Where to Start
Posted on September 25, 2011 - by Mary R. Morgan
Click on this post for recommended articles, radio shows and videos for those who are new to Open to Hope…
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Where to Start
Posted on September 25, 2011 - by Mitch Carmody
Click on this post for recommended articles, radio shows and videos if you are new to Open to Hope…
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When Mom Dies: A Big Sister Writes to Her Little Sister
Posted on September 25, 2011 - by Susan Troccolo
(This piece is an excerpt from a longer work entitled Mind Pictures) The days in the hospital right before our mom died are mostly a blur. I remember that you and Dad and I sat by her bed as long as we were allowed. I remember the heart monitor and the unsettling, uncertain blips on that glowing metal screen that were the external reminders of mama’s struggling heart. I remember the day that her heart stopped. But I recall with the most clarity an hour when she and I were alone in her hospital room. Mom had been very weak […]
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Reframing: Technique to Make the Good Memories Come Alive
Posted on September 24, 2011 - by Sharon Greenlee
When we lose a loved one, the reaction is extreme sadness and that sadness plays its role in the form of grief. Many times the circumstances of the death can cause undue mental distress for the bereaved. For example, many who lost loved ones in the September 11th tragedy may be struggling to rid their minds of negative images of how their loved one may have suffered and finally died that fateful day. Such visual images, played repeatedly in the mind will greatly interfere with healthy grief healing. The goal of healthy grief is to be able to express the […]
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How to Ask for a Story of Your Loved One
Posted on September 23, 2011 - by Bob Baugher
Think for a moment about all of the 7 billion people still alive on earth as you read these words. At some point in the future not one person will be alive. You and I and all the rest will be gone only to be replaced by a whole new group. What have we all left after we’re gone? One answer: stories. Consider the stories that others know of the people in your life who’ve died. Stories you may not even know! One of the many ways of coping with our grief is to compile memories of the departed. That’s […]
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With Her Father in the Final Days
Posted on September 21, 2011 - by Rhonda Belous
“All the leaves are brown; and the sky is grey …” The Mamas and Papas The verbs and functions began to fall away like the September leaves. Some faster than others, the “helicopters” spiraled to their demise and others quietly and unhurriedly floated to the ground. One thing was undeniable – they were never to return. Consistently, I would strive to put myself in my dad’s place and ask myself, “what would it be like to be too exhausted or weak to sit up?” It was very tough, if next to impossible to imagine. The next certainty I realized was […]
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Autumn Arrives, Good Things Will Follow
Posted on September 20, 2011 - by Deb Kosmer
Outside, the temperatures are changing and we pull out fall clothing. Soon we will need even more warmth, and our winter wardrobe will appear. For some of us, it may seem no matter how many layers we put on, we are still cold. The chill we feel in our bones goes beyond warm clothing. What we really long for — an arm around our shoulders, a hug. a hand to hold, someone to snuggle with on a cool crisp day — seems to be as absent as the sunshine we once enjoyed. We sigh again. We may feel like giving up and […]
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Remember Yourself
Posted on September 19, 2011 - by KimBoo York
As my country (the U.S.A.) was awash in memorializations to 9/11, it is appropriate that I was mulling on the matter of death-day anniversaries, something we shove under carpets when it’s not headlining on CNN. I’m sure many mourners note the date of death and watch the calendar with trepidation as the anniversary approaches, planning graveside visits and other timely memorials. I am not one of those people. I’ve had to learn the hard way that ignoring those dates on the calendar doesn’t make them not happen. For years I pretended they would sail by innocuously and without notice; I am […]
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Caregiver Humor
Posted on September 18, 2011 - by Allen Klein
Sometimes a laugh is the only weapon we have. —Roger Rabbit Several years ago my father-in-law was very ill. One time, when he came home from the hospital, it was his and my mother-in-law’s wedding anniversary. I suggested that they invite a few friends over for dinner and I would do the cooking. Jimmy managed to get out of bed to join us. He enjoyed the meal but the strain of feeding himself and the conversation among the guests were obviously tiring him. Noticing this, and knowing that he could not hear very well, my mother-in-law wrote a note and […]
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Signs From Above
Posted on September 17, 2011 - by Megan Prescott
It is my personal belief that when a person “passes away,” his or her spirit and essence continues to be very much alive. Following the deaths of three immediate family members, I became more than a little interested in theories of the afterlife. I read and watched everything I could find on the subject of near death experiences (NDEs), after-death communication, and people who claimed to talk to those who had passed on. It was my way of trying to get a handle on what my parents and brother might have experienced in their passing. It also gave me some […]
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Open to Hope is an online community offering inspirational stories of loss, hope and recovery. We believe hope is the bridge between loss and recovery.
