Open to Hope Articles

Do you want to read stories of others who have been where you are? Are you looking for bereavement help, and advice? Look no further. We offer over 7,000 articles written by our Open to Hope authors.

Articles Home

Finding God’s Comfort Through Loss

Posted on May 27, 2024 - by Anne Peterson

Finding God’s Comfort Through Loss “Just go downstairs and wait for your aunt, she’ll be here soon,” my mom said. I can hardly wait. Our aunt is taking us to Kiddieland. I start going down the steps and make up a new song, using words the grown-ups were using. When you’re only 6, you don’t know what all the words mean, but you can still sing them. “Yia Yia’s dead…Yia Yia’s dead…” I see Aunt Jeanette coming up the stairs. She hears my words, rushing past me. “Wait! Aren’t we going to Kiddie…?” I call out. But she doesn’t stop […]

Read More

A Writer’s Attempt to Outrun Grief

Posted on May 20, 2024 - by Robin Finn

A Writer’s Attempt to Outrun Grief I set my timer for twenty minutes and vow to write without stopping. I tell myself not to judge, not to edit, not to think, not to cross out, or hit delete, or re-read. Just keep my fingers dancing across the keyboard, I tell myself. Just keep moving. This is what I tell my students, and this is what I repeat in my head as I type. Just keep moving is a good strategy for writers because it keeps us from getting bogged down in our thoughts. For writers, thinking is not helpful. I think a lot of […]

Read More

Handling Your Own End-of-Life Planning: A Thoughtful Goodbye

Posted on May 20, 2024 - by Kathleen Rehl

Handling Your Own End-of-Life Planning Each of us will eventually have to confront death. My late husband, Tom, died in my arms several years ago. Less than two months later, my 84-year-old mother passed with me at her side. While I deeply miss their physical presence, I still have their love and spirits with me today. I will always be grateful for the support of friends, family, and colleagues during that difficult time. Grieving the loss of a loved one is never easy, and many of you may have experienced similar heartache. Amidst my sorrow, I managed the estate settlement […]

Read More

Space to Heal: Finding Meaning after Loss

Posted on May 20, 2024 - by Ilana Estelle

Coping with the death of my twin has been an incredibly challenging and personal experience. Finding meaning and purpose in the aftermath has and continues to be a deeply personal journey. My writing helps. I offer these suggestions for individuals as they navigate their own loss. Give yourself space to heal It is important to give yourself permission to grieve in your way and at your own pace. By allowing yourself the space to heal, you can gradually find meaning and purpose as you move forward on your journey of healing and self-discovery. When it comes to exploring new passions […]

Read More

The Magic of a Child’s Grief

Posted on May 14, 2024 - by Anne Abel

Son’s Grief Opens a Door I got a belated birthday card from my mother for my 41st birthday. “To Our Wonderful Daughter,” was scripted on the front, in gold, above a bouquet of pastel flowers. Inside, on the right page, in the same Hallmark font: “Another year of the one-and-only you.”  On the left, was my mother’s black-scripted message: “Anne, I was only 22 when you were born. I didn’t want to have you, I had other things I wanted to do. But, here you are. Love, Mom”. My mother had been waging guerilla warfare on me my whole life. […]

Read More

Finding Meaning in Violent Loss

Posted on May 13, 2024 - by Brooke Carlock

Finding Meaning in Violent Loss When I hear about “finding meaning” in grief, I feel a knee-jerk reaction to snap back with a salty, “What possible meaning can come from the violent death of a beautiful, sweet, healthy ten-year-old girl?” What I want to assure you of is this: I am in no way suggesting that the death of your loved one had a point. Had a deeper purpose. Meaning. I don’t believe that. I believe that the death of your loved one sucks. Really, really sucks. However, I ALSO believe that your world has changed and is never going […]

Read More

Toxic Positivity in Grief

Posted on May 13, 2024 - by Brooke Carlock

Toxic Positivity in Grief When I first started devouring information about the grieving process after Libby died, I remember immediately being turned off by the overly negative messaging on social media and in some books about grief. People who were YEARS and YEARS out from losing their loved ones were still crying daily, unable to function. In one particular Facebook group, a member mentioned that she had lost her thirty-seven-year-old son TWENTY-TWO years earlier and still cried every day. And there she was, still in a social media grief group, complaining about her life. It was the most fucking depressing […]

Read More

Are You Sabotaging Your Grief Journey?

Posted on May 13, 2024 - by Brooke Carlock

Are You Sabotaging Your Grief Journey? This article is going to require you to be a little bit brutal with yourself. The goal of the telling the truth principle is to create a baseline so that you know where you are starting and can decide how to move forward with your grief. Of course, you want to feel better. However, I’m not going to lie–you might be holding your own growth hostage. There are four ways you might be sabotaging yourself. It’s your job to read the descriptions, reflect on your thoughts, emotions, and behavior, and be honest if any […]

Read More

Grief Guilt

Posted on May 13, 2024 - by Brooke Carlock

Grief Guilt is about Loss of Control Guilt is, in my humble opinion, one of the most prevalent emotions during grief, and one that many grievers seem to come back to again and again. Feelings of guilt stem from an overwhelming desire to be in control of something that’s uncontrollable. Your mind isn’t yet ready to accept that your loss is real; it tries to push off the overwhelming sadness that’s coming by longing for things that can’t be changed. Some people stay stuck feeling guilt for a long time, spiraling downward into a sea of “What ifs” and “I […]

Read More

Creating a Loss History

Posted on May 13, 2024 - by Brooke Carlock

Creating a Loss History The first place we need to start is the past. We’re going way back—as far back as you can remember—and dredging up any experiences that may have helped shape your awareness of grief. “But Brooke, whyyyyyyyyy would you want me to dig up all of the depressing things in my life when I’m already feeling depressed?” you might ask. Well, because I like to torture you, of course. Seriously, though, the reason is that our earlier experiences with loss shape the way we currently process it. You learned things from significant events in your life. Perhaps […]

Read More

Foundation

Get Involved

Resources

Copyright © 2026 Open to Hope