Read Articles For You
April 22, 2026
Men are often taught to suppress grief, but unexpressed sorrow deepens suffering. Drawing from personal loss and decades of research, Dr. Ken Druck explores how cultural pressure to “be strong” prevents healing. True recovery begins when men allow vulnerability, seek support, and learn self-compassion—becoming stronger in the broken places.
March 27, 2026
In my article in the February 2026 issue of The Director, I noted that the 2025 NFDA Cremation & Burial Report highlighted a number of the factors that have contributed to steadily rising cremation rates across North America.
October 4, 2024
Each of us has coped in our own way, and we continue to function in practical terms, although the early months were pretty rocky for us both, as you might expect. We’ve been seeing a couples therapist who has been helpful in coaching us through various disagreements more peacefully, and this has helped our communication about points of friction between us.
September 18, 2024
I frequently hear families that are experiencing grief say some variation of the following: “Don’t play music, we might cry.” Of course, when they say this, I remind myself that I have the opportunity to teach them why music is often an important element of a meaningful funeral.
May 1, 2024
My daughter Erika died, and I believed that with her went all the happiness and joy life once held. From that place, I didn’t see how it was possible to ever be happy again. Thankfully, I was wrong. Of great concern to many people who are in the initial throes of deep grief is whether or not they will ever again know true happiness or experience real joy. They are experiencing thoughts and feelings that are often shocking and scary.
May 9, 2023
For over twenty years as a physician, I've witnessed, time and again, the healing power of tears. Tears are your body's release valve for stress, sadness, grief, anxiety, and frustration. Also, you can have tears of joy, say when a child is born, or tears of relief when a difficulty has passed. In my own life, I am grateful when I can cry. It feels cleansing, a way to purge pent-up emotions so they don't lodge in my body as stress symptoms, such as fatigue or pain. To stay healthy and release tress, I encourage my patients to cry. For both men and women, tears are a sign of courage, strength, and authenticity.
March 28, 2023
Once you have lost a loved one, the reality of death may weigh heavily on you, sometimes opening that place where you fear someone else you love may die. This could be anything from a small fear that resolves fairly quickly to a sense of impending doom where your mind regularly goes to terrifying places of what if. You might be on pins and needles every time your child leaves the house.
December 16, 2022
For many of you, planning for the upcoming holiday brings a sense of excitement and is
something you look forward to. For others, not so much, and that includes those who
have had a significant person in their lives die—a person whose presence is so blatantly
missing that the holidays become a time to "get through" rather than a time to enjoy.
December 5, 2022
How do we handle the road stretching before us when we are grieving?
Erika, my daughter and only child, died at the age of 32 in 2002 from a rare sinus cancer. I started griefHaven a year later with the love and support of many people. Pre-Erika’s death, time felt like my friend. Post-Erika’s death, time felt like my tormentor, dragging along every day, stretching out in front of me as an endless series of moments to live through and roads leading endlessly on and on.
November 21, 2022
For many of you, planning for the upcoming holiday brings a sense of excitement and is something you look forward to. For others, not so much, and that includes those who have had a significant person in their lives die—a person whose presence is so blatantly missing that the holidays become a time to "get through" rather than a time to enjoy