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.

Articles Home

Open to hope

Dear Dr. Gloria and Dr. Heidi,

Posted on January 15, 2007 - by admin

Dear Dr. Gloria and Dr. Heidi, First of all I would like to thank you for your program Healing the Grieving Heart. I listen to it each week and it has been a light in the darkness for me. You both give me inspiration and hope as I travel this journey to build a normal and create a legacy for my daughter, Krystal Duss. However, I must tell you both that I was very offended by Bryon Katie’s show on 1-11-07. How dare she tell a grieving father who lost his only child 7 years ago that he needs to […]

Read More
Open to hope

Refilling The Hole of Loss

Posted on January 15, 2007 - by admin

The truth of celebration is there often is a bittersweet element to it. Someone may be missing this year in the celebration. The last Christmas my family had with my husband was spent at the hospital and at home. We had a Christmas tree at both locations. The children were nine and seven. Christmas morning the children woke up to presents under the tree and stockings filled as the three of us experienced our first Christmas without Dad with us. Later that morning, we went to the hospital with gifts and he had the gifts I’d purchased he would give […]

Read More
Open to hope

Dear Friend of GriefWorks,

Posted on January 14, 2007 - by admin

Dear Friend of GriefWorks, As the New Year gets underway, I want to remind you that GriefWorks is offering a six-week “Family Night Series” from 6:15-8:15 p.m., beginning January 18. Families will begin the evening together with a light dinner (which is provided) and a brief introduction. Then we will divide into groups for parents, teens, and children. In a supportive environment and using age-appropriate activities, family members will have the opportunity to share and work through their grief. Then we will conclude the evening by bringing all the family members back together for a brief summary of the evening. […]

Read More
Open to hope

For Widows Only — Three Secret Things To Guide You

Posted on January 14, 2007 - by

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 now that they’re gone you know you will never see or hear from most of them ever again. Your hair smells of roses and gladioli and you secretly wish for a giant eraser to erase all the pain. You’ve just buried your life partner; your husband, your best friend. As Joan Didion says, “Life changes fast.”

Read More
Open to hope

For Widows Only — Three Secret Things To Guide You

Posted on January 14, 2007 - by admin

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 now that they’re gone you know you will never see or hear from most of them ever again. Your hair smells of roses and gladioli and you secretly wish for a giant eraser to erase all the pain. You’ve just buried your life partner; your husband, your best friend. As Joan Didion says, “Life changes fast.”

Read More
Open to hope

For Widows Only — Three Secret Things To Guide You

Posted on January 14, 2007 - 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 now that they?re gone you know you will never see or hear from most of them ever again. Your hair smells of roses and gladioli and you secretly wish for a giant eraser to erase all the pain. You?ve just buried your life partner; your husband, your best friend. As Joan Didion says, ?Life changes fast.?

Read More
Open to hope

For Widows Only — What I’ve Learned

Posted on January 13, 2007 - by Linda Della-Donna

After my husband died, I trashed my writing — Journals — An accumulation of spiral bound notebooks, one for each month of each year for four years. And a YA novel manuscript I was working on. I blamed my husband’s dying on my writing. I told myself, Self, if you hadn?t spent so much time writing, you might have noticed your husband was sick.

Read More
Open to hope

LOSS: The Time Sequences of Grief: Moving Through Loss

Posted on January 13, 2007 - by Gloria Lintermans

The loss of a spouse is one of the most difficult loses we experience as your entire day-to-day life is turned upside-down. The grieving process following this loss is divided into five time sequences of grief. One to four months would be called SHOCK, five to eight months of mourning is DENIAL, nine to twelve months is ANGER, thirteen to seventeen months is DEPRESSION, eighteen to twenty four months is INTEGRATION, ADJUSTMENT and TRANSITION.

Read More
Open to hope

For the Newly Widowed:Top Ten Tacky Things People Will Say to You and Ten Ways You Can React to Them

Posted on January 12, 2007 - by

Read the top ten tacky things people will say. Practice ways to react before going out, and before you know it, each new day will be filled with the sound of music and sunlight instead of your friends’ and neighbors’ tacky comments and questions.

Read More
Open to hope

For the Newly Widowed:Top Ten Tacky Things People Will Say to You and Ten Ways You Can React to Them

Posted on January 12, 2007 - by Linda Della-Donna

The funeral is over. You?ve written ten thousand checks, signed your name ten thousand times to ten thousand thank you notes, and ten thousand times you wished you were dead. The sight of your mailman, FTD, and friendly neighbor reduces you to tears.

Read More

Foundation

Get Involved

Resources

Copyright © 2026 Open to Hope