Open to Hope Articles

Articles Home

Just So You Know

Posted on November 7, 2014 - by John Pete

Just So You Know I can’t stop grieving just because you believe it is time for me to move on. I can’t stop hurting just because you do not understand the piercing pain in my heart. I cannot stop my tears from flowing just because they make you uncomfortable. My heart is not suddenly mended just because you believe I have grieved long enough. I will grieve the loss of my loved one for the rest of my life. Just so you know. (Just So You Know © John Pete) Just So You Know Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ps7k8JM5RoU

Re-embracing Halloween After a Loss

Posted on October 31, 2014 - by Gloria Horsley

The candy you buy at the drugstore may now be just for you, the lights turned off for trick-or-treaters on Halloween. You may want to go through the neighborhood late at night and tear down all the ghastly tombstone decorations and leave notes reminding neighbors that death is not “fun.” The cheap hanging ghosts may feel like mockeries of your own constant search for signs of spirit in butterflies, rainbows, or in my case, pennies. And costume contests are probably way down on your list of priorities. After experiencing the death of a loved one, Halloween may feel too raw […]

Finding a Silver Lining in Living with Loss

Posted on October 28, 2014 - by Sheri Perl

Can we find anything at all in living with loss that in some way we might benefit from? Is it possible that something as terrible as loss, so final and irreversible, can contain a silver lining? Maybe this isn’t exactly a silver lining, but I’ll tell you about something that has dawned on me as a result of losing my 22-year-old son in July of 2008. Even though I always knew in a factual way that someday I would die, I still lived in emotional denial of that reality. Since losing Danny, the façade has been ripped off of my […]

Learning to Live Again After Loss: Interview with Alan Pederson

Posted on October 28, 2014 - by Gloria Horsley

In a recent interview, Alan Pedersen opened up with Dr. Gloria Horsley about Learning to Live Again After Loss and the trials he faced after his great loss. Below is the interview: G: Hello. I’m Dr. Gloria Horsley with my co-host Dr. Heidi Horsley. Welcome to the show today. We’re so happy to have you on Healing the Grieving Heart. Heidi and I want this to be a show of hope, friendship and renewal for those who suffer the loss of a child. Well, Heid, I want to start out the show by reading an email we had. We get some […]

Poet Dana Jerman on Griever Dreams and Signs

Posted on October 25, 2014 - by Nancy Gershman, LMSW

Not only is there is no wrong way to interpret dreams and signs, but they can become catalysts for a great day. This and more when memory artist, Nancy Gershman talks with writer, photographer and performing poet Dana Jerman of Chicago. Visit her on blastfortune.blogspot.com. Flush out icky feelings with words Use one dream element as a creative impulse for your day Some relatives are warmer through the mail than in person Instead of silence, upset somebody with your feelings and opinions Enjoying the friends of a dead friend is the perk of funerals Acknowledge good, bad and ugly feelings inside, as they pass It’s our job to […]

Do’s & Don’ts for the Widow/Widower Embracing New Love

Posted on October 25, 2014 - by Gloria Lintermans

Is it possible to mourn the loss of a beloved spouse and, while still grieving, to not only meet someone special, but fall in love and begin to build a new relationship that includes a commitment to sharing your lives? Can we overlap our loving and our grieving? The answer is a profound: YES! But, to smooth the path, keep these helpful Do’s and Don’ts in mind: • Do allow yourself the joy of healing and moving on. • Do allow yourself to feel good when this happens. • Don’t feel guilty. You have been respectful, loving and caring towards […]

Wedding Day a Lesson in Process of Grief

Posted on October 24, 2014 - by Harriet Hodgson

In 2007, my twin grandchildren’s parents died from the injuries they received in separate car crashes. The twin’s mother, our daughter, listed my husband and me as the twin’s guardians in her will. Suddenly we were GRGs, grandparents raising grandchildren. The twins, one boy and one girl, came to live with us when they were 15 years old. Suddenly, we were reliving the teenage years. We attended gymnastics meets, choir concerts, marching band concerts, and other high school events. Seven years passed, and during this time, we melded into a grand family. When the twins left for college, we were […]

My Way of Living with Death

Posted on October 22, 2014 - by Radha Stern

If there is one word to describe me, it would be “Mother.” When I hear “Mom” in a grocery store, I turn, ready for action. I want every one of all ages to be happy, healthy and well cared for. It is in my DNA. My son, Christopher Robin Hotchkiss, was murdered by his roommate, Mark James Taylor, on March 21, 1996. Christopher was 21 years old. He was shot four times with a handgun because of an argument over where to put the dishes. It’s a parent’s worst nightmare to get this kind of news. What hit me first, […]

Dozens of Do’s and Don’ts for the Bereaved

Posted on October 22, 2014 - by Gloria Lintermans

Do call a friend when you are blue. Do water the flowers and take time to smell them; work in the garden, pull out weeds. Do something positive for yourself every day. Do get enough sleep. Do exercise daily. Do remember to take time to eat. Do think positive thoughts every day. Do spend time with family and friends. Do get as much support as you can. Do open the mail. Do treasure your loved ones. Do resist the temptation to run away from your pain by keeping yourself frantically busy every waking moment. Do journal in a notebook about […]

Meaningful Suffering

Posted on October 21, 2014 - by Katherine Ingram

“No tree, it is said, can grow to heaven unless its roots reach down to hell.” ~C.G. Jung I don’t know if it’s the time of year, phase of life, or just my peculiar vantage point, but almost everyone I know is going through some serious suffering. I’m not […]