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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Bereaved Family’s Grief Gets Complicated

Posted on July 30, 2008 - by Abel Keogh

Cindy writes:
I have been listening to your radio show for awhile. I download to iPod and listen in the car. Eight years ago, my 3-year-old son was killed when a truck backed over him while he was walking with his sister and childcare provider to the store. As you can imagine, the pain was […]

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For Widows Only — Three Secret Things To Guide You

Posted on July 25, 2008 - by Linda Della-Donna

You’re home now — From the cemetery — Just closed the door on an endless line of well-wishing-filled-with-advice strangers who didn’t know what to say but talked endlessly anyway, and […]

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Poems: In the Mirror and Two Rivers

Posted on July 22, 2008 - by Abel Keogh

Award-winning poet Pamela Papka Sexton touches on the experience of losing her mother (In the Mirror) and her father (Two Rivers). “The mirror doesn’t lie/She is closer than she seems,” Sexton writes of her mother. Of her father: “I look toward Round Top/and know he is there, stitched/in a tuxedo.”

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Dealing With a House Full of Memories

Posted on July 22, 2008 - by admin

Barbara, Asheville, N.C., asks My mother died recently at age 85. I’m the only surviving child. She left a huge house full of “stuff.” I just can’t bring myself to […]

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What Not to Say to a Suicide Survivor

Posted on July 18, 2008 - by Abel Keogh

Suicide survivor Carol Loehr shares what others often say when they learn that her son died by suicide. She advocates for educating people about the neurological illnesses that cause suicide.

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Scrapbooks Memorialize Loved Ones

Posted on July 7, 2008 - by Diana Gardner-Williams

Writer Diana Gardner-Williams found a way to reconnect with the memory of a deceased loved one: “scrapbooking.” It gives grieving people an outlet by allowing them to preserve their loved one?s legacy in a positive, productive and personal manner.

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When a Sibling Dies by Suicide

Posted on July 1, 2008 - by Michelle L. Rusk

Writer Michelle Linn-Gust shares her journey of coming to terms with the suicide of her sister

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After Miscarriage, Husband Wonders When It’s Time to Try Again

Posted on June 26, 2008 - by admin

Dear Dr. Gloria and Dr. Heidi, My wife, who is 35, miscarried after two months. It has been four months and she is still talking about the baby and is […]

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Poem: I Used to Live in May

Posted on June 25, 2008 - by admin

I USED TO LIVE IN MAY
I used to live in May
brilliance,warmth and
laughter filled my days
I used to live in May
Then you died and went away
Now darkness,cold,and crying fill my days
I used to live in May
Come back,Come back I say .
For when you were here
I used to live in May.
written by Louise Lagerman

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How Should You Celebrate the Anniversary of a Loved One’s Passing?

Posted on June 23, 2008 - by Carol O'Dell

Anniversaries that mark the day our loved one’s passed away can be tough days.
You think about it weeks leading up to it–dread the day.
Your body seems to remember even before your mind.
Athletes call this muscle memory–
“Muscle memory can best be described as a type of movement with which the muscles become familiar over time. For […]

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