Greg Adams

Greg Adams is a social worker at Arkansas Children's Hospital (ACH) where he coordinates the Center for Good Mourning, a grief support and outreach program, and works with bereavement support for staff who are exposed to suffering and loss. His past experience at ACH includes ten years in pediatric oncology and 9 years in pediatric palliative care. He has written for and edited The Mourning News, an electronic grief/loss newsletter, since its beginning in 2004. Greg is also an adjunct professor in the University of Arkansas-Little Rock Graduate School of Social Work where he teaches a grief/loss elective and students are told that while the class is elective, grief and loss are not. In 1985, Greg graduated from Baylor University majoring in social work and religion, and he earned a Masters in Social Work from the University of Missouri in 1986. One answer to the question of how he got into the work of grief and death education is that his father was an educator and his mother grew up in the residence part of a funeral home where her father was a funeral director. After growing up in a couple small towns in Missouri south of St. Louis, Greg has lived in Little Rock since 1987. He married a Little Rock native in 1986 and his wife is an early childhood special educator and consultant. Together they have two adult children. Along with his experience in the hospital with death and dying and with working with grieving people of all ages, personal experiences with death and loss have been very impacting and influential. In 1988, Greg’s father-in-law died of an unexpected suicide. In 1996, Greg and his wife lost a child in mid-pregnancy to anencephaly (no brain developed). Greg’s mother died on hospice with cancer in 2008 and his father died after the family decided to stop the ventilator after a devastating episode of sepsis and pneumonia in 2015. Greg has a variety of interests and activities—including slow running, reading, sports, public education, religion, politics, and diversity issues—and is active in his church and community. He is honored to have the opportunity to be a contributor for Open to Hope.

Articles:

The Second Year of Grieving

How many times have we heard it, or perhaps we’ve even said something like it ourselves: “Oh man, the first year after they died was hard, but I think the second year, in some ways, has been even harder.” It doesn’t seem fair, and how can it be fair that the second year of grieving can feel more challenging than the first? If and when that happens for us, it can feel rather crazy-making. Did I do something wrong? Is this normal? How can this even make sense? Good questions, and the answers to the first two are likely “no” […]

A Different Kind of Animal

One is a cat owner, and the other has a dog. Both recently shared how difficult it will be when their pets die. They will need some downtime and space to adjust and grieve. Both thought that it might not be possible to return to work the next day. In another conversation, a man older than me shared how he still misses his dog. They had a routine, and he misses that routine along with his dog’s presence in his life and home. There was a younger woman, younger than me, who talked about how the death of her cat […]

When It Feels Like You’ve Got Nothing Left

“I’ve got nothing left.” Have you ever felt like that? If you have, you have lots of company. When someone who meant the world to you dies, it can feel like all the good in your world has died, too. It can feel like everything precious has been taken away, leaving you with empty arms and grasping hands. You can feel like there is nothing left. Well-meaning friends and family try to remind you otherwise: You still have people who love you. Maybe you still have your spouse or partner. You have your memories. Perhaps you have other kids. You […]

Why the Death of a Child is Unique Among Losses

The Death of a Child is Unique When Ruby Cooper was 16 years old, she gave birth to twins, and she told this story as part of The Moth Radio Hour podcast, https://themoth.org/stories/giving-and-receiving. One baby died at birth and the other was a boy later diagnosed with cerebral palsy. In was 1960, and her son’s doctor recommended that Ruby place her son in an institution so that he could be “with his kind.” Ruby responded that she was his mother and thus “his kind,” and she would raise him herself. Overwhelmed with the responsibility of raising a son with special […]

The Helplessness of Grief

The Helplessness of Grief Maybe your family is like mine. When a crisis strikes, you go into action to make things better. First, you want a better understanding of your situation, so you’re off to search the internet. After a good deal of searching, you go through your mental rolodex (remember those) to ask for additional information and suggestions. After making your contacts, you’re on your way to developing your “to-do” list of how to get a handle on the situation, or better yet, how to whip it into shape. A good crisis knocks us off balance and perhaps even […]

Hope is a Muscle

Hope is a Muscle Nicholas Kristoff doesn’t look away. He is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who writes about people all over the world who experience great loss. He interviews people in the middle of their suffering and shares what he has learned with the rest of us. And despite witnessing some of the worst of what humans can experience, he is not a pessimist. In a recent podcast episode of “Everything Happens with Kate Bowler,” he was asked if his family had a motto, and if so, what would it be? His response, in part, was this: “I think that […]

Not Censoring our Grief Stories

Not Censoring our Grief Stories I was recently in a bookstore on vacation with my wife and adult daughter. As we sat at a table drinking our afternoon pick-me-up beverages, both asked if I had seen a particular book on the shelf with books signed by the authors. I had not and went over to look. It was a grief book, not surprisingly, and I brought it back to the table for review. I liked the chapter and section titles and descriptions. I liked the people listed in the acknowledging of “grief guides.” And I liked the title and the […]

‘Restoration’ in the Grief Process

Repairing Heirlooms My best friend and wife (same person) has a new entertainment obsession: the British television show, The Repair Shop. In each episode, master craftspeople receive and expertly, and amazingly, repair a wide variety of family heirlooms, including toys, furniture, household items, art pieces, and tools. Part of the appeal is the demonstration of incredible skill and creativity to repair broken and heavily damaged items. Another significant part of the appeal is the family members and their stories. Each item in need of repair has a rich history full of meaning. The ability of the item to carry that […]

Changes in Seasons: Living Through Times of Loss

Changes in Seasons North of the equator, and north of the tropics, we are in the season of winter. The grass is brown and bare branches are all around. It is a season of layers, scarves, and gloves. Of ice scrapers, frost, and wind chills. Birds, those who are left, puff up for warmth and search for food. For many of us, it is a season of inside with a sweater and a blanket and a cup of something warm. South of the equator, and south of the tropics, the season is summer. The grass is green, and instead of […]

Guilty Thoughts and Grief

Guilty Thoughts and Grief Guilt can be a sticky burden and a useful teacher. We need people to feel guilty when they do something wrong. People who don’t feel guilty are generally not safe, and they miss out on important lessons on what it means to be kind, faithful, and compassionate. Guilt can be a good teacher of just these things. The problem for most of us, however, is not that we feel too little guilt, it’s that we feel too much and for too long. Guilt can be a big part of grief, too. A very common and stubbornly […]

Open to Hope is an online community offering inspirational stories of loss, hope and recovery. We believe hope is the bridge between loss and recovery.