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At My Father’s Desk: Dementia’s Silent Toll

Posted on July 20, 2015 - by Larry Patten

Grief can elbow its way into life long before death. This I remember . . . I visit my parents’ home. Only Mom lives there now. Because of dementia, Dad has resided in a memory care facility for nearly three months. He sleeps often. Awake he can be silent. Alert, he will often express himself in the third person, or engage in various—and disturbing—hallucinations. Dementia is awful. Dad’s in his golden years. Mom, too. Nothing glitters. Grief lurks. In my Dad’s office at home, I sit at his desk. One task on this visit has become sorting through my father’s […]

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Dr. Gloria Horsley and Dr. Heidi Horsley: Finding Hope After Loss

Posted on July 19, 2015 - by Dr. Gloria and Dr. Heidi Horsley

Drs. Gloria Horsley and Heidi Horsley talked with one another during the 2015 Association for Death Education and Counseling conference. This mother and daughter are leaders of The Open to Hope Foundation, and their personal experience has driven them to dedicate their life to grief counseling. Gloria lost her son, who was also Heidi’s brother, in an automobile accident. Scott died in 1983 at just 17 years old, along with his cousin. Gloria notes that she was a therapist at that time, although she didn’t specialize in grief therapy. “During that process of grieving together,” Gloria says she and Heidi […]

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The Far Territories of Grief

Posted on July 19, 2015 - by Mark Liebenow

I lay you down in the resting place. As for me, I will let my hair grow matted, put on a lion skin, and roam the steppe. — Epic of Gilgamesh, Tablet VIII In the early days of grief, it felt like I had been thrown into the far territories of human existence. No one knew what to say or do about my wife’s sudden death in her forties.  I found myself in an abandoned, wood-plank house in skeletal backbone mountains. Sorrow was the bare window through which I looked. All light had narrowed to this. Every morning the harsh light of […]

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Brittany Trauthwein: Continuing Bonds

Posted on July 19, 2015 - by Dr. Gloria and Dr. Heidi Horsley

The Open to Hope Foundation radio show was the first outreach strategy, and continues to be a fantastic means of support for those who have lost a loved one. In the “Continuing Bonds” episode, Drs. Gloria and Heidi Horsley talk with Brittany Trauthwein, MA, a specialist in end of life, grief and loss. Trauthwein has conducted extensive research, kick-started by her own loss of several family members. She focuses on how people continue to build and strengthen bonds after a loss, with a special emphasis on adult children who have lost a parent. It’s possible to continue that parent-child relationship, […]

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Lisa Irish: Spirituality and Grief

Posted on July 18, 2015 - by Lisa Irish

In this enlightening episode of the Open to Hope Foundation show, Drs. Gloria and Heidi Horsley discuss loss and hope with Lisa Irish. When Irish was only two years old, her mother was paralyzed in a car accident, which drastically altered Irish’s childhood. Her father died when she was 11 and, in her 20s, her mother passed away. Irish says she learned from an early age to see life through a “lens of loss” and has found it to be a great teacher. Today, Irish is a chaplain and serves as a bereavement coordinator at the Yale-New Haven Hospital. People […]

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James Richardson: Men and Grief

Posted on July 18, 2015 - by Heidi Horsley

James Richardson with the Emerging Beyond non-profit organization spoke with Dr. Heidi Horsley during the 2015 Association for Death Education and Counseling conference. Dr. Horsley points out that Richardson has a lot of diversity in his own life, having served 29 years in the military and as an African American-Portuguese male. It’s important to note that the way someone in his position is “supposed” to deal with grief can vary greatly. “It really depends on how you came up,” Richardson explains, which has impacted how he’s dealt with three losses in his own life. “For me, it (dealing with grief) […]

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Sherry Cassedy: Spiritual Journey After the Loss of a Son

Posted on July 17, 2015 - by Sherry Cassedy

This Open to Hope Radio show episode showcases the interview of Sherry Cassedy, JD, MA by Drs. Gloria and Heidi Horsley. Dr. Cassedy has practiced law for nearly 30 years, and owns a mediation/private judging practice in the Palo Alto area. A certified yoga instructor, she excels in combining yoga philosophy with spiritual guidance in her practice. Her son, Tim, died when he was 20 years old in a skateboarding accident. However, Tim didn’t die instantly—Dr. Cassedy’s family was able to stay with him in the hospital overnight before his death. She chose to donate his organs, and says, “It […]

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Doneley Meris: AIDS and Grief

Posted on July 17, 2015 - by Dr. Gloria and Dr. Heidi Horsley

On 2015’s National AIDS Day, Drs. Gloria and Heidi Horsley talked with Doneley Meris on the Open to Hope Radio show. Meris is a grief psychotherapist and training educator, adjunct faculty member at New York University where he’s chair of the People of Color/Multi-Cultural Committee of the Association for Death Education and Counseling, and the founder and Executive Director of the HIV Arts Network. “It’s been a tradition here in New York City where many organizations gather and read names of those who have died from this disease (AIDS) at city hall,” he explains. It’s a day of remembrance and […]

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The Compassionate Friends Conference Offers Support and Love

Posted on July 16, 2015 - by Alan Pedersen

Alan Pederson, Executive Director of The Compassionate Friends, welcomed experts from around the world at the 2015 Association for Death Education and Counseling Conference. The 2015 theme “Hope Shines Bright…Deep in the Heart” was held in Dallas, Texas at the Hyatt Regency Downtown. Joanne Campbell, co-chair of the 38th annual conference, encouraged everyone to attend the event held July 10-12 in downtown Dallas. Pederson and Campbell worked closely together to bring an informative, entertaining and welcoming conference to Texas. Pederson notes, “There’s going to be keynote speakers: Kay Warren, Christopher Jones, Gary Mandel…we have 120+ workshops.” Niche workshops and breakout […]

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‘Lonely’ Not Powerful Enough Word to Describe Widowhood

Posted on July 16, 2015 - by Catherine Tidd

The Word ‘Lonely’ Not Strong Enough Loneliness in widowhood is not surprising.  I mean, even for the people who have never been through it, the loneliness of widows is a no-brainer.  But frankly, I think that lonely is not a strong enough word. There is a deep silence that comes with losing your spouse.  And it doesn’t matter if you’re standing in the middle of a crowded room; you will still notice it.  It’s the quiet that comes when you don’t have that familiar voice whispering in your ear at a wedding, “Can you believe she wore that?  I mean, what […]

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