MEG TRESISE

“It’s important to grieve, but remember that life grows around that grief so nurture it”

I’m Meg, a current PhD researcher at the Uni of Leeds and I’ve lived in Leeds for the past 5 years having also done my undergraduate and postgraduate degrees here.

My dad died suddenly in 2017 from alcoholic cardiomyopathy, a form of heart disease related to alcoholism. Growing up in pubs all of my life meant that I’d witnessed his drinking problem turn more severe, but the loss of my grandparents in short succession triggered his downward spiral.

I was in my second year of uni at the time, battling through until I decided to ask for help in my third year. Through Parental Loss Group I learned how to properly grieve his death but also how to have fun again and talk to others about grief. I’m a huge believer in life growing around your grief, that it’s important to fill your day-to-day with the people and things you love, but also to welcome the sad days.

My hope is for this platform to encourage communication between young people who have shared these same experiences and facilitate healing through our blogs, forum, chit-chats and podcast.