I haven’t worked since my mother died – how do I explain the gap in my CV?

I volunteer in a charity shop and have suffered stress and grief. Photograph: David Sillitoe for the Guardian

Twice a week we publish problems that will feature in a forthcoming Dear Jeremy advice column in the Saturday Guardian so that readers can offer their own advice and suggestions. We then print the best of your comments alongside Jeremy’s own insights. Here is the latest dilemma – what are your thoughts?

I would like some help regarding a large gap in my CV. My mother died a year and a half ago, and I haven’t worked since due to stress and grief.

I volunteer in a charity shop but I’m now looking to start working again and I don’t know how to address the the circumstances surrounding the gap in my CV with potential employers. I’m worried that the fact I had to give up work for such personal reasons might turn people off despite any previous experience.

How can I smooth out this stumbling block?

Do you need advice on a work issue? For Jeremy’s and readers’ help, send a brief email to dear.jeremy@theguardian.com. Please note that he is unable to answer questions of a legal nature or to reply personally.