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Public Grief Rituals: What You Can DO

Posted on February 20, 2009 - by Joy Johnson Brown

By Joy Johnson — There are wonderful public rituals to enrich and comfort us after a death. The Bringing of Food In most communities people bring casseroles or snacks to the home following a death. It’s a time of talking and remembering and telling the story. Every time the doorbell rang, a friend was there with everything from my favorite cookies to Kentucky Fried Chicken. Every time they came in I told them what happened. The Story Asking, “What happened?” may be as caring as saying, “I love you.” When we tell the story of the death, what we did, […]

Contributing Writer Ruff Publishes Book About Daughter

Posted on February 19, 2009 - by Coralease Ruff

Coralease Cox Ruff, a contributing writer for Open to Hope, has written a new book about her daughter, who died at the age of 21. A bereaved mother and grief educator, Ms. Ruff skillfully combines her daughter’s biography with a grief book to produce Her Light Still Shines, a beautiful tribute to her daughter and an invaluable guide for bereaved parents. This moving story celebrates the life of Candice M. Ruff who profoundly touched many lives in her short 21 years. Her mother lovingly presents the mirrors that form the kaleidoscope of her life by incorporating Candice’s writings and friends’ […]

Death Cracks Us Open

Posted on February 19, 2009 - by Tom Zuba

By Tom Zuba — I believe that the death of someone we love cracks us open. I believe it’s supposed to. Death shatters us. It breaks us into a million tiny pieces. And as the minutes turn to hours, and the hours turn to days, the days to weeks, the weeks to months, and somehow, someway, the months to years, we slowly hunt for the shattered pieces of our self. Some of the found pieces we reclaim realizing, with relief and amazement, that they still fit. We need them. Try as we may, though, at times with much sadness and […]

“Widow’s Weeds” — Symbols of Mourning and the Profound Effect of Colors on Our Emotions

Posted on February 18, 2009 - by Beverly Chantalle McManus

In the not-so-distant past, when an individual within a family died, there was a prescribed period of mourning, during which expectations of the bereaved family were lightened. In fact, if the mourners did engage in excessive activities, including entertaining guests or attending social events, it was perceived as being disrespectful to the deceased. There were also many conventions that symbolically told others that an individual or a family was in mourning, for example, the black wreath on the door, or, during WWII, the gold star in the window. Clothing also symbolized grief, most notably the Victorian era’s […]

‘Noticing’ and Grieving Go Together

Posted on February 18, 2009 - by Chris Mulligan

By Chris Mulligan — Learning to “notice” during my first year of grief was more imporant than anything else in helping me survive my grief. It also provided me a major life lesson. I realized that noticing was the vehicle through which I have come to accept my life experiences as well as be able to move through them and learn from them. All the major events in my life — those that caused the most pain and eventually precipitated the most growth — have also caused me to reflect upon and recognize that the suffering was present for a […]

Many Widows Need to Spruce Up Resumes

Posted on February 17, 2009 - by Sandra Pesmen

By Sandra Pesmen — It’s possible that as a widow, you suddenly need to find a job, or upgrade the one you have for more pay and benefits. In either case, remember that your old resume probably won’t work in today’s world. If you haven’t updated it lately, it probably lacks power and punch and isn’t even suited to the “new workplace” that’s dominated by youth, computer wizards, and the Internet information. One guide to updating it is the new book, 30-Minute Resume Makeover: Rev Up Your Old Resume in Half an Hour, by Louise Kursmark (Jist Works $9.95). Kursmark’s […]

Trust Yourself When Grieving

Posted on February 16, 2009 - by Gloria Horsley

Dixie writes: I know my family is going through so much and I guess I feel I have to be the strong mother and that I am not supposed to fall apart. But everything has changed since my daughter died. My world is no longer the same. There are days that I just want to able to be left alone and let me touch her stuff and let me cry, but I feel I can’t do that because my family has never really seen me like that, even when my mother died. I had to be strong for my kids […]

How to Support a Friend Who is Grieving a Miscarriage or Infant Death

Posted on February 16, 2009 - by Monica Novak

By Chellie Bonebrake – The death of an infant or a miscarriage is so sad. Many times it’s difficult to know what to say, how to say it, and of course you may be wondering what not to say. Often those worries keep people from reaching out to support friends and loved ones who are experiencing this loss. Receiving support and condolences is very important to the grief process. This article is written to assist you in supporting a grieving parent. FIRST OF ALL, WHAT HELPS: 1. I’m sorry. This simple sentence conveys so much. It means you care, you […]

“Motherland”: Six Women United by Loss

Posted on February 16, 2009 - by admin

The movie “Motherland” will have its world premiere next month at the South by Southwest Film Festival in Austin, Texas. “Motherland” is a film about six women from diverse backgrounds who come together to take a unique trip: a 17-day intensive pilgrimage to volunteer in rural South Africa. Prior to the journey, the women did not know each other. However they had one thing in common: they had all suffered the death of a child. With grief in their hearts and the willingness to make a difference, this group of women traveled half way around the world to live with […]

Learning to Cope with Unmet Longings

Posted on February 16, 2009 - by Pamela Prime

By Pamela Prime — Children are the most beautiful gifts and provide the most extraordinary challenges to us. I often say to parents who are in pain that no one can hurt us as parents like our children can. They can hurt us with words and actions, with their choices or lack of choices, and with their criticisms and impatience. And no one can bring the kind of joy that comes from one’s children when they express their love and appreciation of us. Children are amazing teachers for us. I think this is because we love them so much that […]