SIBBS Newsletter Autumn 2022

SIBBS Newsletter, Autumn 2022 | www.tcf.org.uk 10 Life After Death: Experiences of Sibling Bereavement over the Life Course TCF recently hosted a presentation which showcased a study by Dr Laura Towers that sought to explore people’s experiences of sibling bereavement. I won't go into too much detail for fear of spoiling it for others, but I did want to quickly highlight how insightful, helpful and comforting I found it. With Laura herself being a bereaved sibling, everything she said felt genuine and trustworthy, you could tell how important this study was to her and for others like herself. The reasons for her study were, not surprisingly, very similar to why I started a sibling grief Instagram page. Siblings still typically remain to be overlooked socially and academically and “Very often parental grief is prioritised and focused on, and siblings are explored less.” This is exactly how I felt growing up as a teen who’d lost their sister, I couldn’t find anything targeted towards sibling Grief but was constantly bombarded with anything and everything to do with parental grief or losing a child/parent/grandparent. This is why I found it so interesting to hear Dr Towers talk about the lack of studies and academic articles working from real-life experiences. “What I wanted to offer instead was a much fuller, much more in-depth account of actually listening to people’s words and hearing what they had to say and putting forward that as an alternative account of sibling bereavement” – Dr Laura Towers As the talk unfolded, it brought up lots of feelings and emotions - some good and some bad. There’s so much within this study, that I feel can speak, connect and support a whole range of bereaved siblings. We all have such different stories and experiences of grief, but somehow all the subcategories seem to touch upon them all. For example, a section of the presentation I found most relatable and eye- opening was when it spoke to those like myself, who had lost their sibling at a young age or at a time when the relationship with their sibling wasn’t great. Dr. Laura Towers