Joanna Fortune: I feel sad that my children have no relationship with my late husband's family

We didn’t have a particularly close relationship with his family. They said their goodbyes after his funeral and wished us well.

One of the hardest losses to process is of something we never had, says Joanna. Picture: iStock 

My beautiful husband died eight years ago. We didn’t have a particularly close relationship with his family. There was an underlying tension, and they tried to interfere during his brief illness.
They said their goodbyes after his funeral and wished us well. As always, I had great support from my own family. Now all the children are doing well, and my youngest son is about to turn 18. I feel sad that they have no relationship with my husband’s family. Should I make one last attempt to get in touch?

One of the hardest losses to process is of something we never had. You and your children have never known the love and support of your in-laws, but that doesn’t mean you don’t experience their absence as a very real loss.