Living with grief – How to cope with loss | DW Documentary
The death of a loved one throws many people off course. This is certainly the case for Anja, who suffers greatly when her mother passes. The experience leaves her wondering what can help support the grieving, as well as how societies process grief.
Anja’s mother dies suddenly. The two were very close; her mother was like a best friend. And she was still very young, just 55 years old. Anja wasn’t in any way prepared for the sense of loss that followed. “I thought I’d never be able to laugh again,” she says. Grief calls everything into question: Priorities, relationships, one’s outlook on life itself. Nothing feels the same as it did before – including Anja herself, who realizes she’s also changed. She wonders why she was so unprepared. What place does grief have in our society, and what can really help those left behind when a loved one dies? Anja sets out in search of answers.
She meets people experiencing grief in very different ways. She talks to Benedictine monk Anselm Grün about the importance of rituals as a source of comfort in times of loss. She also experiences Dia de los Muertos in Berlin, a Latin American custom that celebrates grief in a very visible and vibrant way. Even within her own family, grief looks very different. Anja’s father has his own way of dealing with the death of his wife.
Years pass before Anja and her father find closeness once again – a narrative that runs through the documentary. Anja Umland also decides to involve her children in the grieving process. While some say “Don’t cry in front of the kids…”, she’s honest and open with them about her feelings. Today, grief hasn’t gone away, but has found a permanent place in her life. She keeps her mother’s memory alive with small personal rituals. Life has changed, but now grief, love and life are allowed to coexist within it.
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Video “Living with grief – How to cope with loss | DW Documentary” was uploaded on 11/15/2026 by DW Documentary Youtube channel.