Open to Hope Articles

Articles Home

A Lighthearted Valentine Evolved Into a Lasting Commitment. A commitment in life and in death.

Posted on February 14, 2026 - by Nan Zastrow

““ Success in marriage is more than finding the right person. It’s becoming the right person.” Many of us had those “puppy love crushes” in our teenage years with no expectation of it leading to the altar. I purchased a cute Valentine’s Day card for a “guy” I was dating on-again, off-again. There was no intention in mind other than to get his attention with a bit of lighthearted humor. For all I knew, he could have promptly discarded the greeting card. On the front of the valentine was a picture of a sad, droopy hound dog and the words: […]

ANTICIPATE THE ANNIVERSARY YEAR(S)

Posted on February 9, 2026 - by Mershon Niesner

It happened in New York, April 10th, nineteen years ago. Even my hand balks at the date. I had to push to write it down, just to keep the pen moving on the paper. It used to be a perfectly ordinary day, but now it sticks up on the calendar like a rusty nail. —Donna Tartt, author of The Goldfinch There is a year nearly every daughter who has lost her mother describes as being very significant. This is the year when she becomes the age of her mother when she died. This was also true for me. When I […]

A Day in the Life . . .If You Can Still Call It That

Posted on February 1, 2026 - by Larry Carlat

You wake up in the morning and for the first few hazy seconds, you think maybe it was all a bad dream. As soon as you get out of bed, a tidal wave of grief knocks you down, bringing you to your knees, and you immediately start to cry. You can’t stop crying. This is the beginning of the end of your life as you knew it—grieving your child who is no longer alive. Whether it was a long goodbye, a short goodbye, or no goodbye, you want the pain to stop but you don’t think it ever will. […]

Dr. Bernie Siegel on Living Fully After Loss, Fear, and Life’s Uncertainty

Posted on January 27, 2026 - by Bernie Siegel

Wisdom from author Bernie Siegel, MD: Dr. Bernie Siegel often reminds us that when we believe death is approaching—or when we lose a job, a home, or someone we love—we should pause and ask ourselves a simple but powerful question: What do I feel the need to do to bring myself happiness? Then, begin doing it. He believes this choice can lead to a longer, healthier life than expected. He once shared that when he would call to check on funerals he had not been asked to attend, he often learned that the patient had not died after all. Now, […]

Terrible, Thanks for Asking: What I’ve Learned About Grief

Posted on January 24, 2026 - by Larry Carlat

I’ve never loved anyone the way I loved Rob. Six years ago, I joined the world’s worst club when my older son shot and killed himself. He was 28. Rob suffered from depression, bipolar disorder, and alcoholism. After he died, it was my turn to find out what suffering really means. After he died, it was my turn to find out what suffering really means. In the first few weeks and months, I was gutted and in shock. So were my ex-wife, Caryn and my younger son, Zach. Our family had been destroyed. The whole thing seemed surreal—time was out […]

New Year, Old Grief: Now What?

Posted on January 20, 2026 - by Maria Kubitz

Another New Year’s celebration has come and gone. For me, the reality of another year my daughter didn’t live to see is a painful one. Even many years after her death. Whether your grief is fresh or seasoned, New Year’s celebration and traditions of new beginnings in the form of yearly resolutions can be extremely painful. I often describe it as a “slap in the face” reminder that the world has moved on without my daughter—while I still think of her and miss her every day. It all started in September 2009, when my 4-year-old daughter died in a sudden, […]

We Are Extraordinary Parents

Posted on January 5, 2026 - by Larry Carlat

I’ve always found it strange that there’s no word for a parent who loses a child. Why do widows, widowers, and orphans get to have all the fun? I think it’s time for someone to right this wrong. Bear with me for a moment as I reaffirm what you already know: children aren’t supposed to die before their parents. That’s just not the way life should work. We give birth to children or adopt them, we love and nurture them, we raise them, they grow up, we grow old, and then we die. The circle of life, sunrise, sunset, […]

Memories and Messages. Merry Christmas from the Other Side

Posted on January 3, 2026 - by Veronica Crawford

Christmas had always been a special time for me. The anticipation of Christmas day – decorating the tree and house, buying presents, beautiful food and spending time with family. But over time, Christmas has lost its sparkle. While I still appreciate the day with people I love – it no longer holds the same energy as years before. The excitement has been replaced more with a time for reflection and a longing for times gone by. Grief has woven her darkness through the tapestry of life with my brother Carl’s passing after a car accident, precious pets transitioning, and long-term […]

The Ash Rose Grief, Art, and Love that Transforms

Posted on December 25, 2025 - by ianmccartor

In our culture, grief is often something we are expected to move through quietly and efficiently. After the funeral, after the condolences fade, families are handed the ashes of someone they love and then left largely on their own to figure out what healing looks like. There is an unspoken expectation of “closure,” as if love ends where a life does. But what if grief is not something to close, but something to continue? I came to this question through two worlds that have shaped my life – hospice nursing and the arts. As a hospice nurse, I have sat […]

Mourners Pass

Posted on December 23, 2025 - by Perry Grosser

It is the holiday season, and in those first year or two, the pain of not having my son home for the holidays was overwhelming. What hurt most was his absence—no longer buying him his eight Chanukah gifts, not watching him light his menorah alongside his sister’s, and alongside the family menorah that my wife and I light together. Going to my in-laws’ home on Christmas was just as difficult, seeing gifts under the tree for everyone except him. Simply knowing he was not there was emotionally draining for us, year after year. Over the years, this particular pain has eased little […]