Bereavement Expert Available: Many people are surprised by the intensity of their response when a well-known person dies, and their feelings of sadness may last longer than they expect. In fact, that sadness and grief can be intense, and preliminary research suggests that grief after the death of a public figure looks very similar to grief over our personal relationships and can have comparable levels of intensity.

Wendy Lichtenthal, Ph.D., a bereavement science researcher and founding director of the Center for the Advancement of Bereavement Care at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, is available to discuss “parasocial grief” – that which occurs when a celebrity, political figure or other highly recognized person dies. Newswise/SP