Open to Hope Articles

Articles Home

Master Class in Helplessness: When a Child Gets Cancer

Posted on November 1, 2021 - by Greg Adams

A Master Class in Helplessness I was talking with my wife not long ago, and I shared that I had been talking with someone the childhood cancer world. In my previous conversation, I had described that experience as a “masterclass in helplessness.” My wife looked at me and said, “There’s your next essay.” And not for the first time, she was exactly right. One of those days in the childhood cancer world, I was on the inpatient unit talking with one of the many impressive-as-all-get-out nurses. We were going through a rough patch of newly diagnosed patients, relapses, and deaths. […]

The Gifts from Losing You

Posted on October 28, 2021 - by Sara Green

The concept of finding meaning in life while living with tragedy sparked something in me and opened me up to the possibility there could be some gifts and blessings that might arise from our trauma of losing Patrick. In the beginning, it can feel wrong to give ourselves permission to feel anything other than total despair and heartbreak over the loss of our loved one. We think we must stay in the sadness to honor our love. Rediscovering joy and acknowledging the gifts does not mean we love them any less. On the contrary, they want us to rise up […]

Recognizing Signs From the Afterlife

Posted on October 25, 2021 - by Linda Zelik

Recognizing Signs From the Afterlife Some may say that the idea of recognizing signs from the afterlife is paranormal, metaphysical or just plain crazy. I used to be one of those people, until I lost my 24-year-old son. My thinking changed as I began to receive multiple and varied signs, which were far beyond mere coincidences. These signs from my son have been an indescribable blessing which have helped me achieve peace and healing. I believe our loved ones remain around us in spirit form and use whatever means of communication they can to help us move through our grief. […]

Writing Through Grief

Posted on October 25, 2021 - by Faith Wilcox

We each have a story to tell, and sharing it is vital to our emotional wellbeing. Some of us choose to express our stories through art, music, dance. I chose writing through my grief. I wanted to capture the maelstrom of emotions that swirled within me each time I remembered when my 13-year-old daughter Elizabeth was diagnosed with a rare bone cancer. Writing Through Grief I began to write one day following her first surgery. I wrote of my shock, fear of the unknown future, and feeling like an alien in a medical world that I didn’t understand. Slowly, I […]

Death Anniversaries are Powerful Days

Posted on October 25, 2021 - by Judy Lipson

The dates are forever etched in our minds and hearts – the death anniversaries of our siblings. The calendar need not remind us; our bodies and minds tell us as the date is approaching. My sleep pattern changes, I experience outbursts of tears or crying spells, and my heart hurts. No rhyme or reason, it seems. Some years are more painful than others;. Why is this so? There are no answers. Grief paints its own picture. Death Anniversaries May Take Us By Surprise Last August 1st marked the 31st anniversary of the death of my sister Margie. This year seemed […]

Self-Care is Grief Care

Posted on October 24, 2021 - by Sara Green

If you had told me that losing one of my children was going to be on my life’s path, I would have told you that I couldn’t do it. Yet, here I was, somehow doing it. I had to learn that self-care is grief care. Without a doubt, my son’s death was, and still is, the worst thing I’ve ever had to endure. In the first few weeks, I began to feel depleted from having to get up every day and live the same nightmare. Self-Care is Grief Care No days were good; they all felt hard. I know for […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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. […]