Good Grief
Good Grief is a peer to peer support meeting for anyone who has experienced a loss.
Every week
Group A - Mondays 6pm UK
Next meetings - 27th March
- 3rd, 10th, 17th April
Group C - Wednesdays 7.30pm UK
Next meetings - 22nd, 29th March
- 5th, 12th, 19th April
Biweekly
Monday 7pm UK
Next meeting - 3rd, 17th April
What is it?
Good Grief is a peer to peer support meeting and safe space for anyone who has experienced a loss. Good Grief is our original meeting. It was started in 2018 by friends Jack and Ben in an attempt to bring like minded adults together to openly discuss their stories and experiences surrounding their personal grief. A place for people to be themselves and talk freely.
Why did it start?
‘We started Good Grief to connect with other individuals who were navigating their young lives in grief. I needed other people who wanted to hear about my dad and the life I now lived without him in it. In doing so, we were able to hold space for one another’s loss. I was able to hear hundreds of other stories from all over the world, helping me better understand my own grief and also the intricacies and complexities around what death means to other people. It has always been a community spirit and understanding, and I am always so thankful for the space’ Jack, founding host of Good Grief
What to expect?
The meetings were created to give space to comfortably discuss experiences of grief in an understanding environment, in the knowledge that your grief and experiences are shared with others who can relate. At the beginning of each meeting, attendees take it in turns to introduce themselves and the person or people they are in attendance to remember. We also share our pronouns to create a safe an open space for all. From then there is no pressure at all to speak, many people attend our meetings to listen. The hosts of the meeting will then ask the group if anyone has anything they would like to bring in to the space. Whatever a person has to say is relevant and they are welcome to bring anything to the meeting. All attendees are asked to respect the privacy of the space and treat others and ourselves with kindness throughout.
Where is it?
Enquire about this meeting
Meet the hosts
Here's a selection of some of our wonderful meeting hosts. / Voici certaines des hôtes qui facilitent les rencontres.
Ann
I come to the meetings to remember my Brother Liam who passed away to cancer 4 years ago and my Mum Margaret who passed to cancer 15 years ago. When I first lost my Mum there was nothing like this and I felt very alone and unable to talk about her. After losing my brother I couldn’t go through that again. I found grief groups so helpful. Other people described how I felt and it made me feel less alone. It also taught me just because they are dead doesn’t mean I can’t talk about them. They are still very much part of my life, forever. I really enjoy hosting and helping create a space where people can share and feel heard and understood by others going through similar things.
Clem
I like the feeling of connection that I get out of attending TNN meetings, and when I’m hosting I feel I’m able to facilitate those connections and help bring people together. Hosting Good Grief meetings has helped me build my confidence in talking about my grief and articulating the complexities of my experiences. It’s also made me so aware of the diversity of peoples’ experiences and the value in listening to all of these perspectives. It has definitely helped me feel able to talk about my grief, to friends, family and strangers alike. It also means that at least once a week I get to talk about the impact of my dad and my brother on my life, to a (virtual) room full of people who know of them purely through my words, which is a really wonderful feeling. Hosting and attending meetings aren’t mutually exclusive – I still go to some TNN meetings purely as an attendee whenever I feel I need that space. ‘You can’t pour from an empty cup’ is a phrase often heard in TNN meetings and that applies to the volunteering too. It’s a pressure-free environment where you can opt in or out depending on how you’re feeling that week or month, with no questions asked and no judgement, instead there’s just care and support from the other hosts.
Michael
I like hosting because it gives you the opportunity to start a conversation about loss. You learn so much from everyone’s different journeys and how they are all in some way connected. It’s really special to know others understand, no matter who you are or where you are from. Hosting has helped me so much with my grief- I went for 12 years without talking about dad and it wasn’t healthy. Hosting gives me the weekly opportunity to talk and I’m in a much better place because of it. Being part of the TNN family is a privilege- the love & support is amazing and I feel lucky to be able to share my grief journey with so many incredible people.
Megan
I love being able to help provide the space for others to grieve and speak openly about their grief. I also enjoy helping people find joy in their grief, even though that can be difficult at times. TNN has helped with my own grief journey and i find volunteering for TNN to be a very rewarding experience.
Hollie
The grief was compounded by the loss of my Dad and cat just a few months later, as well as a miscarriage. As time went on I failed to find anything that really helped and my mental health spiralled out of control. I discovered The New Normal when co-founders, Jack & Ben, took part in the Good Grief Festival, and I attended my first online Good Grief meeting the following week. In my first meeting I talked, I cried uncontrollably, I shared my story. The Hosts, and my fellow grievers, reassured me that it was a safe space, that I didn't need to censor my grief, and they shared their own experiences. I have been attending for almost a year, and I can honestly say that it has saved my life. As well as giving back to the charity, hosting gives me the opportunity to provide that same safe space to others going through the trauma of loss and grief. My own grief journey continues but I’m grateful to have found a community here to go through it with.
