• Hope

    After Loss of a sibling

After Loss of a sibling

Do you feel your loss is overlooked? Find inspiration in stories by others who have lost siblings.

Open to Hope Radio

Open to Hope TV

  • Episode 133: Peer Support Can Change Your Life

    June 27, 2018

    On this show Dr. Gloria and Dr. Heidi Horsley interview comedian and bereaved sibling Jordon Ferber, Manhattan chapter leader for The Compassionate Friends and Katherine Castelo social worker providing support and counseling for families at TAPS, an organization for those who have lost a loved one in the military.  Videos of The Compassionate Friends and […]

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  • Episode 123: On The Road Again-Angels Across The USA Tour

    February 26, 2018

    On this show Dr. Heidi Horsley talks with Alan Pedersen, singer, songwriter and bereaved parent. Alan is the past Executive Director of The Compassionate Friends and is currently on the road with The Angels Across the USA Tour where he will speak and perform in over 100 U.S. cities in 2018. Joining them on the […]

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  • Episode 121: Impact of Sibling Loss in Early and Later Life

    February 23, 2018

    On this show Dr. Heidi Horsley and Alan Pedersen explore with Allie Franklin Sims, whose baby brother  “Big A”, died when she was four and Mitch Carmody who whose twin sister Sandy, died when he was an adult, the relationship between age and grief.  Allie is the president of the board of The Compassionate Friends […]

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  • Episode 120: Resources for grieving families

    January 8, 2018

    On this show Dr. Gloria and Dr. Heidi Horsley highlight three outstanding programs for grieving families. Nancy Cincotta MSW talks about her work with families at Camp Sunshine in Maine. Bereaved parents Marie Levine, National Board member of The Compassionate Friends and Allison Jacobson Executive Director of First Candle discuss their missions and how they […]

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  • Episode 114: Guys and Grief, Healing Stories of Sibling Loss with Zach Sullivan and Ryan Tomasello

    November 17, 2017

    On this show Dr. Gloria Horsley and Dr. Heidi Horsley discuss the healing power of stories with two bereaved siblings; Zach Sullivan bereaved brother of Kyle and Ryan Tomasello bereaved brother of Rory. A video clip is shown featuring Jordon Ferber discussing the importance of remembering his brother, Russell.

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  • Episode 102: Fay Zenoff and Julia Sachs-Finding Oneself After Sibling Loss

    March 27, 2017

    How’s your mother? Take care of your parents! But what about me? On this show Dr’s Gloria and Heidi Horsley and Alan Pedersen, Executive Director of The Compassionate Friends, discuss with bereaved siblings Fay Zenoff MBA executive director of Center For Open Recovery (COR) and Julia Sachs MSW the challenges of coping with the deaths […]

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  • Episode 93: Grief: A Public and a Private Matter with Mary Rockefeller Morgan and Scarlett Lewis

    December 7, 2016

    How does a family grieve a high-profile loss? On this show Drs. Gloria and Heidi Horsley explore the issue with Mary Rockefeller Morgan whose twin brother, Michael, went missing in New Guinea and Scarlett Lewis whose son, Jessie, died in the Sandy Hook school shooting. Mary is the author of When Grief Calls Forth The […]

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  • Episode 90: Sibling Death; Unacknowledged Loss with Elizabeth DeVita-Raeburn and Jim Giaccone,

    November 14, 2016

    Sibling Death! Unacknowledged Grief! Join Dr. Gloria and Dr. Heidi Horsley in exploring with Elizabeth DeVita-Raeburn and Jim Giaccone, sibling loss. Elizabeth is the author of, The Empty Room, Losing a Brother or Sister at any Age, and The Death of Cancer. In honor of his brother who died in the Sept. 11th attacks, Jim […]

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  • Episode 88: Male Grief: Sudden Traumatic Loss with Jim Giaccone, Franklin Cook and Eric Marcus

    November 7, 2016

    Have you or a male friend had a sudden or traumatic loss? Are you wondering how men cope? If so join Dr. Gloria and Dr. Heidi Horsley in a frank discussion of men and grief with Jim Giaccone, Franklin Cook and Eric Marcus. Jim’s brother Joe, died on 9/11 while Franklin and Eric suffered the […]

