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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After 30 Years, Still Not Over It

Posted on October 22, 2021 - by Mike Bernhardt

Many Years Later, Still Not Over It When a bereavement counselor or group facilitator meets us for the first time to support us in our grief, the first question they usually ask is, What happened? I’ve been telling the story of my first wife, Susan, who died over 30 years ago. I survived the raging storm. I found my footing on an unknown shore. But I’m still not “over it”. I eventually found new love and married Yvonne, a woman who respected and honored the tears I was still shedding. By almost any measure, I’ve had a great life. Until […]

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Nothing Can Prepare You

Posted on October 21, 2021 - by Sara Green

On June 27, 2019, our cherished and deeply loved son and brother, Patrick Michael Green, was ripped away from us in a sudden accident.  The shock was indescribable; the pain was even worse. Searing, suffocating, breathtaking pain.  How could this be real?  Nothing can prepare you for a loss like this. Our hearts instantly shattered.  The light around us immediately dimmed.  Our close family of five was changed forever. Nothing Can Prepare You After being given the utterly life-altering news, I fell to the floor and kept shaking my head no and repeating the words, “I can’t.”  It’s a moment […]

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The Grief Chapters of My Life

Posted on October 10, 2021 - by Michelle Kaisersatt

Grief Chapters My grief chapters started early. Oddly, I feel they became a major part of my life journal. Chapter 1. It started when I was four. My sister, two and a half years younger than I, drowned at the age of 18 months. My mother grieved silently. Dad immersed himself in work on the farm. Through the years, my younger siblings and I silently feared—then conquered—swimming in lakes and pools. Grief Chapter 3. When I was 12, one of my classmates died in a motorcycle/car accident. Everyone in my small farming community was wreathing in sorrow. However, because of […]

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Connect to Those Who Have Died

Posted on October 10, 2021 - by Meryl Beck

Connect to Those Who Have Died Suzanne Giesemann, a spiritual teacher and medium, says that it’s possible to connect to those who have died. I have flown on Air Force One with the president. I have been catapulted off the deck of an aircraft carrier and sat in on top-secret meetings at the Pentagon. Those moments make good stories, but they do not define my life. Not at all. It was the heart-stopping moment when I gazed down at the lifeless body of Susan, my stepdaughter, in a coffin that turned out to be the defining moment of my life. […]

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From Grieving to Grateful

Posted on October 10, 2021 - by Meryl Beck

From Grieving to Grateful After losing five-year-old Ryan in 1993 to viral encephalitis, Tina Zarlenga discovered that giving back would actually save her.  It started with something simple: volunteering to print mailing labels for the monthly Compassionate Friends newsletter. It was the beginning of her move from grieving to grateful. Eventually, after recalling the kindness of a stranger to her son on his fifth birthday, Tina found a new sense of purpose. She organized a Christmas toy drive for Cleveland Metro Hospital, where Ryan had passed. Hundreds of new toys were collected by Tina, her family, and friends, which they […]

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Journey into Grief Brings Wisdom

Posted on October 10, 2021 - by Meryl Beck

Marla Grant, a grief recovery specialist, speaks on her intentional journey into grief: Looking back over the years, I can see that by comparison to many, my life has been uncommon. I have outlived three of my five children. That’s a rare and harsh experience. Yet the real surprise is that I am at a loss to call this a tragedy or to assign myself the appellation “bereaved parent.” I am not the victim of a harsh, capricious world in which divine blessings are bestowed on some, while trial, cruelty, and loss are given to others. I am the architect […]

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Five Common Pet Loss Grief Myths

Posted on October 10, 2021 - by Wendy Van de Poll

Would you like more support with your pet loss journey? Are people saying things to you that don’t make sense or feel supportive? If so, it is important to consider the common pet loss myths on your healing journey. We have many pre-conceived ideas as to what death is about and how we “should” react to it or dread it. No matter where you are with your beliefs, it is important to approach these myths with an openness and willingness to heal. The key to making these myths help you is to be aware of them, know how you feel about […]

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Writing Poems Can Heal

Posted on October 7, 2021 - by Mike Bernhardt

Writing Poems Can Heal Grief When grief overwhelms us, when someone whom we love more than life itself has died, we may feel that we have no words to describe the enormity of it, the excruciating pain we feel. But writing poems can heal. At first, though, there may be only the racking sobs, or the quiet numbness. But often, the words are there. We just don’t know how to speak them in a way that someone else can understand what is in our hearts. Or: we know what we want to say but we don’t trust that others will […]

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A Life While Grieving

Posted on September 19, 2021 - by Michelle Kaisersatt

I see my four-year-old self, crouching beside my dad. Observing my younger sister lying on the grass. Her lips blue. Hair wet. Dad trying desperately to breathe in life. This is the beginning of my life while grieving. I hear uncontrollable sobbing from my classmates. Grieving the loss of our fellow student, killed in a motorcycle accident at the age of twelve. I feel my hands gently rubbing my father-in-laws’ feet, only hours before he passes from our presence. My Life While Grieving I observe giant generators attempting to illuminate the night of an otherwise eerily dark and silent town. […]

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‘Surrendering in Hope’: Allowing Grief to Unfold

Posted on September 8, 2021 - by Paul Coleman

‘Surrendering in Hope’ There is a difference between giving up in despair —“I can’t do this anymore!”— and surrendering in hope —“I can’t do this anymore by myself.” Surrendering in hope is not giving up, it is looking up. It’s a willingness to ask for help. It is allowing what you cannot control to unfold in its own way and time. It is the recognition that the unseen world can support you in the seen world. When you are unwilling to tolerate unexpected events or ambiguity, you are not free. You are imprisoned by the need to know and the […]

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