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Dear Dad Letters: Catastrophism

Posted on November 9, 2018 - by Gary Jaworski

Dear Dad, Here is a neologism. “Catastrophism, noun. The unfounded fear that one’s life is about to meet a sudden and catastrophic end.” I have lived all my life with this underlying fear. When the phone rings, I immediately assume we are getting news that someone has died, even though I have never been told of someone’s death that way. But in a way the imagined phone call does duplicate the unexpected news of your death. For me death is imagined to be sudden and unexpected. I sometimes fear that someone – a spouse, a stranger – might kill me in […]

Dear Dad Letters: #5 and #6

Posted on November 8, 2018 - by Gary Jaworski

Introduction Dear Dad is the story of my life told in the form of letters to my father, Walter Michael Jaworski, who died of a heart attack when I was five and whom, therefore, I never got to know. It is not a maudlin story of regret, but the tale of how one’s entire life — conscious and unconscious — can be shaped by the defining moment of a parent’s death, and how my own fatherhood lifted me from a lifetime of pain. These are letters five and six. Dear Dad, Death terrifies me. Thinking about the inevitability of my death leaves […]

Music Can be a Balm for Grief

Posted on November 7, 2018 - by Jane P. Williams

Music can be soothing during our low points in grief. It may resonate with our soul even when there is not personal meaning in it. The tempo, rhythm, melody, harmony—all can bring healing as the music makes connection with our emotional core. It may or may not have lyrics. But sometimes the lyrics say things that we cannot normally say—-allowing us to express a wide range of emotions—even singing or screaming out our pain and sorrow. For each of us, this is a highly individual experience. What works for you—blues, jazz, spiritual, blue grass, classical, hip-hop—-may not work for someone […]

Adrift in A Sea of Grief

Posted on November 5, 2018 - by Maria Kubitz

I am adrift in an endless sea of grief. As I float along, the world continues to go on around me as if I am walking among the bustling crowds—but my feet haven’t touched dry land since September 30, 2009. It was on that day—the day my 4-year-old daughter drowned—I was unwillingly thrust into this watery journey. Drowning in Despair Without warning—and in a matter of moments—my daughter’s sudden death unleashed a monstrous tsunami of indescribable pain that was so huge and so dense, it blocked out the light of the sun. In complete darkness, it crashed down upon me […]

A Christmas Encounter

Posted on November 1, 2018 - by Jill Smoot

In late summer, with a record heat index, I went to the store to do some shopping. As I pushed my cart, I came upon aisles of Christmas decorations already displayed even before the pumpkins had arrived. I looked away. I had for these past years purposed to live in the moment, savor each day, not always straining to the next thing, rushing past the blessings that were wrapped in that moment. But the thing about grief is, whether fresh and stinging or scarred over, it can grip your emotions in unexpected places. And in those moments as I viewed […]

No Choice, Some Choices, and ‘Choosement’

Posted on October 23, 2018 - by Greg Adams

A friend was in a horrible car crash about a year and half ago. The car was damaged beyond repair, he was left with lifetime health consequences, and most tragically, another person in the car, his friend, died in the accident. Since the crash, there have been extensive legal discussions and negotiations concerning liability, and just recently a settlement was reached with the trucking company involved. But the term “settlement” didn’t sit well with my friend. Was “settle” really the best word to describe the situation? His wife provided a more acceptable description, suggesting an alternative to replace “settlement.” […]

Look Who is Coming to Holiday Dinner! What to Do When a Parent Remarries

Posted on October 22, 2018 - by Mary Joye

When holidays come, grief can go haywire. Most everyone knows that. But what do you do if you are grieving a parent and your remaining father or mother is dating or has married someone new. How do you handle those holidays? Perspective and introspection may help you understand and cope with the loss and a sudden gain of what you may think of as a “replacement”. A new love in any context, including grief, is not a replacement. The displacement that occurs after grief can be so jarring and leaves many dissociated for a long time. There is no “right” […]

Dr. Anasuya Tegathesan: Multicultural Counseling

Posted on October 12, 2018 - by Gloria Horsley

Open to Hope Foundation’s Dr. Heidi Horsley spoke with Dr. Anasuya Tegathesan, a Senior Lecturer at Hope University in Malaysia, about the intricacies of multicultural counseling. She concurrently supervises master’s students and also provides counseling for a number of clinics and NGOs around the world. As part of the Hope University program, Dr. Tegathesan oversees “therapists in training” as they provide complimentary counseling to other students on the campus as well as clients of non-profits who cannot afford counseling. “Culturally, do you see differences in the way people grieve?” asked Dr. Horsley. “Grief is a universal phenomenon—everybody grieves,” says Dr. […]

Cara Grosset: Getting Teens the Support They Need

Posted on October 11, 2018 - by Gloria Horsley

A clinical social worker from Ontario, Canada, Cara Grosset found time to connect with Dr. Gloria Horsley during the 2015 Association on Death Education and Counseling conference to discuss bereaved families. She has been a member of the Bereaved Families of Ontario for over 25 years, has a private practice and is a staff member at Wilfrid Laurier University. Grosset specializes in working with children, teens and young adults. She’s a strong believer that this age group has a strong need to talk to each other. They need to be shown they’re not alone, and their loved ones need the […]

Chuck Overton: Spiritual Journey

Posted on October 6, 2018 - by Neil Chethik

Open to Hope recently spoke with Chuck Overton, a Spiritual Director at Caris Healthcare in Knoxville, Tennessee. As a chaplain, Overton has worked closely with grieving families as they learn to navigate life after losing a loved one. One of the biggest hurdles, Overton explains, is “their experience with feeling abandoned.” This can include by God, their spiritual community and of course the loved one who passed. It’s common to feel isolated from even a well-established spiritual community, whether it’s by their pastor or their close “church friends”—and this abandonment could have threads of truth or not. It’s common for […]