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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Unthinkable

Posted on March 9, 2020 - by Lois Schaffer

Excerpted from The Unthinkable: Life, Loss and a Mother’s Mission to Ban Illegal Guns, available on Amazon.   Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life without them is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly. — Langston Hughes   I believe that imagination is stronger than knowledge – myth is more potent than history – dreams are more powerful than facts – hope always triumphs over experience – laughter is the cure for grief – love is stronger than death. — Robert Fulghum  Dreams reflect the essence of the innermost thoughts and feelings of the human soul. In some […]

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911

Coronavirus Versus 9/11 Fear is Real

Posted on March 9, 2020 - by Gloria Horsley

. In today’s Facebook Live discussion, Heidi and I talked about the similarities in feeling between the current Coronavirus epidemic and 9/11 in 2001. In both situations, there is fear, anxiety, uncertainty, and concern over death and dying. Although 9/11 was more sudden than the Coronavirus epidemic has been building over time. Both have released triggers in many people related to past losses. For example, a child who lost a parent may now fear that the Coronavirus may take their other parent away. Even those that suffered during 9/11 are starting to feel anxiety and dread return. This is especially […]

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Three-Year-Old Brings Message from Deceased Brother

Posted on March 8, 2020 - by Christine Duminiak

This is an excerpt from Heaven Talks To Children, which is available on Amazon “Shockingly, [my 3-year old son Trever] said that [our deceased son] Tyler was not up in the sky, but was sitting on the ground beside us, and that Tyler had told him to tell Daddy and me not to cry on Monday. Trevor then asked me what would happen on Monday. I told him about the plans for Tyler’s burial. He cried a bit, but as he looked to our right he nodded and smiled. I asked “Why are you smiling?” He said, “Tyler won’t be […]

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Ground Hog Days

Posted on March 5, 2020 - by Neal Raisman

This is an excerpt from Standing on One Leg by Neal Raisman available from the author at iduhpres@hotmail.com The first weeks and months were like the movie, Groundhog Day. I began each day the same way. Waking. Feeling a free floating anger. Seeing his body on the floor and shuddering in the reality of his death. Struggling to push myself out of bed. Not wanting to get up. The bed and sleep being the only place and time when I could momentarily forget reality.  Sleep became a blessing. A time when the horror of that day did not repeat itself […]

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Can Grief Be As Silent as Death Itself?

Posted on March 2, 2020 - by Neal Raisman

This is an excerpt from Standing on One Leg by Neal Raisman available from the author at iduhpres@hotmail.com Loss is not always the screaming in the halls of the hospital. Or at the crash. Scene of the crime. Death is often not dramatic. Not as dramatic as my 26-year-old son lying dead on his bedroom floor. No. It often comes quite away from the living. Quietly. Taking without anyone knowing. Maybe even the victim. Sudden and quiet. No screams. No sudden awareness. Forget angels and choirs. Bright light or tunnels. Just a sudden nothing and quiet to be shattered by […]

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GPS: Finding Your Way Back

Posted on February 29, 2020 - by Fran Gerstein

This is an excerpt from Grief From the Inside Out: Creating Meaning Around the Loss of a Child from Substance Abuse or Suicide, By Fran Gerstein, MSW, LCSW. It is available through Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/dp/0999563513/    GPS When I lost my child a small, quavering voice appeared— not quite mine, not quite not mine. It announced, through static, that I was being rerouted.   I tried to follow the orange signs marked Detour but they led me to the edge of a cliff. Still trusting and obedient, I drove right off.   When I regained consciousness, I lay there for […]

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Embracing Quiet on the Grief Journey

Posted on February 28, 2020 - by Harriet Hodgson

This is an excerpt from Happy Again! Your New and Meaningful Life After Loss, available from Amazon. Understanding yourself helps you recover from loss. You may call this self-awareness or “emotional intelligence,” a term coined by Dr. Daniel Goleman. In his book, Emotional Intelligence: Why it Can Matter More Than IQ, Goleman explains the basics of the term. He thinks self-awareness involves recognizing strengths and weaknesses “and seeing yourself in a positive but realistic light.” Being self-aware helps you avoid pitfalls. Similarly, a lack of self-awareness can lead you straight to them. Since I was a small child I have […]

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Stages of Grief

The 5 Stages of Grief and Coping Strategies

Posted on February 28, 2020 - by Gloria Horsley

At some point in each of our lives, we will experience grief — sometimes, more than once. And, when we do, each grief experience is unique to us, as individuals. We have our own perspective, beliefs, and feelings that impact the length of the grieving process. And, we each have personal triggers that can bring that grief back to the surface. However, one of the existing theories on grief provides a good framework for understanding the overall grieving process. Developed by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, the five stages of grief model continues to be the go-to framework for understanding how grief moves […]

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Accepting Comfort in the Early Days

Posted on February 28, 2020 - by Mary Jane Hurley Brant

This is an excerpt from When Every Day Matters: A Mother’s Memoir on Love, Loss and Life (Simple Abundance Press), available on Amazon The loss of Jennifer (my sister’s five-year old child) was monumental for everyone.  I felt woefully inadequate in comforting my sister, Eileen, or my mother because no one, not even a big sister or daughter, can give much to a mother who has lost her precious child.  That mother or grandmother wants only one thing: that child back in her arms. The years 1988 and 1989 were sad and dark periods of mourning for our family and […]

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Early Days After Child-Loss: Survival

Posted on February 28, 2020 - by Mary Jane Hurley Brant

Excerpted from When Every Day Matters: A Mother’s Memoir on Love, Loss and Life (Simple Abundance Press) on Amazon. When you really want to pray for something and you do not receive it, you tend to believe that your prayer was not answered….it is true that at times your prayer is not answered in a direct way ….Unknown to you, that prayer has secretly worked on another aspect of the situation and effected a transfiguration which may become visible only at a later stage. ~John O’Donohue~ Eternal Echoes July 14, 1999 Dear Katie, Today you have been gone four days.  […]

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