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Articles:

Myths Surrounding Loss

by David Daniels, M.D. – Destructive myths abound concerning the loss and grief process. First, contrary to some views, there is no one “right” way to die or grieve; our personality type makes a difference. Some of us go in peace and some screaming. Many people don’t go through all the steps in the dying process outlined by Elizabeth Kubler-Ross (On Death and Dying) or in the order she states. She lists in order: shock, denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance/resignation. By bargaining, she means asking for a favor or another chance, often based on the promise of good behavior. […]

Poem: Testimony

Copyright 2009 by Nora Hall Burton The first day of Spring and I celebrate by clearing the dead branches…They lay scattered in mute testimony.. Never the gardener that you were I find the flower beds that you built and planted while I lay stretched out in the summer sun. I laughed then when you told me that the flowers would bring happiness to someone even if you weren’t here and in a way because of them you are still here. I remember that day because you spoke of the Spanish town of Guernica that Hitler bombed…A town of 5,000 then […]

In Pieta, Michelangelo Captured Pain of the Bereaved

By Rev. Charles T. Rubey — The Pieta is on display in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. It is one of the more famous pieces of sculpture created by Michelangelo. It depicts Mary holding the crucified body of Jesus. This mother’s heart is broken as she views her child’s broken body. I thought of this piece of art and how appropriate it is as we celebrated Mother’s Day in May. This piece of art symbolizes mothers who are grieving the death of a child, or children grieving the death of a mother or a mother figure. The hearts of people […]

Friends Help In Multiple Losses

by Harriet Hodgson Search the Internet, browse a bookstore, and you find hundreds of books about grief. You will find personal stories, tributes to the deceased, grief poetry, text books, work books, and memory books. When I looked for a book about coping with multiple losses I could not find what I needed. As it turned out, friends were my “book” and they comforted me in many ways. Though I remember little about 2007, I remember it as the year of death. My daughter and father-in-law died the same weekend. Eight weeks later my brother died. Six months after that […]

Grief in the Workplace

by Patrick Malone The Situation $37,500,000,000: Businesses are accustomed to putting a price tag on lost productivity and increased insurance costs associated with conditions from diabetes to those from life problems including substance abuse and depression. For the first time there is data available on the impact of grief in the workplace and the annual cost of grief from the death of a loved one is more than $37.5 billion. The grief following the death of a child is intense, long-lasting and complex. It is perhaps the most devastating loss a parent may experience and poses unique challenges for you, […]

Missed Opportunities

by Lana When we lose a loved one, sometimes when we reflect on the past, we find missed opportunities. The spring before Alicia died, she was invited to a 2 week seminar at Princeton. I never told her how proud I was of her accomplishments! She was working on her PhD in mathematics and she had earned the highest score on her Preliminary exams and was one of the most promising students they had at the University of Colorado at Boulder. So, she was invited to attend this two week seminar. When you lose a loved one, you think of […]

The Yellow Butterfly

by Corinne Ruiz April 22, 2004, my life was forever changed. My 14 year old daughter, Olivia Corinne Hoff passed away. As I look back now, I don’t even know how I survived. I didn’t think it was possible to live another day, another week, another month and another year, but I have. My grief journey continues to this day, such hard work, every day. For those parents who have lost a child, you all know too well how difficult this journey is. Along the way, I felt as though I were stuck, unable to move forward and, of course, […]

How Do We Cope When We Lose A Loved One?

(by Evelyn Hall) A friend has lost a family member, maybe a child, husband or mother. What does one say or do? Some of us don’t know what to say, so we remain silent. Others don’t know what to do, so they remain still. I was asked to write an article about losing a loved one. I feel I have the experience to write this because I lost my best friend, my mother, three years ago. She was eighty-six and her age helped me cope with her death better than I thought I would, but it didn’t stop me from […]

Grandmother Reinvests in Life

By Nina Bennett When I was young, New Year’s Eve was always magical. It was the only night my brother, sister and I were permitted to stay up late. We would watch the ball drop in Times Square on television. We made New Year’s resolutions, even though we had no idea what a resolution was. As I moved through my teenage years, New Year’s Eve presented a dilemma. I wanted to go to parties with my friends and the special someone in my life, but families I baby-sat for throughout the year were willing to pay what at that time […]

Death Creates Secondary Losses

by Harriet Hodgson Death creates many secondary losses. Some are major, some are minor, and some are just annoying. After four family members died within nine months I coped with dozens of secondary losses. I was in such shock at the time, however, I did not realize how powerful these losses could be. According to Bob Deits, author of “Life After Loss,” secondary losses are really a series of losses. These losses hit and hurt the core of your being, Deits says, and “how you measure your happiness and value your life.” Well, I can honestly say I didn’t have […]

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.