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Articles:

Unfinished Motherhood

By Clara Hinton When child-loss occurs, a mother goes through a difficult time of emotional turmoil and questioning. “Am I still a mother?” “Does my child still have a birthday each year, or does time stand still?” “Can the mother/child relationship continue to grow, or am I now an ‘unfinished mother’?” Losing a child often places a mother on a road that begins a lonelier journey than ever expected, one that can never really be explained. There was a beginning, but with the death of the child, there is no middle and no end. Everything seems unfinished. Hopes and dreams […]

Getting Through Multiple Loses

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 […]

Writing to Heal: A Personal Journey

By Linda C. Wisniewski — Take a walk through any bookstore, and you’ll see that memoirs are among the most popular books being sold today. People from all walks of life are putting their stories together for their families, for friends and for publication. We love to read real-life inspirational stories. But did you know there are very tangible health benefits to writing such stories? In the 1990s, Dr. James Pennebaker at the University of Texas at Austin found that people who wrote about emotionally traumatic events showed reductions in blood pressure and heart rate and improvement in conditions like […]

Open to Hope Writer Getting Book Published

Open to Hope contributing writer Luellen Hoffman’s book, Special Dream, is being published this fall by Crossroads books. The book can be ordered now at www.Amazon.com. Special Dream, subtitled, “Personal Accounts After the Death of a Loved One,” explores the world of special dreams: clear, unforgettably vivid encounters with loved ones who have died. Her unique collection shares the personal stories of those who have experienced them, including the author herself, and reveals the distinct qualities surrounding this phenomenon. Luellen Hoffman is an adjunct professor at George Mason University and the recipient of the Chairman’s Award VNU/Nielsen Business Media for […]

Families Dealing With Loss

Dr. Donna Schuurmann speaks about Families Dealing with Loss on Open to Hope TV

Taking Care of Relationships After a Child’s Death

by Lisa Buell Valentine’s Day is a day for lovers, a time to celebrate our passion for one another. But what happens after our child has died? Our innocence is lost and it takes every ounce of strength to be civil or even interested in what our partners are saying. What happens when our psychological energy is consumed with the memories of our child and it is taking everything we have just to get through the day? What happens when we can barely look at our spouse because it reminds us of the dream that was our life, a dream […]

Recalling a Childhood Friend, Decades After Her Death

By Linda C. Wisniewski — If a loss comes early in life, it sometimes takes many years before its full impact is felt. When my kindergarten best friend was killed, I was more puzzled and scared than sad. It was only when I began writing my own life story and recalled the events surrounding her death that I was able to find meaning in it. Here’s what I wrote about her in Chapter Three of my memoir, Off Kilter: What I remember most about Diane is the way she looked in her casket. That morning, our kindergarten class walked two-by-two […]

Sharing Stories Helps Us Remember

by Judy Wright People who have lost a loved one, either a human or animal, search for ways to remember and at least keep a memory alive. Sharing stories helps us remember those good days and the joy that loved one brought to us. We may no longer to enjoy their fun and love in this existence, but the memory can remind us of the emotions and experiences we had together. We want to remember the deceased and maintain some part of their live lessons in our daily journey. This need to remember becomes especially strong on birthdays, anniversaries or holidays. […]

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 […]

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.