Open to Hope Articles

Articles Home

Candle Lighting Ceremony for the Holidays

Posted on November 8, 2015 - by Alan Pedersen

Alan Pedersen, Executive Director of The Compassionate Friends, joins Drs. Gloria and Heidi Horsley during this special holiday edition of the Open to Hope show. Pedersen shares a segment from The Compassionate Friends, where Dr. Heidi Horsley currently serves on their board of directors. This is an organization for anyone who’s lost a sibling, child or grandchild. There’s also a roll-in from a National Candle Lighting event, which is a fantastic way for many grievers to celebrate the life of a loved one who has passed away. “This organization really changed my life,” says Dr. Heidi Horsley. It was at […]

Photographs Help Sister Heal After Sibling Losses

Posted on November 8, 2015 - by Judy Lipson

There is an expression originating from a Chinese proverb: “One picture is worth ten thousand words.” My vote is that one picture or video is worth ten thousand memories. When I lost my beloved sisters, Margie and Jane, I scrambled to find pictures to compose a collage, to place my beloved sisters’ images into frames. I feared I might forget them. Now, after 30 years, I went through that exercise again, designating a photo album for each sister and one album for collective photos, to capture chronologically the lives of my beloved sisters. I am desperately seeking some lost memories. When […]

Jennifer Collins Taylor: Conversations About Death

Posted on November 7, 2015 - by Heidi Horsley

Dr. Heidi Horsley of the Open to Hope Foundation interviews Jennifer Collins Taylor on behalf of the Association for Death Education and Counseling (ADEC) organization. Taylor is the founder of Living Life, Dying Death, an author, and a speaker specializing in how to have meaningful and healthy conversations about death, dying, and grieving. She lost her brother 31 years ago, and that was the catalyst for pursuing a career in death and dying. “Who am I now that he’s not here on this planet?” she asks. She watched her family grieve and the ensuing fallout. Figuring out what life and […]

Degriefing: The Art of Transforming Grief

Posted on November 6, 2015 - by Lyn Prashant

The Association for Death Education and Counseling (ADEC) features Dr. Lyn Prashant in a special episode where she talks about the loss of her husband. She used integrative therapeutic processes that aim to normalize the mind and body after a trauma. With a medical background herself, Dr. Prashant was eager to find her own best way of healing after her husband’s death. She’s a clinician, healer, author, and also public speaker who specializes in the somatic approach to grief and helping others to heal along their own grief journey. How the barometer of your feelings registers and stores your grief […]

Can Gratitude be Part of the Grieving Process?

Posted on November 6, 2015 - by Joni Norby

Gratitude does not come naturally to most of us when we’re dealing with intense grief and especially after the immediate loss of a child. I had to actively find my way back to gratitude following these two steps: Acknowledge God plays a role in my life – if I let Him. Invite Him into my life by asking for His comfort and grace through prayer. After the sudden death of our son, Ben, all I could muster for prayer were two words: “Help me!!” Even though it was short, direct, and demanding, my prayer was heartfelt, and over time I […]

The Music of Life

Posted on November 5, 2015 - by Paul Coleman

In the happiest of times, life rings out like a soaring piece of orchestral music, a symphony for my soul. The violins are lovely; the trumpets glorious; the flutes and piccolos giddy with excitement. The notes from the cellos glide gracefully, elegantly, a swan on a lake. Poom-pooming, the bass drums pound out a rhythm, a march toward some yet-to-be-heard breathtaking finale. And in the middle of this song I say “This, this is life!” And then, in life, there is sudden loss; as if the conductor abruptly and harshly gestures for a new score while the previous score is […]

Should Children Participate in Funeral Services?

Posted on November 5, 2015 - by Heidi Horsley

Dr. David Meagher created the graduate program of Thanatology at Brooklyn College, where he’s also an emeritus professor. He joins Dr. Heidi Horsley for a special episode of the Association for Death Education and Counseling (ADEC) organization’s web series to discuss whether or not children should participate in funeral services. The short answer? It depends. There are many factors to consider, and every child is different. It can be healing or harmful depending on the scenario, as well as how it’s handled. He’s also the author of Zach and His Dog, which shares how children may handle grief. Post-death rituals […]

The Empty Holiday Plate

Posted on November 4, 2015 - by Neal Raisman

The holidays. Thanksgiving. Christmas. Chanukah. Kwanza. Times to be happy and celebrate. For others, but not for me. For me, it is a time of an empty plate at the table. A remembrance of my child. My child used to sit at that plate heaping turkey and potatoes on his plate. A smile on his eager face. But no more. No more will I see him and that plate will remain empty. Empty as my heart, I fear. And all around me, will be celebrating and smiling while I feel I have little to celebrate or smile about. He is […]

Darcy Harris: Reproductive Loss

Posted on November 4, 2015 - by Heidi Horsley

The thanatology coordinator at Kings University College, Darcy Harris, joins the Association for Death Education and Counseling (ADEC) to discuss one of the most disenfranchised of losses: Reproductive loss. She’s also a therapist who specializes in loss, transition, and change. Also an editor on a recent book on loss, Harris is a revered expert in the field. Specifically, Harris says reproductive loss usually isn’t recognized—but it is very significant to parents. The expectation that you can become pregnant when you wish and deliver a healthy baby is suddenly shattered. Especially for women, the realization that this isn’t always true can […]

Inspiring Attitudes and Holiday Help

Posted on November 3, 2015 - by Marguerite OConnor

I have had the honor of working with people who had or have life limiting conditions. When I was prearranging a funeral for a client who had been given a serious diagnosis, he decided to get his affairs in order. Widowed, he called an old sweetheart and found that she was not in a relationship. He shared how special she was to him and invited her on a cruise, all expenses paid and no strings attached. He arranged for a friend to finish out the lease on his luxury automobile. He arranged the monetary inheritance for his family members. He […]