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In the ‘Widdahood,’ Starting the New Year Right

Posted on January 8, 2011 - by Catherine Tidd

I’m in a funk. I know, I know…everyone is going to say that I shouldn’t be surprised, that it happens to everyone after the holidays.  But it’s surprising me. I’m not quite sure why I’m experiencing this post-holiday let down.  I know I used to go through it as a kid (in a BIG way), but as an adult, I’m usually just as happy to see the holidays go.  Especially because the older I get, the more it seems like I blink and they’re staring me in the face once again. I think the major part of my funk is […]

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A Boy, A Man

Posted on January 8, 2011 - by admin

It’s cold this morning in the mountains, really cold. While I was preparing to post my blog for the week something was gnawing at me, a sad incident that wouldn’t leave me alone. Yesterday a local boy was found in the snow after 2 days of searching. The first of these nights was 17 below zero when he decided to leave a note on facebook, “I love you all.” And walked out of the house taking a gun. Suicide leaves us with so many “what ifs”, and a weight of failure and blame on some level, that is added to […]

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How Were the Holidays for You?

Posted on January 7, 2011 - by Mitch Carmody

Christmas is over; thank God for small miracles. When one has suffered the physical loss of someone in their lives, the holidays, especially Christmas, can be extremely difficult and challenging. When that loss in your life is a child, it can change how one experiences and processes the holidays forever. As many bereaved know, our grief journey soon becomes a subversive, evocative “it,” an acceptable pronoun to minimize the reality of a condition that no fortunate other can comprehend nor want to imagine; the loss of a child in their family.  So the world and we tend to hush it […]

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Repressing Grief Won’t Make it Go Away

Posted on January 7, 2011 - by Gabrielle Michel

If you were given the choice between diving into the darkest depths of the ocean, fully equipped with all of the gear needed to handle whatever you might encounter, OR being attached to an 80-pound anchor while you flailed frantically to keep your head above water, which would you choose? Well, when it’s put that way, I’d have to choose diving into the depths. Grief is a lot like plunging into the depths of a dark unknown ocean. When we plunge into grief, we fear we will never resurface. So we choose instead to frantically tread water while lugging an […]

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love and death

Posted on January 6, 2011 - by admin

yes my name is hamid. i am iranian this means i come from iran and now i live in iran. yes my story is about love and death i was 17 that understood every people will die that year was a year for entering to the university thought of death caused to i didnot enter to university. because it was like a Scarecrow. thought of death played with my mind. and annoyed me….. after 3 year i was better. but when i enter ti university i fell in love with a girl. at first time i told her : could […]

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friends hurt

Posted on January 6, 2011 - by admin

hello im milad 18 year i always got hurt from my near friends now i afraid off every one that wants to be my friend

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Grieving and Growing in the New Year

Posted on January 6, 2011 - by Lauren Muscarella

Here is a list of things that can help those of us who are grieving  so we can go into 2011 with optimism and good faith. Stay fit. PrescribingYoga.com: This online resource explores the overlapping worlds of yoga, health, food, and medicine. The creator Christina (@Palmer_CS), a fourth year medical student, talks yoga, nutrition and gives great book recommendations. Zen Habits – Smile, Breathe & Go Slowly: This site features one or two articles a week on simplicity, health & fitness, motivation and inspiration, frugality, family life, happiness, goals, getting great things done, and living in the moment. One of my […]

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Memory Loss During Grief

Posted on January 5, 2011 - by Shirley Wiles-Dickinson

In the last 15 months, I have had the privilege of talking and listening to many people on this journey of grief.  One thing that seems to be constant with everyone I’ve listened to is the loss of memory. Not the memories created with their loved ones, but simply remembering everyday things. Why did I come into the kitchen? What was I going to do? Where did I put my keys? Those forgetful moments are normal when your mind and heart are grieving.  I remember several times I was driving in the car and forgot where I was going!  There […]

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Carrying Old Memories into a New Year

Posted on January 5, 2011 - by Alice Wisler

Christmas has ended, and the living room still has that unwrapped look. With the festivities now part of future memories, I anticipate the next hurdle: the start of a new year. The TV commercials romanticize champagne toasts illuminated by glowing candles. People make resolutions, hopeful that this brand-new unblemished year will be the one that fuels their successes. For the parent who has lost a child to death, a new year can be daunting.  The first New Year’s Day after my son Daniel’s death was scary.  I wanted to hold onto 1997.  Although it was the year he’d lost his battle […]

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‘Steering Toward Happiness’ in a New Year

Posted on January 4, 2011 - by Christine Thiele

Every New Year, I try to sit down, evaluate progress and failure, and write a message of hope for myself, my family and others. This year, as far as I’ve come in the five-plus years since my husband’s death, I still feel I have twice as far to go. I’ve moved from barely breathing to surviving. I hope my next step will be to thrive again. In those early days, the fog was thick, tears flowed continuously and my heart was hopeless.  Now, my tears are triggered less often, my mind is clear again, and I have a working plan […]

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