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

Open to hope

Celebrities Get Attention, But Were They Loved?

Posted on June 26, 2009 - by Alice Wisler

When I heard of Michael Jackson’s death, I felt a wave of confused sadness. Immediately, I was flooded with memories of hearing his music in Japan, where I was raised.  The teenie-bopper magazines sent to us from the U.S. held photos and stories about his life as one of the Jackson Five. My friend Josephine and I absorbed these when we had sleepovers. Years later, I watched his “Thriller” video over and over, captivated by his talent. In the mid-80s, when I worked at a refugee camp in The Philippines, the Vietnamese kids would blast his music through a cassette […]

Read More
Open to hope

Why Do We Grieve Over a Celebrity’s Death?

Posted on June 26, 2009 - by Coralease Ruff

By Coralease Ruff — We react so strongly to the death of public figures like Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcett, and Princess Diana, whom we do not know personally, primarily because we feel as if we know them. On some level, perhaps we do know them because we may see them often, read about them, listen to their music, view their films as well as follow their life events. In the case of Michael Jackson, I began listening to his music in the early days when he and his brothers first appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show and have followed him […]

Read More
Open to hope

Farrah, Michael, Bonnie, and Denise

Posted on June 26, 2009 - by Michelle L. Rusk

By Michelle Linn-Gust — When I found out that Farrah Fawcett had anal cancer, I was taken back to the cancer of my friend, Bonnie, who died 3 1/2 years ago. I was with Bonnie almost every day, as long as I was in town, until her death a few months later. Today is my 10th wedding anniversary and it was Bonnie who sewed my wedding dress. Bonnie had the same cancer as Farrah. I had a Farrah haircut in fifth grade and my older sister was a big “Charlie’s Angels” fan. My cousins had a gerbil named Farrah. Farrah […]

Read More
Open to hope

Celebrity Deaths Remind Us of Our Mortality

Posted on June 26, 2009 - by Richard Beck

By Richard Beck — When Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett died, many people, myself included, were deeply saddened. How do we begin to make sense of grieving the deaths of celebrities, many of whom we have never met in our lifetimes in person? There are many layers to the experience of such loss and grieving. First, in my mind, is that these are people whose lives don’t follow the normal physical of us “mortals.”  Then again, they are mortal, perhaps even more vulnerable than folks not in the public eye because of the scrutiny that their lives undergo. I remember […]

Read More
Open to hope

Man Alive for Nearly 40 Years With Donated Organs

Posted on June 26, 2009 - by admin

By Ken Trachy In 1972, suffering from end-stage kidney failure, I received a kidney transplant at the University of Minnesota. This had followed two years of debilitating disease and feelings of desperation and hopelessness.  After learning of my diagnosis, my father said to a friend of mine, “Kenny won’t live to see 30.” Disconsolate, I urged the woman with whom I had shared a three-year relationship to marry me, thinking it would be preferable she be left a widow rather than a girlfriend. It was the paralyzing fear of death that was pervasive in my life, and that preoccupied all […]

Read More
Open to hope

Helping Your Child Cope With Loss

Posted on June 25, 2009 - by Lauren Littauer Briggs

By Lauren Littauer Briggs — By the time I was eight, my first brother had died and my second was diagnosed with the same fatal condition.  My great-grandmother had died, but I wasn’t allowed at the funeral.  Instead, I peeked through the heating ducts to watch what was going on.  My dog was given away with little explanation and my second brother was placed in a children’s home where he could receive the medical attention he needed.  I never saw him again. My loss experience was more extreme than many and remained a dominant theme throughout my childhood. The usual […]

Read More
Open to hope

‘Grief is an Illness’ and Other Myths Surrounding Loss

Posted on June 24, 2009 - by Monica Novak

By David Daniels, M.D. – Destructive myths abound concerning the loss and grief process. First, contrary to some views, there is no one “right” way to die or grieve; our personality type makes a difference. Some of us go in peace and some screaming. Many people don’t go through all the steps in the dying process outlined by Elizabeth Kubler-Ross (On Death and Dying) or in the order she states. She lists in order: shock; denial; anger; bargaining; depression; and acceptance/resignation. By bargaining, she means asking for a favor or another chance, often based on the promise of good behavior. […]

Read More
Open to hope

Growing Together

Posted on June 24, 2009 - by Monica Novak

By Chuck and Cathi Lammert – Over the many years of working with bereaved parents, my husband, Chuck and I have had many questions asked of us about coping and growing together as a couple after the loss of one’s baby(ies). Interestingly, when we were running support groups, many women in the group would line up to ask Chuck more questions about their partner’s issues than their own dealings with the loss. It is common in relationships to have a need to understand and attempt to fix the other person. One of the biggest worries after the death of a […]

Read More
Open to hope

Cat is Missing 54 Days and Counting

Posted on June 24, 2009 - by Richard Beck

Betty writes in: There is so little information to be found on how to deal with the loss of a pet…not death…worse, their being lost and not knowing where they are or if they are scared or hurt or dead. It is true that if you just knew what happened to them, the healling could begin. For me, it has been 54 days since my cat was lost. We moved to the country in a heavily wooded area and I have imagined all sorts of things that may have happened. I also imagine he will just walk out of the […]

Read More
Open to hope

Symptoms of Bereavement Stress

Posted on June 24, 2009 - by admin

by Margo Bastos Bereavement and loss will come to all of us at some time in our lives. Many people are losing jobs, homes and other securities in today’s world. It really helps us to cope with bereavement if we are able to recognise the feelings as being normal in the circumstances. 9 Symptoms of Bereavement Stress Lack of Sleep or Interrupted Sleep You lie awake for hours and are not able to fall asleep OR you wake up regularly during the night. Maybe you wake up in the early hours of the morning and are not able to go […]

Read More

Foundation

Get Involved

Resources

Copyright © 2026 Open to Hope