Still Here: A Teen Grief Journal

What it is

Still Here is a calm, grown-up-looking grief journal written to the teen (ages 13 to 18). It works for any loss: a parent, grandparent, sibling, friend, or anyone who mattered, whether the death was after a long illness or sudden, including an accident, an overdose, or a death by suicide. There's no timeline, no stages to get through, and no right way to do it. Teens can use the pages in any order and skip anything that feels like too much today. It's more than prompts. Alongside memory pages and an unsent letter, teens get practical pages for the real-life parts of grief: a plan for riding out grief waves, a hard dates calendar and a plan for each hard day, ready-to-send texts that tell friends what helps, a back-to-school plan, and a cut-out note they can hand to a teacher or school counselor. There's a calm page on when to get more help (with 988), gentle words for suicide loss, and a page to hand to a parent or caregiver.

What's included

• Cover + Start here: no right way to do this, ground rules, how it works
• Who They Were (photo or drawing, who they were to me, things they always said)
• Memory Bank (print as many as you like) + Things I Keep (including their phone, photos, and online accounts)
• Grief Comes in Waves + Riding the Wave (my go-to three)
• What Grief Can Look Like: numb, angry, guilty, relieved, laughing at odd times, and more
• An Unsent Letter + Texts I'd Send You
• Hard Dates Ahead + My Plan for a Hard Day
• What I Need From Friends: texts you can send
• Back to School + A Note for My School (cut out and hand over)
• Still Here: ways to stay connected to the person who died
• When It's Too Heavy: when to get more help, 988 and 911
• For the Adults at Home
• You're Still Here + terms of use

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