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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Is God Big Enough to Accept Our Anger?

Posted on March 30, 2020 - by Neal Raisman

Excerpt from Standing on One Leg by Neal Raisman which is available through the author at iduhpres@hotmail.com The first time we went to Compassionate Friends, a self-help grief group for parents who had lost children, was on Suffolk County on Long Island. A faculty member at the college told me about it. Compassionate Friends had helped his wife and him when their son/stepson died. We needed help, so we went. We had talked to the rabbi at our temple but he was too into the role of rabbi as platitude to help us. We really did not need a sad […]

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Kobe Bryant

How Many Children Do I Have Now?

Posted on March 27, 2020 - by Neal Raisman

Excerpt from Standing on One Leg by Neal Raisman which is available through the author at iduhpres@hotmail.com How many children do you have? Do I have? Did I have? How do I answer that? How do I stop the rising sadness as I think. I had two. Now. One? No two. He always exists/ Even if he doesn’t. He is here. No. I don’t know where he is. Is he anywhere? I have one. Shana. But I had two Shana and Issac. So what is the answer? How can I respond without denying him or the truth. I  have one […]

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Grieving the World We’ve Lost

Posted on March 25, 2020 - by Gloria Horsley

Today’s Facebook Live discussion focused on the idea that grief doesn’t just come from the loss of a loved one. The recent events surrounding the coronavirus (COVID-19) have led us all to actually grieve the loss of the world. Nothing is the same since this pandemic took over the globe. And, it’s forever changed how we see ourselves and maybe how we greet each other and interact. Joining us on the show today to discuss grief and the Coronavirus is David Kessler, bereaved dad and renowned grief expert.   He is the co-author, with Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, of “On Grief and Grieving: Finding […]

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Signs of ‘God-incidences’

Posted on March 24, 2020 - by Christine Duminiak

This is an excerpt from After-Death Communications: God’s Gift of Love, which is available at Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/After-Death-Communications-Gods-Gift-Love/dp/194432870X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1500389497&sr=8-1&keywords=after-death+communications+god%27s+gift+of+love  “Godincidences–Many of the signs we receive from our loved ones will seem like amazingly lucky and meaningful coincidences, or synchronicities, but from my experiences and countless others who I have interviewed, I believe these coincidences are really orchestrated from above. We like to refer to them as Godincidences.”.  

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Coronavirus and Finding Ways to Cope with Anxiety and Loss

Posted on March 23, 2020 - by Gloria Horsley

Today, I hosted a Facebook Live session with my daughter, Heidi, to discuss the impact of the coronavirus.  Tambre Leighn, an Open To Hope author, certified coach, Funder of Well Beyond Ordinary, and behavioral change expert, also joined us. Contracting the Coronavirus Our session started with the news that my daughter, Heidi, took a coronavirus test this weekend and learned last night that she has tested positive. After starting to develop symptoms last week, she took action and got tested. Now, she is self-quarantining for the next 14 days, using protective gear and self-isolation to protect her husband and children. […]

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Cries for Help: 10 Signs of Addiction

Posted on March 23, 2020 - by Gloria Horsley

While we all lead busy lives, it’s important to pay attention to what’s going on around us. This is critical whether it is our own family members, friends, colleagues or employees. That’s because we might see the signs of addiction that someone may need our help but are too afraid to ask or admit that they are suffering with an addiction. Often a person doesn’t ask for help because they can already see your indifference to them. They may already know you can’t or don’t want to see them. Too often when drunk driving accidents occur or an overdose happens, […]

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I Just Wanted Her for One More Day

Posted on March 21, 2020 - by Larry Patten

This is an excerpt from Larry Patten’s A Companion for the Hospice Journey, which is available on Amazon or though his website Hospice Matters. Several years ago, our hospice team gathered to discuss the day’s work. Not long after we began, a veteran nurse wept when sharing about the death of one of her assigned patients. It was a child, not yet school age. The nurse had cared for and supported her tiny patient since birth. How can any infant or child (and their families) be burdened with the phrase, “hospice appropriate?” And yet they are. Family, friends, doctors and […]

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Stay Connected, Strong, and Creative

Posted on March 20, 2020 - by Gloria Horsley

Heidi and I recently had an online get-together through Facebook Live with our friend, Alan Pedersen.  During our discussion, we talked about coping strategies for these uncertain times due to fear over the health and financial impact from the Coronavirus (COVID-19). It’s normal to experience anxiety and stress right now. Even more so, those that have lost loved ones to illnesses can experience triggers from the current health concerns. What We Can Do While we can’t make things go back to the way they were, we have control over what we can do now, including adhering to all the current […]

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Early Grief: Anticipating Loss Before it Happens

Posted on March 18, 2020 - by Harriet Hodgson

This excerpt is from Smiling Through Your Tears: Anticipating Grief by Harriet Hodgson, BS,  MA and Lois Krahn, MD, available from Amazon. Early grief is a feeling of loss before a death or dreaded event occurs. Though anticipatory grief is the correct medical term for this process, it’s a mouthful to say and read, so we use early grief instead. Early grief may strike at any time and for different reasons. You may grieve for an aging parent who suffered a debilitating stroke. You may grieve when you find out that your company is downsizing and, according to the rumor […]

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Grievers are Heroes

Posted on March 15, 2020 - by Basia Mosinski

The following excerpt is from LOST to FOUND: Surviving the Death of Your Child, by Basia Mosinski, available at https://www.amazon.com/dp/1720222657 Grievers are “heroes” and here’s why… we eventually got out of bed. We eventually decided to live instead of praying to die. How do I know this? Because in the work that I do with grieving people, I hear grief journey stories that are proof that many people do indeed survive the death of their child or loved one. Each person who lives another day chooses to live to honor their child or children who no longer have that choice. […]

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