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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.

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Does Caregiving Stress Your Marriage? Grow Closer in Your Caregiving Years

Posted on April 1, 2009 - by Carol O'Dell

Is caregiving hard on a marriage? It can be. But it can also be a wake-up call. Sometimes our  marriage can be defined by what we’ve survived. Yes, caregiving was stressul on marriage–at times. I wrote in my book, Mothering Mother that I felt like I was a giant ice cream milkshake and each of my family member had a straw–and they were all sucking on that straw trying to get more of me. At times, one would pick up the glass and tap the side, or another would dig deep with the spoon trying to get the last drop. […]

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Preparation for Life

Posted on April 1, 2009 - by Eric Tomei

You know when I was growing up living with my Dad was not the easiest experience in the world.   He was a strict disciplinarian and he didn’t put with any crap from me or my two sisters.   He was serious, introverted, and analytical.   Those who know me best would know that I am none of those things.   I always thought to myself, “Gosh it would be great if my Dad was my friend or my buddy.   We could do things together, hang out, talk about ‘guy stuff’.   It would be great.”   And you […]

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Writing to Heal: A Personal Journey

Posted on April 1, 2009 - by admin

By Linda C. Wisniewski, M.S.L.S. — Take a walk through any bookstore, and you’ll see that memoirs are among the most popular books being sold today. People from all walks of life are putting their stories together for their families, friends and for publication. We love to read real-life inspirational stories. But did you know there are very tangible health benefits to writing? In the 1990s, Dr. James Pennebaker at the University of Texas at Austin found that people who wrote about emotionally traumatic events showed reductions in blood pressure and heart rate and improvement in conditions like asthma and […]

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Reminiscing…

Posted on March 31, 2009 - by Sandy Fox

by Sandy Fox What would my life have been like if my daughter were alive today? I often think of that question and ponder on the answers. I envision all sorts of scenarios. Marcy and her husband would be giving lots of parties. They were both involved in the Hollywood scene and were meeting lots of new people in 1994 when she died. Marcy knew how much I liked Barry Manilow, so back in 1992 when she found out that as part of her job, she was in charge of a reception he was singing at, she invited me to […]

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Caregivers: Be Gentle With Yourselves

Posted on March 31, 2009 - by Karla Wheeler

By Karla Wheeler When someone we love is terminally ill, it can be the most challenging time in our lives physically, emotionally, socially, and even spiritually. But if we can learn to be gentle with ourselves, newfound energy awaits us on all levels. GO GENTLY. GO GENTLY. This became my mantra, the phrase that kept running through my brain when my 54-year-old husband of 30 years was dying of cancer. I’d be stuck in traffic, late for an important doctor’s appointment about Gerry’s latest x-rays or CT scans. My heart would pound as I willed the stoplight to turn green, […]

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Horror of Pregnancy Loss Inspires Mother to Grow

Posted on March 30, 2009 - by Monica Novak

By Suzanne Schafer – My husband and I lost a baby during the middle of my pregnancy. From the first moment the doctor told me, with a deep, pained look on his face, that our baby had passed away, I felt grave sorrow in my heart which surged down to my core. Shortly after this shattering moment, the doctor informed us that the safest way to remove our baby was to go to an abortion clinic. As those words slipped from his lips, my heart seized and my body gasped for air. The alternatives, he explained, were too dangerous and […]

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Woman Overwhelmed by Series of Major Losses

Posted on March 30, 2009 - by Bob Baugher

Hannah writes in:  I buried my only son last year. But my story starts way before that. He was a Marine, he left as soon as he graduated. He did two tours in Iraq and came home in 2005. In July of 2006 he went to work for someone that I went to grade school and high school with. He got a beijing job working for a private security company stationed in Kuwait. I last saw him in October of 2006 when he came home for two weeks to attend his friend’s wedding. We spent about 10 days together. It […]

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Comfort

Posted on March 30, 2009 - by Sandy Fox

by Sandy Fox Time heals…she is in a better place…she is still with you…you should exercise every day…there, now, don’t you feel better? No, I don’t, and neither do you if you have lost a child. Our grief is with us always and there is nothing that will make it go away or make us forget. We will always be devastated, but eventually we learn to live again. In her newest book, Comfort, Ann Hood takes us on a journey with her 5-year-old daughter, Grace, who died suddenly from strep throat, a journey for Hood that will no doubt last […]

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Mentioning Deceased Child’s Name is a Gift to Mom

Posted on March 30, 2009 - by Sandy Fox

by Sandy Fox — I often think of an afternoon stage production I attended with five friends because it confirms to me that my child lives on in other hearts as well as mine. While waiting on line to get in to the production, I saw an old aquaintance whose chidren knew my daughter Marcy. The mother, Yetta, and her son Mark were there to see the production also. Mark’s wife wrote it and stars in it. After saying hello to Yetta, I was introduced to her son. “Mark, this is Sandy Fox. Do you remember Sandy’s daughter, Marcy Finerman? […]

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Fried Clams and Healing

Posted on March 29, 2009 - by Eric Tomei

By Eric Tomei — One of the reasons I love my job is that we talk about food all the time. If we are not talking about food, we are eating food, planning to eat food, or wishing people would bring in food. Today at the health clinic, one of our patients was talking about fried clams, and she said that the reason that she ate them was to bond and connect with her Dad. It turns out that he had loved fried clams. Immediately, I began thinking of how many experiences I had with my dad that were similar […]

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