A guided grief journal written for the loss of a grandparent — with separate editions for a grandmother, a grandfather, and for a grandparent in general.
The short answer. Still With Me is a guided remembrance journal with 80 written prompts across 9 chapters in 120 pages, sized 6 × 9 inches, available in hardcover or paperback at $29.99. For the loss of a grandparent there are three editions: Grandmother, Grandfather, and a general Grandparent edition. Every copy is printed to order in the United States and ships within 3–5 business days.
A note before anything else
A grandparent's death is the loss people are most likely to call expected — often to your face, and often within a day of it happening. That framing tends to shorten the time you are given to grieve, not the grief itself. For many people this is the first death they carry properly, and for many it removes the last person who told the family stories first-hand. A journal is somewhere to keep those stories, and somewhere to put a loss the world has already moved on from. If today is unbearable, please look at our help page; in the US, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline can be called or texted at any hour.
Which grandparent loss edition to choose
| Edition | Choose it when |
|---|---|
| For the Loss of a Grandmother | The prompts say grandmother throughout — her kitchen, her advice, the things she said that you now hear yourself saying. |
| For the Loss of a Grandfather | The prompts say grandfather throughout — what he built or fixed, what he told you about his own life, what he never talked about. |
| For the Loss of a Grandparent | You are buying as a sympathy gift and do not know which, or the neutral wording is what you want. |
The named editions read as personal rather than generic, and that matters most here: a grandparent journal is very often filled in with the family stories nobody else wrote down.
What is inside
The same nine chapters run through every edition, written to be worked through slowly rather than finished:
- Who you were — their character, their habits, their voice
- Our beginning — the earliest things you remember
- Everyday moments — the small ordinary things that go first
- What you taught me — what you carry from them now
- The hard parts — the last months, the things left unsaid
- What I miss — named plainly, without tidying it up
- Letters to you — open pages for writing directly to them
- Carrying you forward — rituals, dates, what stays
- Still with me — where you are now
Every prompt is a question with room to answer, not a blank page, and nothing has to be answered in order. The full specification and a comparison with a blank notebook is on the guided journal vs blank notebook page.
Try the prompts before you buy anything
There is no need to buy a journal to start writing. We publish free prompt sets for this loss, with a printable PDF at no cost:
- 25 grief journal prompts for the loss of a grandparent
- 25 grief journal prompts grouped by relationship
If you want the reasoning behind the practice first, read our gentle guide to grief journaling and what to write in a memory journal.
Giving it as a sympathy gift
This is the edition most often bought for a teenager or a young adult facing a first death, and for the grandchild who was closest. It asks nothing of the person who receives it — no reply, no thank-you note, no using it — and it is one of the few gifts that still makes sense in month six. Our sympathy gift guide covers what to write in the card, and the gift sets page pairs a journal with a memorial candle. Shipping is $6.49 within the US and Canada and $9.00 to the rest of the world.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best grief journal for the loss of a grandparent?
One written for that specific relationship rather than for grief in general. Still With Me publishes a separate grandmother edition, grandfather edition and general grandparent edition, each with 80 prompts across 9 chapters in 120 pages, in hardcover or paperback.
Should I buy the grandmother or grandfather edition, or the general one?
Buy the named edition when you know — the wording is specific throughout. Choose the general grandparent edition when you are giving it as a sympathy gift and are not sure, or when a household lost both.
Is this suitable for a teenager or a child?
It is written in plain adult language and works well for most teenagers, particularly as a first death. For a younger child, a parent reading the prompts aloud and writing the answers together is usually the better way to use it.
Can I use it to record family history rather than only grief?
Yes, and many people do. The early chapters ask for their beginnings, their habits and the stories they told, which makes the finished journal a record the rest of the family can read later.
How long does it take to arrive?
Every copy is printed to order in the United States and ships within 3–5 business days. Shipping is $6.49 to the US and Canada and $9.00 to the rest of the world.
Is journaling a substitute for grief support?
No. Writing can give grief somewhere to rest, but it is a personal practice, not a treatment. Our help page lists places to turn. In the US, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline can be called or texted at any hour.
See all twenty editions on the shop editions page, or find the right one on who it is for.