Open to Hope Articles
Do you want to read stories of others who have been where you are? Are you looking for bereavement help, and advice? Look no further. We offer over 3,000 articles written by our Open to Hope authors.
SORT BY RELATIONSHIP
Dear Dad Letters: Father Figures
November 10, 2018
Dear Dad, It is hard living without a father to show the ways of becoming a man. Mom eventually dated some men, but they either frightened or bored me. One, a swarthy ex-boxer, bought me boxing gloves and a punching bag; but I was too scared to follow his instruction. Mom said I had an “inferiority complex, ” […]
Dear Dad Letters: Catastrophism
November 9, 2018
Dear Dad, Here is a neologism. “Catastrophism, noun. The unfounded fear that one’s life is about to meet a sudden and catastrophic end.” I have lived all my life with this underlying fear. When the phone rings, I immediately assume we are getting news that someone has died, even though I have never been told of […]
Dear Dad Letters: #5 and #6
November 8, 2018
Introduction Dear Dad is the story of my life told in the form of letters to my father, Walter Michael Jaworski, who died of a heart attack when I was five and whom, therefore, I never got to know. It is not a maudlin story of regret, but the tale of how one’s entire life — […]
Look Who is Coming to Holiday Dinner! What to Do When a Parent Remarries
October 22, 2018
When holidays come, grief can go haywire. Most everyone knows that. But what do you do if you are grieving a parent and your remaining father or mother is dating or has married someone new. How do you handle those holidays? Perspective and introspection may help you understand and cope with the loss and a […]
Saying Goodbye to Dad
September 30, 2018
I remember my last visit before Dad died in 1969. Mom called me at graduate school to tell me that he was quite ill (he’d suffered a stroke four years earlier) and had been admitted to the hospital again. She made it clear that if I came, it would be my last visit. Though incredibly […]
Greg Adams: Good Mourning
September 6, 2018
Greg Adams, LCSW, ACSW, FT is Program Coordinator for the Center for Good Mourning and Staff Bereavement Support at Arkansas Children’s Hospital. Greg is also an adjunct professor in the University of Arkansas-Little Rock Graduate School of Social Work and currently serves as Chair of the Credentialing Council for the Association of Death Education and […]
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Dear Dad: Letters to a Man I Never Knew
August 26, 2018
Introduction Dear Dad is the story of my life told in the form of letters to my father, Walter Michael Jaworski, who died of a heart attack when I was five and whom, therefore, I never got to know. It is not a maudlin story of regret, but the tale of how one’s entire life — […]
Dear Dad: A Letter to the Long Deceased
August 24, 2018
Introduction Dear Dad is the story of my life told in the form of letters to my father, Walter Michael Jaworski, who died of a heart attack when I was five and whom, therefore, I never got to know. It is not a maudlin story of regret, but the tale of how one’s entire life — […]
Episode 137: How Does A Father’s Death Impact Life?
July 30, 2018
On this show Dr. Heidi Horsley explores with Dr. Gary Jaworski, whose father died when he was 5 years old and Barbara Rubel MS, whose father died by suicide when she was pregnant with triplets, how the loss of their dads has lead them to a life of service. Barbara is the author of But […]
