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Valentines Day After the Loss of a Child

Posted on February 1, 2017 - by Dr. Gloria and Dr. Heidi Horsley

How can you heal after the loss of a child? This is the hot topic on a special webinar of the Open to Hope Foundation, featuring Drs. Gloria and Heidi Horsley interviewing Dr. Bob Baugher. He teaches grief and loss at Highline Community College, is an author at Open to Hope, and has also authored a number of books on grief, loss, and particularly child loss. Healing can be especially troubling on holidays, including Valentine’s Day. Deconstructing “behind the scenes” can help immensely. For example, Valentine’s Day is always associated with hearts, so asking yourself “Who do I hold in […]

You May Be Wandering, But You May Not Be Lost

Posted on January 31, 2017 - by Paul Coleman

In the aftermath of some great loss, we tend to move through our days as a wanderer in an unfamiliar place. Everything looks the same and yet–somehow it feels so different. How do we move on? When will life start to feel any semblance of normality? We go through the motions, placing one foot in front of the other, knowing we must trudge forward but–to where? To what life? In this phase, our close friends yearn for us to somehow re-boot our system and take life on with renewed purpose. And that seems unimaginable to us But it is precisely […]

A Candy Heart: When ‘Celebrating’ Doesn’t Seem Right

Posted on January 29, 2017 - by Neal Raisman

Valentine’s Day. Another day to feel my loss more deeply? Why do these celebrations continue to come up to remind me of my loss? To have others enjoy when I don’t seem to rise to the occasion. To send a Valentine’s Day card when I have lost my son? Can I celebrate the day and not betray his memory? Not cause extra grieving for for me. For him? Perhaps if we define the word celebrate, that might give me some answer. So what does it mean? Some of its meaning is to rejoice, to commemorate, to mark an event. What can […]

Healing After Miscarriage and Infertility

Posted on January 29, 2017 - by Kira Copperman

From Healing the Grieving Heart radio, November 20, 2008 Listen to radio show archive: MP3 Link Kira Copperman is a social worker and the President of KBC Consulting, a healthcare consulting firm that specializes in helping medical professionals improve their frontline customer service. Prior to KBC Consulting, she was the practice manager for a large fertility center in Manhattan entitled Reproductive Medicine Associates of New York. I 20006, she was honored by RESOLVE, the national infertility support organization, with “The Friend of RESOLVE” award because of her dedication and commitment to the organization. Her experience with patients dealing with the […]

The Rose Bush: A Sign From Dad

Posted on January 25, 2017 - by Lisa Khuraibet

As we approach February, I look out my kitchen window and see something that has caught my eye. It is a rose bush in bloom. This bush has been blooming throughout the winter. I first noticed it around Christmas time. Hmmm, peculiar. It’s never bloomed in the past. Yes, I live in Las Vegas but it has definitely been cold here – some nights, dipping down into the thirties. So, what is up with this crazy rose bush? To me, it is a sign. A sign that my father is looking down and pleased with my life. You see, he […]

Traumatic Grief May Interfere with Memory

Posted on January 25, 2017 - by Gloria Horsley

Dr. Gloria Horsley with the Open to Hope Foundation talks with Robert Zucker about traumatic grief, healing, and his own bereavement process. As a grief counselor and the author of The Journey Through Grief and Loss: Helping Yourself and Your Child When Grief is Shared, Zucker knows all too well how difficult bereavement can be. Every loss situation and everything we grieve for has a traumatic component according to Zucker. There’s no such thing as a grief that’s more traumatic than another. Deaths that are predictable are also traumatizing. There’s no use in comparing grief. Everyone has had a loss. […]

Creating a Legacy Video

Posted on January 21, 2017 - by Heidi Horsley

Documentary photographer Todd Hochberg talks about Moments Held, Legacy Work, which is an organization that connects families with documentarians like himself to capture the most poignant moments of life. Hochberg’s legacy videos are a popular option when a family knows that a loved one will pass soon, often from a terminal illness. For all the photos we take, sometimes on a daily basis, legacy photos are different. They capture the sheer joy of moments and showcase your loved one in their truest form. For Hochberg, it’s a way to blend his passions and skills with a means of service. Legacy […]

Grief of Pregnancy Loss Often Dismissed

Posted on January 18, 2017 - by Dr. Gloria and Dr. Heidi Horsley

Pregnancy loss and infertility are the topics on this episode of The Grief Relief Show. It’s a loss that can be disenfranchising—especially when a miscarriage happens early in a pregnancy. Drs. Gloria and Heidi Horsley interview Chandrama Anderson, MFT, author of No U-Turn at Mercy Street: A Memoir and Resource Guide for Grieving Parents. Dr. Heidi Horsley has had two miscarriages and knows how difficult it can be to grieve. Many people don’t even know you’ve had a miscarriage, and Dr. Horsley points out that you’re not just losing the pregnancy, but you’re losing the future. Others such as fathers […]

Own Your Winter Grief

Posted on January 11, 2017 - by John Pete

Something many of us learn through the course of years, losses and grief is that it’s far better to take control and OWN YOUR WINTER GRIEF, rather than to allow your winters own you. The seasons change & winters come (and go) in the midst of grief, ready or not. And long winters days and nights can be additionally difficult for those in cold climates. But planning ahead can greatly help one cope with the seasonal changes. This is true at other times and season, too. As a survivor of many of my own losses, I am a firm believer […]

Birthdays … Beautiful and Bittersweet

Posted on January 11, 2017 - by Judy Lipson

I turned 60 in October, the day filled with a range of emotions. Etched in my brain and soul was the last time I saw my sister Jane, to celebrate my 25th birthday. For 35 years, my birthday held a cloud, never the joy of celebrating me on my birthday, always the pain of the loss of my cherished sister and nine years later, the loss of my beloved sister Margie. The tragedies and challenges of my life undeniably altered who I am, are part of me, and at 60, I have persevered, embracing the sum total of it all. […]