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Suddenly This Summer

Posted on August 23, 2019 - by Carol Henderson

On the evening of July 4th, 2019, I was sitting with my daughter Olivia and my son-in-law Patrick on their small New York City apartment terrace. In the far distance, the sky brightened in smudges of pastels as the fireworks boomed. Olivia said in a hushed voice, “I just wonder, where is she? Where is Stella?” She was talking about her dog, her soulful pet/baby Stella, an abused rescue Bichon-mix Patrick and Olivia had saved nine years ago. The little white dog was utterly devoted, followed Olivia around the apartment, spent hours, days, on Olivia’s lap, and whimpered when either […]

Finding Hope After Substance Abuse

Posted on August 23, 2019 - by Carlos Davila

Drug and alcohol addiction is a serious problem that affects everyone in one way or another. Because addictive substances provide temporary but powerful feelings of euphoria or happiness, even casual misuse can quickly progress to full-blown addiction. Alcohol and certain kinds of drugs can provide relief for people who struggle with mental health issues and a variety of physical issues. Addiction is a chronic condition with ongoing consequences, including grief. Grief influences people on all sides of an addiction scenario. People who may specifically struggle with addiction-related grief include: People with an addiction Parents and families of people who struggle […]

Coping When Your Best Friend Prematurely Ends Their Life

Posted on August 13, 2019 - by Alexis Schaffer

When we lose someone we love, there are a lot of thoughts and feelings that flood in and overwhelm us. Dealing with the shock of it all can send anyone spiraling and unsure of what to think, feel, or do next. Suicide is something that affects everyone in that person’s life. Everyone who cared about them is left struggling to understand why. They also have to figure out how to process their grief and determine what the next step is. We can’t do it alone though, and there are many resources and people available to help us through this trying […]

Celebrations of Life, Funerals, and the Need for Ritual

Posted on August 13, 2019 - by Greg Adams

When I was growing up and someone died, we spent a lot of time at the funeral home. Between the ages of 10 and 12, both of my maternal grandparents died along with a maternal uncle. My memory is that for each there were two evenings of public visitation at the funeral home followed by a funeral on the third day. For each occasion, the dead body was present and available for view (at least before the funeral service began). It was a lot to take in for a young boy and, I expect, for the older members of […]

Open to Hope in the News!

Posted on August 13, 2019 - by Heidi Horsley

We appreciate all the talented people who make Open to Hope such a fulfilling place to work. Over the years, we have had so many people give their time, energy, and skills in assisting us with help those who are grieving and need support. Although some stay with us, others go on to pursue other passions. We love following their journeys and celebrating their successes. Recently, we received an article that appeared in The Press Sentinel about our recent Columbia University intern, Mallary McGahee. Gloria and our staff trained her and quickly had her feeling like part of our team. […]

Coping With Violent Events

Posted on August 8, 2019 - by Gloria Horsley

At lunch today, a friend asked me if we go to disaster areas when there has been a shooting. I explained to her that disasters are a time that communities come together. The immediate response can be overwhelming and outsiders can be more of a burden than help unless invited to come in as a special expert. Part of coping with the event is for the community to come together. It has been my experience that when events are planned by outsiders you end up with the out of towners presenting to and supporting one another. Families and friends tend […]

The First Thing To Do After Losing Your Baby

Posted on July 31, 2019 - by Catherine McNulty

Grieving is hard. Grieving the loss of your baby is even harder. Let’s be honest, it just plain sucks. If you are reading this because it’s happened to you, know that this is one of the most challenging experiences anyone can go through. It’s traumatic and requires support. When we wake up to the reality that our baby is gone, we are forced to learn how to grieve and move forward in a completely different life, a life that doesn’t include watching our baby grow up. Let me start by saying, I am so glad that you’ve found the Open […]

How Can We Put Hope Into Action?

Posted on July 31, 2019 - by Ann Schiebert

By Ann Schiebert, PsyD When I first had the honor of being invited to be a guest on Open to Hope TV, I was taken by the title “Open to Hope” and began to consider what being open to hope actually means. I started by thinking about what hope is, and what one has to do to open one’s self to hope. How do we operationalize hope? For me, hope usually applies to the idea that we want something positive to happen to others or us. We hope for a miracle recovery for someone who has been told they have […]

For Men: Helping Your Children Communicate

Posted on July 31, 2019 - by Herb Knoll

As a widower, you know that you are not the only one grieving. Following the loss of your wife, pain is felt by many others, such as your wife’s parents, siblings, relatives, neighbors, co-workers, fellow parishioners, or friends. It can be just as intense as what you experience, and this is especially likely for children. Being the surviving parent of grieving children is yet another challenge you may face, and sometimes it is the most challenging role of all. You need to understand that role and help tend to your children’s grief while you tend to your own. It […]

The Stories We Tell Ourselves

Posted on July 31, 2019 - by Tambre Leighn

What is the story you tell yourself about your loss? Even as a child, I understood the power of stories. Through words, I could escape into worlds far, far away. Between the covers of books, I could find characters I could relate to when I felt misunderstood. Stories gave me comfort, sparked my imagination, and made me curious about people and places outside of my own environment. Storytelling has been a part of the human experience since our early days. History is built around the word. Stories are how we pass down knowledge and information to future generations. They are […]