It’s been a month for losing people from the soundtrack of our lives. David Bowie, Alan Rickman, Mott the Hoople and Bowie drummer Buffin, and Glen Frey of the Eagles. If there is a heaven, may they rock on up there together.

But ….I’m also weary of gushing eulogies from people who never saw any of them live. Public outpourings of grief about people we have never met started to grow to excess after Princess Diana’s death. And social media has allowed this to multiply. There is even fear of criticism among those in the public eye if, on hearing about a death, they don’t immediately tweet a brilliant yet touching epitaph.

I remember being told at school that “empty vessels make most noise”. It’s not the kindest quotation from Plato. But there is truth in it.

Perhaps I’m feeling less sympathetic because my small family got even smaller with the loss of a dear relative over Christmas. She was a very private person. I don’t have permission to say anything about her or other family members. All I can say is that I have been very sad. Which is horrible, although better than depression because it a clean emotion and has a point. It also puts the sadness I feel about David Bowie et al into perspective. I miss them being there. But I am not bereaved by their deaths because I didn’t know them.

When someone we know dies, whatever their age, we can help by remembering them with love and by caring for those closest to them who are left behind. There is usually a flurry of activity at the time of a death. Phone calls and social media messages can all help. Even better are letters and cards that the bereaved person can read time and again. The right words may be hard to find, but they can bring great comfort. I know this.

What helps even more is keeping in touch with the person who is bereaved. The first few weeks and months are bewildering and lonely. Bereaved people may seem to shun others, but they desperately need social contact. Most people will at some stage go through a phase of feeling angry, sometimes for being left behind, sometimes even directed towards the person who has died. This is normal. The loss they feel is raw and cruel. They need an outlet, someone to hear and acknowledge their anger and allow it gradually to dissipate.

Later, when they can bear it, they will find that they yearn to talk about the person who has gone. To go through photographs and remember things they said and did together. The kindest thing you can do for them is to listen really carefully, to show true interest, and do nothing to stifle these reminiscences. They are vital for the gradual healing process.

Sometimes being bereaved can make you feel like a pariah. People seem to cross the road to avoid you. You may no longer be invited to social events where you were once welcome. I have heard those who are widowed and parents who have lost children speak of the added pain this can cause. And it is so unnecessary. Grief isn’t catching. What difference does it make to have an odd number at dinner, for example, or for someone to attend a birthday party even if they no longer have a child to bring?

I hope the families of David Bowie, Alan Rickman, Buffin and Glen Frey encounter kindness, and have friends who stick around for them over the coming months and years. The accolades of fans will offer some small comfort. But like any of us, the thing they will most need is love and support from those close to them.

There are many ways to be a good Samaritan. And the best one is by being there. I send love to all who have lost someone dear. May their dear souls rest in peace. And may those who are left behind find comfort and kindness from others as they grow accustomed to their loss.