08/25/2026
Dolly Parton has been part of the background of so many lives.
Maybe it was her music playing in your house growing up. Maybe she reminds you of your mom or grandmother. Maybe it was *9 to 5*, *Steel Magnolias*, or a song you belted out in the car. Maybe you admired the way she seemed to take up space in the world—with humour, generosity, softness and absolutely no interest in making herself smaller.
When someone like that dies, the grief can catch us off guard.
There’s a name for some of this: **parasocial grief.** We can form meaningful emotional connections with people we’ve never actually met. The relationship may not have been reciprocal, but what they represented, the memories attached to them, and the feelings they gave us were very real.
Sometimes we’re grieving the person.
Sometimes we’re grieving the era they represented, the people they remind us of, or a younger version of ourselves who existed alongside them.
And sometimes it’s simply sad to realize that someone who has seemingly always been *there*… isn’t anymore.
You don’t need to have known someone personally for their absence to mean something to you.
Grief is allowed to show up in unexpected places. 🤍
**What does Dolly remind you of?**
TherapyOntario GriefTherapy
