Dear Lianna:
I don’t have a strategy. When she shared that, you felt something, sadness, surprise, distress for not knowing what to say. If you expressed those very feelings to her in a few words: “I am so sorry. I didn’t know…so sad to hear… don’t know what to say.. wish there could be something I could say to help.”
You can, if you want, initiate another talk with her, invite her over for coffee and such…
anita