Dr. Gloria and Dr. Heidi Horsley

Dr. Gloria Horsley and Dr. Heidi Horsley are a mother/daughter team and internationally recognized grief experts. They are the founders of The Open to Hope Foundation and the hosts of The Open to Hope Show. In addition, Dr. Gloria is a board member for The Compassionate Friends and Dr. Heidi is an adjunct professor at Columbia University and has a private practice in manhattan. Their message is that others have made it through the grief journey and so can you, if you do not yet have hope lean on theirs.

Articles:

Dr. Gloria Horsley and Dr. Heidi Horsley: Finding Hope After Loss

Drs. Gloria Horsley and Heidi Horsley talked with one another during the 2015 Association for Death Education and Counseling conference. This mother and daughter are leaders of The Open to Hope Foundation, and their personal experience has driven them to dedicate their life to grief counseling. Gloria lost her son, who was also Heidi’s brother, in an automobile accident. Scott died in 1983 at just 17 years old, along with his cousin. Gloria notes that she was a therapist at that time, although she didn’t specialize in grief therapy. “During that process of grieving together,” Gloria says she and Heidi […]

Brittany Trauthwein: Continuing Bonds

The Open to Hope Foundation radio show was the first outreach strategy, and continues to be a fantastic means of support for those who have lost a loved one. In the “Continuing Bonds” episode, Drs. Gloria and Heidi Horsley talk with Brittany Trauthwein, MA, a specialist in end of life, grief and loss. Trauthwein has conducted extensive research, kick-started by her own loss of several family members. She focuses on how people continue to build and strengthen bonds after a loss, with a special emphasis on adult children who have lost a parent. It’s possible to continue that parent-child relationship, […]

Doneley Meris: AIDS and Grief

On 2015’s National AIDS Day, Drs. Gloria and Heidi Horsley talked with Doneley Meris on the Open to Hope Radio show. Meris is a grief psychotherapist and training educator, adjunct faculty member at New York University where he’s chair of the People of Color/Multi-Cultural Committee of the Association for Death Education and Counseling, and the founder and Executive Director of the HIV Arts Network. “It’s been a tradition here in New York City where many organizations gather and read names of those who have died from this disease (AIDS) at city hall,” he explains. It’s a day of remembrance and […]

Melissa Pettignano: The Holidays After Loss

Singer/songwriter Melissa Pettignano joins Drs. Gloria and Heidi Horsley to discuss the death of her aunt during the 9/11 tragedy. Pettignano transitioned from singer to inspirational speaker, today specializing in both and committed to helping others find hope after a tragedy. “When 9/11 happened I was 13 years old, and my aunt was missing…it was very difficult on myself and my family.” However, she remembers her aunt as the type of woman who wanted everybody to celebrate and have a great time. “She would say, ‘Listen, if anything happens, you keep celebrating.’” Her aunt was sure that even in bad […]

Dawn Nargi and Roselyn Drake: Widows Helping Widows

In this episode of The Open to Hope show, Drs. Gloria and Heidi Horsley talk with Dawn Nargi and Roselyn Drake about The W Connection. This organization began in 2009 “out of necessity,” says Nargi. She shares that in 2007, she and her husband became pregnant—their son was born two months premature. Shortly after bringing their son home, Nargi’s husband finally went to the doctor after experiencing pain throughout the pregnancy. He discovered that he had late stage cancer, and died just two months later. “We were on top of the world, and I became a new mom and widow […]

10 More Grief Quotes

“Death ends a life…but it does not end a relationship, which struggles on in the survivors mind…toward some final resolution, which it never finds.” — Robert Anderson “In the middle of the journey of my life, I found myself in a dark wood For I had lost the right path.” -Dante “One of the ways we heal ourselves is to create meaning in our suffering.” –Victor Frankl “There is only one way for you to live without grief in your lifetime; That is to exist without love. Your grief represents your humanness, Just as your love does.” – Anon “Resolution is […]

America Mourns Together and Heals Together

America is again shaken by the senseless deaths of loved ones in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre that resulted in the murder of 26 adults and young children. It is especially unnerving as those who were shot and those who died were doing an activity familiar to all of us: attending school. The press coverage is extensive, as people want to know every detail. What is this fascination? I believe we are concerned with our own mortality and vulnerability. We look for a sign or a signal that maybe this senseless act could have been prevented. […]

Sandy Hook Tragedy; How Can We Cope?

America is again riveted and shaken by the senseless deaths of loved ones in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School, Newtown, Connecticut massacre that resulted in the murder of adults and young children in the prime of their lives. It is especially unnerving as those who were shot and those who died were doing an activity familiar to all of us, attending school. The press coverage is extensive, as people want to know every detail. What is this fascination? Is it just curiosity? I think not. I believe we are concerned with our own mortality and vulnerability. […]

Sibling Loss: Honoring, Not Forgetting

In the United States today, there is a natural, assumed order to the deaths we will experience in our lives. We believe that our grandparents will die first, then our parents, then our brothers and sisters, and then our children. However, that is not how it happens for thousands of people each year, and that is not how it happened for me. When my brother Scott and cousin Matthew, were just 17 yrs. old they died together in a fiery car accident. In a sense our siblings are parallel travelers in life, we have a shared history. We expect this […]

Robert Thompson; Where Does Sadness end and Depression Begin

Dr Thompson talks about depression and sadness after a loss.

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.