Dear Prudence,
In 2011, my younger sister “Sarah” passed away. I am notorious in my family for being one to never show feelings, and my dad is the same way. My sister was 8 years old, and although she was sick with hypo-cardiomyopathy her entire life, her death was unexpected and hit my family hard, obviously. It has been six years and through some snooping in my other younger sister’s diary, I found out my dad routinely thinks about my sister and likes to imagine she is there with him when he is struggling at work.
I am in college now and in recent years I have been struggling a lot with my sister’s death and coping with how I feel. It hurts me to know my dad is hurting (my mom and I are not on speaking terms), and I do not know how to talk to anyone about it. I even get uncomfortable when my grandparents talk about her on her death anniversary, and I really want to talk to my family to help all of us cope better. What should I do, Prudence?
—How Do I Talk to My Dad About My Dead Sister?