What do say to people in grief

People don't know what to say to others who are grieving. They fear upsetting them, they don't know how to behave. But as my family learned, people who are grieving are desperate for support, for connection. It's always better to reach out to someone and just say simply, "I'm sorry," to let them know you're thinking about them, to give them a hug, and feel assured that that alone is enough.

David Kushner, Alligator Candy: A Memoir (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2016), ch. 42.