Christine Rifenburgh

Christine Rifenburgh is an American grief advocate, author, and certified grief educator, best known for her work supporting suicide loss survivors. She is the author of After the Shock: Surviving the First 90 Days After a Suicide Loss and has spent over a decade facilitating support groups, counseling survivors, and developing resources for those navigating the difficult path of grief.

Early Life and Education:

Christine was born and raised in a small town in New Hampshire as the second of five siblings. Raised by her mother, a single parent, she learned resilience and determination from an early age. Despite facing personal challenges, Christine earned her G.E.D. and graduated at the top of her class in nursing school as a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN). Her passion for helping others deepened through her early career in healthcare, where she initially aspired to become a registered nurse. Later, driven by personal experiences with loss and a growing commitment to mental health, she pursued higher education, earning an Associate’s degree, a Bachelor’s in Human Services, and a Master’s in Social Work.

Personal Life and Loss:

Christine has been married for more than 30 years and is the mother of three daughters, as well as a grandmother to one granddaughter and two grandsons. In 2011, she experienced the devastating loss of her younger brother Francis, who died by suicide. This tragedy profoundly shaped her life’s direction, inspiring her to seek counseling, connect with support groups, and ultimately dedicate her career to helping other suicide loss survivors.

Career and Advocacy:

Christine’s work blends professional expertise with deeply personal insight. For more than 11 years, she co-facilitated support groups designed specifically for individuals who lost loved ones to suicide. She has earned certifications in Mental Health First Aid, Trauma-Informed Grief Coaching, Grief Coaching, and is also a Certified Grief Educator. Through one-on-one sessions, group counseling, and the development of grief resources, she has become a trusted guide for those navigating profound loss. Her debut book, After the Shock: Surviving the First 90 Days After a Suicide Loss, provides practical guidance and emotional support for survivors in the immediate aftermath of loss. She is currently working on a second book, After the Wreckage: Building a Meaningful Life from the Pieces Left Behind by Suicide Loss. Christine is also developing a certification program to train and empower others to support suicide loss survivors, expanding her mission of creating compassionate communities of care.

Publications:

• After the Shock: Surviving the First 90 Days After a Suicide Loss ( Amazon and Books.by)

• After the Wreckage: Building a Meaningful Life from the Pieces Left Behind by Suicide Loss (forthcoming)

Personal Interests:

Outside of her advocacy work, Christine enjoys spending time with her family, traveling to the beach and the mountains, and taking peaceful country rides with her husband.

After the Shock: Surviving the First 90 Days After a Suicide Loss

Book Overview After the Shock: Surviving the First 90 Days After a Suicide Loss is a 2025 nonfiction book by American author Christine Rifenburgh. It focuses on the first ninety days of grief after losing a loved one to suicide, offering guidance for coping with emotional, physical, and social challenges.

Background Rifenburgh wrote the book after the death of her brother Francis. Drawing on personal experience and survivor accounts, the book highlights aspects of suicide bereavement often overlooked in mainstream grief literature.

Structure

After the Shock: Surviving the First 90 Days After a Suicide Loss is a 2025 nonfiction guide by American author Christine Rifenburgh. Written for survivors of suicide loss, the book focuses on day-to-day survival rather than long-term “healing,” offering practical tools, scripts, and coping strategies tailored to the uniquely complex grief that follows a suicide.

Summary

The book frames the first three months as three survival phases:

• Days 1–30 (Shock & Logistics): numbness, confusion, and basic functioning while handling immediate arrangements.
• Days 31–60 (Reality & Isolation): the shock fades, emotions intensify, and outside support often declines; waves of grief, guilt, and anger are common.
• Days 61–90 (Rebuilding & Integration): beginning to carry the loss while re-entering life in small, sustainable steps—honoring the loved one without forcing “closure.”

Across these phases, Rifenburgh addresses stigma, intrusive “what-ifs,” and physical symptoms of traumatic grief, and provides ready-to-use responses for difficult conversations, grounding techniques, and an “emergency survival kit” for crisis moments.

Background

Rifenburgh wrote the book after the death of her brother, dedicating the work to him and positioning it as both a tribute and a practical companion for others facing suicide bereavement.

Structure and themes

• Three-phase 90-day roadmap
• Scripts for social interactions and boundaries
• Managing guilt, anger, and loneliness
• Somatic/physical impacts of grief and basic self-care routines
• Honoring memory while continuing to live

See also

• Suicide bereavement
• Traumatic grief
• Coping strategies in early bereavement