Open to Hope Articles

Articles Home

The Party I Never Wanted to Attend

Posted on March 1, 2011 - by Alice Wisler

Have you ever not been invited to a party? Everyone you know gets an invitation. You wait for yours. It never arrives. The day of the party comes and goes. No one even called at the last minute to say, “Oh, so sorry. I’m not sure what happened to your invitation, but please come.” You think of all at the party, having fun without you. You don’t feel as lovely or as important or loved. You second-guess your friendships. You wonder if it is your fault for not being the friend you thought you were. On the other hand, have […]

My Aaron

Posted on February 28, 2011 - by admin

Thru the years we had our ups and downs. Then stigma people put on some for being addicted to drug is horrible. My son had gotten “clean” but then relapsed while with a “friend”. Things had gotten so GOD between us over the past year or so. We talked and laughed and became close like never before. On 7/20/10 2 police officers knocked on our door at 5:51 am with the horrible news. My son was gone, I can not fucntion as I used to I can not ever be the person I used to be. I miss my son […]

Widow Vows Not to Become Bitter

Posted on February 28, 2011 - by Paula Ezop

There is one thing that I am vehement about, and that is I do not want to become a bitter old woman. I see so many widows who become bitter and lonely. They seem to succumb to their loneliness, and lose their zest for living. I can see how easy it would be to become bitter, but I have vowed that I will not. Is this something that is easier to say than to do? I don’t think that it is. I know for certain that you have to maintain your sense of humor. I know for certain that you […]

Returning Home After Seven Years of Widowhood

Posted on February 27, 2011 - by Susan Reynolds

Like the prodigal son, we go to far-flung places when we are grieving. We may splurge on time alone or insist on being with others continuously. We may splurge on items we never owned before or insist on keeping every item from the past. We may splurge on thoughts of the past and insist on keeping things the way they used to be. I am returning home. After almost 7 years of widowhood, moving 3 times and challenging myself to meet new opportunities and others, I have moved again to Atlanta. No, Atlanta is not a place I ever laid […]

Childhood Grief Can Emerge Decades Later

Posted on February 27, 2011 - by Susan Berger

A woman came into my office yesterday. She looked exhausted, and explained that she wanted to consult with me about her 91-year-old mother who had recently been diagnosed with early stage Alzheimer ’s disease. She is the primary caregiver and had missed quite a lot of work recently due to her mother’s needs. She is a research biologist at Harvard Medical School working under a grant that will expire in a year. She said she didn’t know what she would be able to do. “I’m fifty-six years old, and I have to think about another career.” I asked her to […]

‘Stumbling in the Darkness’ After Loss of Daughter

Posted on February 26, 2011 - by Cynthia Ranyak

As I sat there in the waiting room of the oily garage just outside of Sevierville, TN, anticipating the very long drive home to Florida, my 18-year-old daughter was flipping through racing magazines and telling me all about her new friend. Emily had only one real date with him, and I knew that they were making plans for both of their high school proms. Emily was beaming with new facts: telling me how his college major was going to be in business so he could be a racing manager for his best friend, who was going to be a Formula […]

Wondering About the Dreams of a Lost Child

Posted on February 26, 2011 - by Diana Doyle

THE BEREAVED – May Williams Ward In the next room, in the low chair, In the soft dark, are you there? I do not ask it when sun is laid Through the checkered window in yellow plaid- Then love this is past seems rich enough And having had that, I can give you up, But in the deep dark…In the low chair In the next room, are you there? I want you there…. This morning, while trying to rinse dried oats off Peter’s breakfast bowl, I looked over at Dempsey who was lost in a TV program. She was sitting […]

‘Moving Forward’ After the Death of a Child

Posted on February 25, 2011 - by Maria Malin

I’ve often wondered what the recipe included when mothers were created. Part superhero, part superhuman, “moms” surely have many ingredients: one wrist that can test the temperature of baby formula, three measures of skinned knee fixability, two cups of tear catching, zero sick days, little nightly sleep, a dash of fever-gauging with a kiss on the forehead, many heaping tablespoons of patience, endless pickups, drop-offs, and grocery lists, and several thousand sack lunches and dinners. Topped with the wave of one giant problem-solving wand sprinkled with magic glitter from up above, a mom is born. Mothers have strength beyond muscle, […]

The Highway of Life: Get Back on the Bus!

Posted on February 24, 2011 - by Maureen Hunter

The bus stopped for you at GRIEF, and as you stepped off, you sank into an abyss of pain and sorrow, like nothing you had experienced before. You don’t have to stay forever in this inhospitable place. Get back on the bus now! When we experience the loss of a loved one, we can feel totally powerless as the feelings associated with grief wreak havoc in our lives. In the short term, we may have little control over our life and go through the motions in survival mode only. We wonder if we will ever feel some degree of peace […]

Always Counting: Anniversary of a Daughter’s Death

Posted on February 23, 2011 - by Harriet Hodgson

Today is the fourth anniversary of my daughter’s death. I’ve been dreading this day for several weeks because it reminds me, yet again, of the finality of loss. It also brings back memories of surgeons operating on my daughter for 20 hours in a desperate attempt to save her life. Heroic as the surgeons’ efforts were, their efforts failed. The lead surgeon came out of the operating room to tell us our daughter was brain dead. Lost in a web of shock and confusion and grief, my husband and I signed the organ donor documents. Two days after my daughter […]