This involves moving on to a new way of life without the person who has died, whilst holding on to memories. It is a way of reinvesting in life again, alongside the knowledge that the person will never be forgotten. This can often feel like betrayal and is perhaps the most difficult task of all.

There is a sense of putting the sadness aside and looking to the future, whilst recalling happy times spent with the person who has died and finding comfort and pleasure in those memories. It is also a way of making life more meaningful and winning back control, so that the bereaved person is not continually ambushed by memories of the person who has died and trapped by painful feelings, but rather can choose when they want to reflect about their relationship with that person.

It is normal at anniversaries and other significant times for feelings of grief to be aroused again and to be as vivid as on the day the death occurred.