Felice Shapiro
When bad things happen to good friends, it’s not obvious how best to be supportive. This article in NY Magazine by Alex Ronan is spot on in helping those who are looking for what to do and to say to a good friend in time of need.
The author who had recently lost his brother unfortunately became quite the expert in what works and doesn’t work.
“People just don’t know what to do with death, I’ve often heard in the year and change since my brother died. And yet how people ought to handle death or devastating news among their friends or family members is way less discussed.
The lengthily titled and newly released There Is No Good Card for This: What to Say and Do When Life Is Scary, Awful, and Unfair to People You Love addresses exactly that — how to not mess up when people need you most. It’s the kind of book that, in the past, I might have picked up in some nice-smelling boutiques and groaned. Empathy tips? Visualization exercises? A blurb from Sheryl Sandberg? Yick. As someone who hates the word “awesome,” this is a book I’d usually be skeptical of.
But given the year I’ve just had, I was curious to see what kind of advice they offered. Turns out, it’s pretty helpful…”