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.

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9/11 and the ‘Shelf Life’ of Grief

Posted on September 9, 2008 - by Norman Fried

By Norman Fried It is a widely accepted belief that, as time passes, mourners’ responses to loss and trauma change. We understand that the physical reactions of grief, including psychomotor […]

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“I Don’t Want to Live With my Adult Children!” Our Parent’s Perspective

Posted on September 8, 2008 - by Carol O'Dell

If you’re a caregiver/son, daughter, please read this post. You need to put yourself in their shoes. But I don’t want to live with my adult children! Me neither. (And […]

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Dealing With the Suicide of a Spouse

Posted on September 8, 2008 - by Abel Keogh

Larry from Virginia asks: I am angry at my wife and angry at God.   My wife shot herself after receiving the news that she had been fired for a […]

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Did I Make A Mistake Having an Only Child?

Posted on September 5, 2008 - by Bob Baugher

Question from Anne: My mother warned me not to have an only child.  I guess I should have listened to her as my son died of cancer last year. Do […]

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Poem: My Grandfather and His War Buddies Outside a Whiting Diner, Age 10

Posted on September 4, 2008 - by admin

By David Harrity W.J.H., Sr., b. January 31, 1924, d. May 1, 2000 I was old enough to remember your hands waking me-the stars just beginning to move west. But […]

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The Story Of Gana: What Animals Teach About Grief

Posted on September 3, 2008 - by Norman Fried

By Norman Fried Last week, the internet and newspapers across Europe and America posted pictures of an 11-year-old gorilla named Gana clutching the corpse of her 3-month-old baby Claudio for […]

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The Pain Was So Intense — Dealing with the Emotions of Spouse Loss

Posted on September 3, 2008 - by Beverly Chantalle McManus

My entry into widowhood began in 2002 when our family was enjoying a long-awaited summer vacation in Hawaii and my husband Steve noticed he was having trouble swallowing.  It wasn’t […]

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Do You Feel Trapped by Caregiving?

Posted on September 2, 2008 - by Carol O'Dell

If you’re a family caregiver, you can feel like you’re under house arrest for a crime you didn’t commit. It’s not that you don’t want to care for your loved […]

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Saying Goodbye to Dad

Posted on September 2, 2008 - by Thomas Attig

By Thomas Attig I remember my last visit before Dad died in 1969. Mom called me at graduate school to tell me that he was quite ill (he’d suffered a […]

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A Spiritual Journey

Posted on September 2, 2008 - by John Pete

A wise person once said that ‘grieving is not the same as loving.’ And I believe that once we truly understand and accept that, we can begin to heal. (John […]

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