggrief.org

Speaking Grief is produced by WPSU with philanthropic support from the New York Life Foundation.

07/09/2025

“We have such a weird and warped idea of how long grief lasts. We have this idea that grief should be over and done with in 6-8 weeks. But, for those whose intimate, daily lives are affected by the death of somebody … you're not even out of the initial fog at six weeks. You have to live without that person on a day-to-day basis for the rest of this life. That's going to take more than six weeks.”

Megan Devine, psychotherapist and author of “It’s Ok That You’re Not OK,” is featured in Speaking Grief, a public media initiative aimed at creating a more grief-aware society.

For more, visit: speakinggrief.org

Speaking Grief is produced by WPSU with philanthropic support from the New York Life Foundation.

07/08/2025

Grief is a natural, normal, healthy response to loss or change.

It’s not something that needs to be fixed.

For more, visit: https://speakinggrief.org/get-better-at-grief/understanding-grief/grief-is

07/07/2025

Grief is hard. Supporting grief is hard, too.

We want to be there for our person, but we aren’t sure what to say.

When we feel like we need to have all the answers and say something “helpful” or “wise” is often when we misstep and bring pain instead of comfort.

Unsolicited advice like “Stay strong” and “Take a hot bath” rings hollow. Your grieving person doesn’t have any choice but to be strong because this is the hand they’ve been dealt. Their world as they know it is over, so activities that might be soothing after a bad day at the office probably aren’t going to cut it when they are trying to figure out how to create a new life for themselves out of the wreckage of what was.

So, next time you are sitting with a grieving friend, check your impulse to say something “comforting” or to speak just to fill the silence.

Sitting in silence can actually be a great way to “speak” grief.

If you do feel compelled to say something, err on the side of authenticity and humility with a simple: “I don’t know what to say, but I care about you, and I’m here for you.”

For more on supporting grief, visit: https://speakinggrief.org/get-better-at-grief/supporting-grief/be-authentic

Speaking Grief is produced by WPSU with philanthropic support from the New York Life Foundation.

07/06/2025

Megan Devine, psychotherapist and author of “It’s OK That You’re Not OK,” identified the term “grief shaming” to describe a particular type of behavior that’s super common, but doesn’t help a grieving person.

“Grief shaming is when we make judgements or decisions about a person’s public face of mourning. These statements (often phrased as questions) convey whether we think the grieving person’s behavior is acceptable or not. It’s a subtle, but powerful way to undermine someone’s grief.

For example, we might say, ‘It’s been three months. Why haven’t you taken their pictures down?’

The tricky thing is that we think, ‘I have good intentions! I want to see my person not being sad anymore, and seeing those photos every day must make them feel sad.’ Your intentions might be awesome, but the message here is that the grieving person isn’t meeting your standards of what you think they should do. It puts the grieving person in a position where they feel they need to defend their own choices.

We want to match your good intentions with your outward behavior. A better choice here would be, ‘I feel so sad looking at their photos. What’s it like for you having their photos up?’ Curiosity is much more supportive than condemnation.”

For more on grief shaming: https://speakinggrief.org/get-better-at-grief/supporting-grief/grief-shaming

Speaking Grief is produced by WPSU with philanthropic support from the New York Life Foundation.

07/05/2025

Grieving people often feel like they’re failing because their experience doesn’t align with their/our expectations.

Let’s start telling the truth about grief: it’s messy.

If we can move away from the idea that grief an orderly, one-size-fits-all process, we can remove the shame that too often accompanies the pain of loss.

For more, visit: https://speakinggrief.org/get-better-at-grief/understanding-grief/no-step-by-step-process

Speaking Grief is produced by WPSU with philanthropic support from the New York Life Foundation.

07/04/2025

Asia Khan’s mom, Rose, died in 2006.

In Speaking Grief, Asia shares how she struggled to process the sudden death of her mother and to navigate life without her.

For more of Asia’s story, visit: speakinggrief.org.

Speaking Grief is produced by WPSU with philanthropic support from the New York Life Foundation.

07/03/2025

“In the beginning, it felt like I was never going to get through it. Now, most of my days, I feel like I just go through normal emotions anyone would go through. But there are still times where it feels like I'm back in the beginning of it. But I've learned to accept that and know that in a couple hours, or maybe tomorrow, I'm going to feel better. I'm going to get through it. And this is my life now.”

Megan’s daughter, Nova, was stillborn in 2015.

Her story is part of Speaking Grief, a public media initiative that works to create a more grief-aware society.

For more: speakinggrief.org.

Speaking Grief is produced by WPSU with philanthropic support from the New York Life Foundation.

07/02/2025

Supporting someone as they grieve can be hard. Grief, Loss, and Inclusion Consultant Alexia K. Alexander has some suggestions to help you get more comfortable showing up for your grieving person:

“Grief is so dynamic, so our ability to respond is key.

Mantra, mantra, mantra around this is:

‘You will mess up grief support.’

I think the key thing is compassion. Compassion for yourself and compassion for others.

It has to be this internal space that you're constantly pushing yourself to keep showing up even when it's awkward, even when you sound weird.

And, understand that it's not a griever's job to course correct you. If you sense they're hurt by something that we say, to stay human and to stay really, really humble, pivot to the mistake and say,

‘I didn't mean that. I really meant to say that I see you. I see you in pain. I see you’re hurting. And, I’m here for you.”

For more: https://speakinggrief.org/get-better-at-grief/supporting-grief/be-authentic

Speaking Grief is produced by WPSU with philanthropic support from the New York Life Foundation.

07/01/2025

Grief changes, but it doesn’t end.

If someone in your life suffered a loss, try to remember that their grief didn’t end with the funeral.

Keep checking in.

Even a simple “I’m thinking of you” text can make a difference.

For more, visit: https://speakinggrief.org

Address

State College, PA

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 5pm
Tuesday	9am - 5pm
Wednesday	9am - 5pm
Thursday	9am - 5pm
Friday	9am - 5pm

Telephone

+18148636225

Website

http://speakinggrief.org/

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