Harriet Hodgson

Harriet Hodgson has been a freelancer for 43 years, is the author of thousands of articles, and 47 books, including 10 grief resources. She is a member of the Association of Health Care Journalists, Alliance of Independent Authors, Minnesota Coalition for Grief Education and Support, and Grief Coalition of Southeastern Minnesota. She is well acquainted with grief. In 2007 four family members died—her daughter (mother of her twin grandchildren), father-in-law, brother (and only sibling) and the twins’ father. Multiple losses shifted the focus of Hodgson’s work from general health to grief resolution and healing. She has appeared on more than 185 radio talk shows, including CBS Radio, and dozens of television stations, including CNN. In addition to writing for Open to Hope, Hodgson is a contributing writer for The Grief Toolbox website and The Caregiver Space website. A popular speaker, she has given presentations at The Compassionate Friends national conference, Bereaved Parents of the USA national conference, and Zoom grief conferences. Her work is cited in Who’s Who of American Women, World Who’s Who of Women, Contemporary Authors, and other directories. For more information about this busy grandmother, great grandmother, author, and speaker please visit I’m no longer Assistant Editor, I’m the author of 47 books, and my website is www.harriethodgson.net.

Articles:

Is it Time for a New Version of Your Grief Story?

Oprah has one of the top shows on television, but I rarely have time to see it. Last week, however, I watched part of Oprah’s interview with Rosie O’Donnell. For decades, Rosie had been portraying herself as a child whose mother died when she was in fifth grade. Rosie’s former partner asked her if it was time to tell a different story – the story of a loving mother of four children. Rosie agreed that time had come. After the interview I thought about my own story of multiple losses. Would I always be seen as a bereaved person? Could […]

Listening to Haitians’ Stories Crucial in the Days Ahead

Nobody knows how many Haitians were killed in the earthquake. The current estimate of 100,000-200,000 is beyond understanding. Though aid is pouring in from around the world, lack of government, communications, roads, heavy equipment, and gasoline prevents it from reaching the people. Captain Bruce Lindsey, commander of the USS Carl Vinson, anchored off Haiti’s coast, is quoted in the January 16-17 issue of “The Wall Street Journal” as saying, “Speed is of the essence in a crisis like this, but with the airport and harbor so badly damaged, there are clear limits to the amount of supplies that can be […]

When to Tell – and Not Tell – Your Grief Story

Last month, my husband and I went to a holiday party. We enjoyed the food, piano music, and visiting with friends. As we prepared to leave, a friend asked what I was doing these days. When I told her we were raising our twin grandchildren because their parents had died in separate car crashes, her jaw dropped. “That’s unbelievable,” she said. Another person overheard our conversation and was obviously uncomfortable with my honesty. This is not the first time this has happened. Years ago, I had a similar experience. I answered a question honestly and a guest commented, “Please don’t […]

Anticipatory Grief Can Help You Find Your True Self

I taught school for a dozen years and loved every one of them. But the day came when I realized I had done everything I could with my job and had no more to give. To keep myself creative, I started writing articles for educational magazines and several were published. The idea of becoming a writer intrigued me, so I gave the school several months notice and quit my job to pursue this new career. Quitting teaching was a hard decision — a grieving decision — and every time I drove past the school, tears welled up in my eyes. […]

Finding a Reason to Get Up in the Morning

Death makes us examine life. We ask: How did this happen? Why did it happen to me? How will I go on? As we struggle to find answers, we must deal with daily tasks — grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning, laundry, paying bills and home repairs. What a bummer. I had many questions after my daughter and father-in-law died the same weekend in 2007. More questions came to mind when my brother and former son-in-law died several months later. Though I didn’t find all the answers, I found new ways to cope. You may be doing this now. Laura T. Becker, […]

Restoring Balance After the Death of a Loved One

Restoring stability and balance after a death may be the biggest challenge of your life. Balance is what I wanted after four family members died within nine months. Other family members had died and, though I was familiar with loss, this time was different. Grieving for multiple losses is harder than grieving for one and I often went backwards on the recovery path. Finally, I realized I was grieving for family members in the order they died. Months passed and I knew I was making progress, but stability eluded me, and I was on constant alert for more tragedy. What […]

As the Mental Picture of Your Loved One Fades

My daughter was 45 years old when she died on a February night from the injuries she received in a car crash. The last time I saw her, she was taking her children to see their dying grandfather, and laughing at something they said. When she died two days later – before her grandfather – I was stunned. For months, the image of my daughter, laughing in the sunshine, was clear in my mind. I saw it again and again. As time passed, however, the image began to fade. Sidney Zisook, MD, talks about mental pictures in an Audio-Digest Website […]

Three Years into Grief Journey: A Surprising Struggle

As I get closer to the third anniversary of my daughter’s death, I struggle with opposite emotions. I feel the pain of death and the joy of living. The first year after my daughter died I cringed when people asked, “How are you?” Now I welcome the question. For as the months passed, people began to forget about my losses. While this is normal, it was hard for me, especially since I had so much grief work to do. A few days ago, I went to the florist and bought a holiday plant. The sales associate knew my grandchildren became […]

Honor the Deceased, Even if Relationship Was Broken

When my brother died in the spring of 2007, I barely had time to mourn him. Our elder daughter — mother of our twin grandchildren — had died four months earlier. My father-in-law died the same weekend and we were swamped with tasks. We were also doing all we could to nurture our grandchildren — children who were now without a mother. Grief was still raw when my brother had a heart attack and died. Apparently, he had survived cancer treatment, but his heart had not. We attended the memorial service on Long Island, flew home, and tried to put […]

Celebrating My Deceased Daughter’s Birthday

Today would have been my elder daughter’s birthday. She was born on Thanksgiving Day decades ago. The hospital staff was preparing a turkey dinner for the new mothers, and I was very aware of the tantalizing smells while I was in labor. I wanted to eat that dinner, but could not. How am I going to honor my daughter’s life? First, I am going to focus on thankfulness for having her in my life. She became a composite engineer, had five additional engineering certificates, earned her MBA, and was supervising thee production lines for a Minnesota manufacturing company when she died. […]

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