Losing a Sibling: Grief When a Brother or Sister Dies
Grief after the death of a brother or sister, at any age: why it is often overlooked, how it can feel, how families change, and where siblings find support.
Grief, Loss and Healing
Gentle, practical guides for grieving families: losing a sibling, grief after a drowning, helping children and teens grieve, and where to find support.
If someone you love has died, you are in the right place. These guides are for grieving parents, children, teens and adults, and especially for brothers and sisters, who are so often called the “forgotten mourners.”
The Amin Foundation began with loss. In August 2022, Basir Amin and his brother-in-law Afrid Haider drowned. In September 2022, Basir's sister Nasrin also died. Their family started this foundation in their memory, and supporting families after a drowning is part of the work we carry on in their names. You can read our story.
Every guide here is free. Every fact is checked against a trusted source, such as the American Academy of Pediatrics, the National Institutes of Health, SAMHSA, the Dougy Center or published research, and linked on the page. We describe support from established organizations; we don't endorse them, and we never replace a doctor, counselor or crisis line.
Where to start:
- You lost a brother or sister: Losing a Sibling.
- You need help now or want a group or counselor: Where to Find Grief Support.
- Someone you love drowned: Grief After a Drowning.
- A child or teen is grieving: Helping a Child Grieve and When a Teen Is Grieving.
- A friend is grieving: How to Support Someone Who Lost a Sibling.
- You're learning to live with it: Making Room for Grief.
There is no right way to grieve and no deadline. Take what helps and leave the rest. If you are thinking about ending your life, or you can't keep yourself safe, call or text 988 now. In an emergency, call 911.
Start here
Where to Find Grief Support: Groups, Counseling and Crisis Lines
A checked directory of grief support: crisis lines, free peer groups, counseling, camps for grieving kids, and faith-based and South Asian options in NYC.
Grief After a Drowning: Sudden Loss and Its Questions
When someone you love drowns, grief can come with shock, endless questions and trauma. What is common, how to help children, and where families find support.
Helping a Child Grieve the Death of a Brother or Sister
How to support a grieving child after their brother or sister dies: honest words, including them in rituals, routines, school, and when to get extra help.
How to Support Someone Who Lost a Sibling
What to say, what to skip and how to help a friend, partner or relative after their brother or sister dies, from the first week through the years that follow.
Making Room for Grief: Living Alongside Loss
Grief isn't something to fix or finish. Gentle ways to carry it day to day: time and space for it, riding the waves, rest and routine, and letting people in.
More guides
How to Talk to Children About Death, by Age
Honest, gentle words for explaining death to toddlers, school-age children and teens, plus answers to the hard questions kids ask and phrases to avoid.
When a Teen Is Grieving: Signs and Support
How grief can look in teenagers, how to respect their privacy and stay close, what schools and friends can do, warning signs, and support made for teens.
Anniversaries, Birthdays and Holidays After a Loss
How to face the first death anniversary, birthdays, Eid and other holidays after a loss: plan ahead, honor them your way, help children and create a memorial.
Guilt After a Loss: When You Keep Asking “What If”
Guilt, regret and survivor guilt are common after a death. Why hindsight is unfair, how to talk about it, helping children with guilt, and when to get help.
When Grief Doesn't Ease: Prolonged Grief and Getting Help
Most grief softens with time. Learn what prolonged grief disorder is, signs it's time to reach out, which treatments help, and how to find a grief counselor.
Parenting While Grieving: Caring for Your Other Children
How to care for your surviving children while grieving the death of a child: what they need, accepting help, grieving differently as partners, and support.
Grief Journaling: Prompts to Help You Remember and Heal
How to start a grief journal, what research says about writing after a loss, and gentle prompts for hard days, memories and letters to the person who died.
Going Back to School or Work After a Loss
How to go back to school or work after a death: when to return, what to tell people, a plan for hard moments, how schools and employers help, and time off.
Tools and printables
Interactive tool
Grief support navigator
Answer a few gentle questions to find vetted grief support: groups, counselors, camps for kids and sibling support. 988 is always here.
Interactive tool
Memory journal
A private memory journal with gentle prompts for remembering someone who died. Saved only in your browser, never sent anywhere. Download or print it.
Printable
Supporting a Grieving Sibling
A one-page guide for adults helping a child or teen whose sibling died: honest words, listening, remembering together, and when to get more help.
Printable
Grief Support Contacts
A one-page list of verified grief support: 988 and Crisis Text Line, groups for parents and siblings, and children's grief programs and camps.
Printable
Talking to Kids About Death
A one-page guide to explaining a death to children and teens: honest words by age, phrases to avoid, funerals, and where kids can get support.
Printable
Memory Journal Prompts
Ten gentle journal prompts for remembering someone you love, naming what you feel, and carrying them with you. For teens, adults and siblings.
Questions and answers
- Children and Grief: Your Questions (14 questions)
- Losing a Sibling: Your Questions (14 questions)