Quotes

65 Healing Grief Quotes To Help You Or Someone You Love Cope With Loss

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grief quote

The death of a loved one and the grief that follows is one of the hardest experiences we as human beings can go through.

How you deal with grief may be different than another person who is also grieving and sometimes, grief quotes can help us with loss.

It can be hard to know exactly what to say to someone who lost a loved one to counteract their grief. Grief is incredibly hard to experience, which is why it's important to remind those who are grieving that things will be okay and provide them with hope in spite of the pain.

RELATED: 7 Ways To Ease The Pain Of The Grief Process After The Loss Of A Parent

My hope is that you'll find solace and some form of peace through these uplifting quotes about grief, the healing process, and the reality that this pain you are feeling also means that you were lucky enough to have that love in your life.

65 Quotes About Grief To Help You Or Someone You Love Cope With Loss.

Healing Grief Quotes

1. "The reality is that you will grieve forever. You will not 'get over' the loss of a loved one; you will learn to live with it. You will heal and you will rebuild yourself around the loss you have suffered. You will be whole again but you will never be the same. Nor should you be the same nor would you want to." — Elisabeth Kubler-Ross​

2. “Only people who are capable of loving strongly can also suffer great sorrow, but this same necessity of loving serves to counteract their grief and heals them.” — Leo Tolstoy

3. “Grief is a most peculiar thing; we’re so helpless in the face of it. It’s like a window that will simply open of its own accord. The room grows cold, and we can do nothing but shiver. But it opens a little less each time, and a little less; and one day we wonder what has become of it.” — Arthur Golden

4. “Losing him was like having a hole shot straight through me, a painful, constant reminder, an absence I could never fill.” — Jojo Moyes

5. “When one person is missing the whole world seems empty.” — Pat Schweibert

6. “Everyone grieves in different ways. For some, it could take longer or shorter. I do know it never disappears. An ember still smolders inside me. Most days, I don’t notice it, but, out of the blue, it’ll flare to life.” — Maria V. Snyder

7. "If there ever comes a day when we can't be together, keep me in your heart, I'll stay there forever." — A.A. Milne, Winnie the Pooh

8. “Your memory feels like home to me. So whenever my mind wanders, it always finds it’s way back to you.” — Ranata Suzuki

9. “Stop punishing yourself for being someone with a heart. You cannot protect yourself from suffering. To live is to grieve. You are not protecting yourself by shutting yourself off from the world. You are limiting yourself.” — Leigh Bardugo

10. “It's like I have this large black hole in my brain and it's sucking the life out of me. The answers are in there so I sit for hours and stare. No matter how hard and long I look, I only see darkness.” — Katie McGarry

11. “Tears are a river that takes you somewhere…Tears lift your boat off the rocks, off dry ground, carrying it downriver to someplace better.” — Clarissa Pinkola Estes

12. “...we are all sorry when loss comes for us. The test of our character comes not in how many tears we shed but in how we act after those tears have dried.” — Michelle Moran

13. “Here’s what I know: death abducts the dying, but grief steals from those left behind.” — Katherine Owen

14. "My scars are a testament to the love and the relationship that I had for and with that person. And if the scar is deep, so was the love."

15. "Keep your head up. God gives his hardest battles to his strongest soldiers..."

16. “I still search for you in crowds, in empty fields and soaring clouds. In city lights and passing cars, on winding roads and wishing stars.” — Lang Leav

17. "You will survive and you will find purpose in the chaos. Moving on doesn't mean letting go." — Mary VanHaute

18. "Grit your teeth and let it hurt. Don't deny it, don't be overwhelmed by it. It will not last forever." — Rabbi Harold Kushner​

19. "The pain of grief is just as much a part of life as the joy of love; it is, perhaps, the price we pay for love, the cost of commitment." — Colin Murray Parkes

20. "You have within you, right now, everything you need to deal with whatever the world can throw at you."

