Open to Hope Articles

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Reliving the Night That Changed My Life Forever

Posted on June 1, 2007 - by admin

Reliving the night that changed my life forever. A changed I was? not ready to make, yet I was forced to. My son, Kenny, My best friend. Shot not once, not twice, but three times left dying on the street.? While they ran with the only thing that could have kept him warm, his coat. It took me seven years and almost my life, to finish one of the hardest thing in my?life – this book. This is my story of how I struggle to survive after the death of my?child. The cries that was silent for days, weeks, months […]

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Thank You from the UK

Posted on June 1, 2007 - by admin

Hi,?and thank you for giving grieving people the chance to have a say. the following is from my blog .And this is how i feel . Its about my 10yr old daughter who lost her fight for life after a bone marrow transplant. The doctors had given her a 95-98 % chance of survival but she really got no chance of survival. Its about what she went through till the very end. I want to share it with every body out there. A human life is always full of many ups and downs. surprises, shocks, setbacks, disappointments, gains and losses.There […]

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How Do You Help a Toddler Remember Her Deceased Father?

Posted on May 31, 2007 - by admin

I am the mother of a 28 year old son who died from a fall down his basement stairs (TBI) almost 2 years ago now (June 19, 2005). Of course it has been devastating for all the members in his family. We have found out how very hard it is to grieve the loss of someone we love so dearly. Our son left behind a (at the time of his death) 4 month old baby girl. She is now 2 years old. My question is how we can help her know her dad, how much he loved (and still loves) […]

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Poem: Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep

Posted on May 31, 2007 - by admin

This is a new version of Do Not Stand At my Grave And Weep; on our website www.thelightbeyond.com it also forms the basis of an inspirational movie. I hope you find it helpful! Feel free to use the poem as you see fit (but please keep the credit at the bottom). Do not stand at my grave and weep. I am not there; I do not sleep. I am a thousand winds that blow; I am the diamond glints on snow. I am the sunlight on ripened grain; I am the gentle autumn’s rain. Do not stand at my grave […]

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Know Anyone Who Needs Prayer?

Posted on May 30, 2007 - by admin

Hello dear friends and family, Know anyone who needs prayer? If so, please read on. I chose you because through the years, you?ve touched my life in a special way. So many of you have sent prayer requests in the past. And now, I want to offer a more effective response. If you, or anyone you know needs prayers for health concerns, struggles, emotional pain, disappointments or just issues in life, I offer you the following: *To make sure someone begins to pray for you immediately, please leave your prayer request by clicking “prayer: when you visit my web site: […]

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A Letter Asking for Sibling Support

Posted on May 29, 2007 - by admin

Dear Gloria, I recently heard you speak at the Compassionate Friends group in Monterey. I thoroughly enjoyed your presentation. We lost our 34 year old daughter to colon cancer in November 2006. She has 2 sisters. Jenny, her 29 year old sister lives in Brooklyn?works in Manhatten. I am doing the footwork to find out if your daughter has a sibling support group that she conducts or recommends. Thank you for any information you may be able to provide. Shirley Kiatta

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Mother’s Day Trail Message By Debra Reagan

Posted on May 15, 2007 - by Debra Reagan

Mother’s Day The first Mother’s Day without our son, Clint, was approaching. He had passed away the summer before, but the weight of grief was still heavy. So far we had made it through each day by taking one slow, encumbered step at a time. Each morning for several weeks prior to the upcoming holiday, I began to notice a little sports-type car parked near my car in the parking garage at work. Apparently, it was parked there on a long-term basis because it started to gather dust. After a while, the thick dust became a target for graffiti- some […]

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Grace Notes: A Sweet and Sour Rip and Mend

Posted on May 7, 2007 - by admin

Grace Notes By Natalie Costanza-Chavez We get Mothers Day wrong. We’re told to assume the sweetness, the flowers, the ease, and the “dream come true” of it all. We are led to expect a day in a glorious commercial, the house is clean, the dog is trained, and the children have flippy hair that’s never in their eyes. But, the truth of motherhood is much messier. It’s OK to say it. The truth of motherhood is a daily, sometimes moment-by-moment wild slide along a hard rail of gradation. It’s a trip, repeated again and again, from joy and what lies […]

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Mother’s Day Again

Posted on May 7, 2007 - by admin

by Marilyn Heavilin Author of Roses in December Once again, here it comes. This day shows up every year, and I still dislike it. That day is Mother’s Day! Why should I dread it? After all, I still have living children. Ah yes, but I also am the mother of three children who are no longer living. I always enjoyed remembering my own mother on Mother’s Day, but for myself, I would prefer to skip Mother’s Day.  I generally attend church on Mother’s Day and many times women who are mothers are asked to stand so that they can be […]

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Dialog re: Dr. Francesca McCartney on Healing the Grieving Heart

Posted on May 7, 2007 - by admin

(Note: the following is in sequence from first to last) Hi Dr. Gloria- I found your show with guest Dr. Francesca to be extremely interesting. I wish I had her book the first year of grief since I also felt all my grief on a cellular level.? I thought the call in student said it well when she spoke of feeling the loss of the connection with? your loved one. Where? does all that energy go? I think that is the most profound feeling when it is a loss of a child. It’s amazing how the grief starts to shift […]

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