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THE UK'S MOTHERLESS DAUGHTERS
Carmella De Lucia was only 17 years old when her mother died of a brain tumour after being ill for just one month.
Now a young mum with a beautiful daughter of her own, Carmella has been offering support, comfort and solace to others in her situation via a Facebook group called UK Motherless Daughters.
Inspired by the best selling American author and bereavement specialist Hope Edelman, Carmella set up the group in 2014 and it now has more than two thousand members. People post daily about their grief whether recently bereaved, remembering their mum’s birthday or sharing their feelings on the anniversary of her death.
Members are very supportive of each other and share their own experiences or just use Facebook’s new ‘care’ button to express support.
Carmella said: “I receive requests to join the group regularly which is so sad because it means that someone has lost their dear mum.
Carmella with her mum Bridie
“But I also receive many positive messages from members telling me how the group has helped them realise they are not alone, understand that their thoughts and feelings are natural and how supported they feel by other members.
“I think that the group has been particularly helpful to people who have had to cope with their mother’s death during this awful pandemic. Losing someone is bad enough anyway but not to have physical contact with friends and family or that usual support network is doubly hard.”
• Find the group by searching UK Motherless Daughters on Facebook
• Hope Edelman’s first book, Motherless Daughters, was a number one New York Times bestseller and her latest book The AfterGrief, offers an innovative new language for discussing the long arc of loss. Her other books include Motherless Mothers and The Possibility of Everything.
NEED SUPPORT?
• Help yourself – our self help guide on bereavement can be read online, downloaded or watched as a video. Visit merseycare.nhs.uk and search 'self help guides'