21. "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us." — Romans 8:18

22. “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” — Psalm 147:3

Uplifting Grief Quotes

23. “Without you in my arms, I feel an emptiness in my soul. I find myself searching the crowds for your face — I know it's an impossibility, but I cannot help myself.” — Nicholas Sparks

24. “When someone you love dies, and you're not expecting it, you don't lose her all at once; you lose her in pieces over a long time — the way the mail stops coming, and her scent fades from the pillows and even from the clothes in her closet and drawers. Gradually, you accumulate the parts of her that are gone. Just when the day comes — when there's a particular missing part that overwhelms you with the feeling that she's gone, forever — there comes another day, and another specifically missing part.” — John Irving

25. “Grief can be a burden, but also an anchor. You get used to the weight, how it holds you in place.” — Sarah Dessen

26. “Deep grief sometimes is almost like a specific location, a coordinate on a map of time. When you are standing in that forest of sorrow, you cannot imagine that you could ever find your way to a better place. But if someone can assure you that they themselves have stood in that same place, and now have moved on, sometimes this will bring hope.” — Elizabeth Gilbert

27. “Grieving doesn't make you imperfect. It makes you human.” — Sarah Dessen

28.“We bereaved are not alone. We belong to the largest company in all the world — the company of those who have known suffering.” — Helen Keller

29."God gave us memory so that we might have roses in December." — J.M. Barrie

30. “Her absence is like the sky, spread over everything.” — C.S. Lewis

31. "There are some who bring a light so great to the world that even after they have gone the light remains."

32. "And sometimes, against all odds, against all logic, we still hope."

33. "Death is a challenge. It tells us not to waste time. It tells us to tell each other right now that we love each other." — Leo Buscaglia

34. “Accepting death doesn't mean you won't be devastated when someone you love dies. It means you will be able to focus on your grief, unburdened by bigger existential questions like, "Why do people die?" and "Why is this happening to me?" Death isn't happening to you. Death is happening to us all.” — Caitlin Doughty

35. "When it is darkest, we can see the stars." — Ralph Waldo Emerson

36. “The darker the night, the brighter the stars, the deeper the grief, the closer is God!” — Fyodor Dostoevsky

37. “When someone you love becomes a memory, that memory becomes a treasure."

38. "This is not goodbye, my darling, this is a thank you. Thank you for coming into my life and giving me joy." — Nicholas Sparks

39. "How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard." — A.A. Milne, Winnie the Pooh

40. "The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit." — Psalm 34:18

41. "He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away." — Revelation 21:4

42. "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope." — Romans 15:13

43. “I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” — Philippians 4:13

RELATED: 60 Uplifting Words Of Comfort To Offer Someone Who Is Grieving

Comforting Grief Quotes

44. "In the garden of memory, in the palace of dreams... that is where you and I shall meet." — The Mad Hatter, Lewis Carroll's Alice Through the Looking Glass

45. “Tears shed for another person are not a sign of weakness. They are a sign of a pure heart.” — Jose N. Harris

46. "What we once enjoyed and deeply loved we can never lose, for all that we love deeply becomes part of us." — Helen Keller

47. "An eternal memory... until we meet again: Those special memories will always bring a smile if only I could have you back for just a little while. Then we could sit and talk again just like we used to do, you always meant so very much and always will do too. The fact that you're no longer here will always cause me pain, but you're forever in my heart until we meet again."

48. "Perhaps they are not the stars in the sky, but rather openings where our loved ones shine down to let us know they are happy."

49. "It is perfectly okay to admit you're not okay."

50. "Be the things you loved most about the people who are gone."

51. “Life is full of grief, to exactly the degree we allow ourselves to love other people.” — Orson Scott Card

52. “In times of grief and sorrow I will hold you and rock you and take your grief and make it my own. When you cry I cry and when you hurt I hurt. And together we will try to hold back the floods to tears and despair and make it through the potholed street of life.” — Nicholas Sparks

53. "To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die." — Thomas Campbell

54. "Those we love don't go away, they walk beside us every day... unseen, unheard, but always near, still loved, still missed, and very dear."

55. "Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted." — Matthew 5:4

56. "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." — Philippians 4:6-8

57. "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me." — Psalm 23:4

58. “So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.” — John 16:22

59. “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” — Psalm 34:18

60.“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me.” — John 14:1

61. “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” — Isaiah 41:10

62. “God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble.” — Psalm 46:1

63. "Give all your worries to Him, because He cares for you." — 1 Peter 5:7

64. "The Lord is the one who goes ahead of you; He will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed." — Deuteronomy 31:8

65. "He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak." — Isaiah 40:29

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Jill Zwarensteyn is a writer and Michigan native who covers trending topics, pop culture and astrology. When she's not writing for YourTango, she is also a travel blogger and actress.