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  • Episode 82: Coping With Murder with Zander Sprague, Koshin Ellison and Robert Campbell

    August 20, 2016

    On this show Dr’s Gloria and Heidi Horsley interview Zander Sprague regarding the murder of his sister and the strong emotions of anger, shame and guilt experienced by survivors. Joining in the discussion of forgiveness and hope are Buddhist Monks, Koshin Paley Ellison, Robert Chodo Campbell, and Jeffery Sirkman, Senior Rabbi of Larchmont Temple. The […]

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  • Episode 77: Proactive Grieving

    June 3, 2016

    On this show Dr. Gloria Horsley and Alan Petersen, Executive Director of The Compassionate Friends, interview Megan Carmody, bereaved sibling of Kelly and Gwen Oliver, bereaved daughter of Marlene, on finding hope after the death of a sibling/parent. Megan’s father Mitch, author of Letters To My Son, and is founder of Proactive Grieving®, joins the […]

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  • Episode 67: Finding Hope After A Terrorist Attack

    April 26, 2016

    Joining Dr’s. Gloria and Heidi Horsley on this show are Melissa Pettignano, singer and songwriter and her mother Evelyn whose aunt/sister Arlene was killed in the World Trade Center and Mary Fetchet who Co-founded Voices of September 11th in 2001 following the death of her son Brad on 9/11. A clinical social worker, Mary created […]

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  • 65: Sibling Loss

    March 9, 2016

    On this show Dr. Gloria Horsley and Dr. Heidi Horsley discuss the impact of losing a sibling with Elizabeth Devita-Raeburn whose brother Ted, died of an immune disorder. She is the author of “The Empty Room: Losing a Brother or Sister At Any Age”. The second guest will be Molly Gandour a documentary Filmmaker and […]

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  • Episode 60: Traumatic Sibling Loss: Finding Hope Again

    December 14, 2015

    On this show Dr. Gloria Horsley and co-host Alan Pedersen, Executive Director of The Compassionate Friends, interview two guests regarding coping with grief after a traumatic sibling loss. The first guest is Megan MacFarland, sister of Staff Sgt.Marc Small, who was killed in Afghanistan in 2009. The second guest is Zander Sprague, whose sister was […]

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  • Episode 55: Sibling Bereavement: Supporting Domestic Partners

    October 27, 2015

    On this show Dr. Gloria Horsley and Dr. Heidi Horsley interview, domestic partners, David Oldroyd, a leading interior designer, and Ronnie Genotti, an artist and Director of Servo Marketing and Design, regarding the death of David’s brother, Robert.  Hal Bromm, owner of Hal Bromm Gallery, and Doneley Meris, executive director at HIV Arts Network, join […]

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Articles

  • Remembering a Big Sister Who Struggled with Eating Disorder

    December 8, 2017

    I never comprehended the summer of 1970. At age 14, I witnessed my beautiful older sister Margie fading away when she picked me up from overnight camp. My sister whom I idolized was a shadow of herself. For so many years, I had held on to who I wanted her to be. Our lives would […]

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  • Birthdays … Beautiful and Bittersweet

    January 11, 2017

    I turned 60 in October, the day filled with a range of emotions. Etched in my brain and soul was the last time I saw my sister Jane, to celebrate my 25th birthday. For 35 years, my birthday held a cloud, never the joy of celebrating me on my birthday, always the pain of the […]

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  • Active Grieving Can Help After Sibling Loss

    September 17, 2016

    “Every loss is unique. The truth is, the worst loss is the one that is happening to you, the one that has picked you up and thrown you down and left you struggling to put your life back together.” (Devita-Raeburn, 2004, p. 184) When I was 20 years old, I was awakened in the middle […]

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  • Coping With Sibling Loss

    June 23, 2016

    Houston, Texas counselor Beryl Kaminsky shares tips for handling sibling loss during the Association for Death Education and Counseling (ADEC) conference. She wrote Mending the Broken Heart: After Your Child Dies, which is also an audiobook. Working through the loss of a sibling can be traumatizing. Growing up in the shadow of sibling loss can […]

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  • Adult Sibling Loss

    June 1, 2016

    Dr. Gloria Horsley interviews Dr. Brenda Marshall from Toronto, Canada. A management executive and executive coach, she’s completing her doctorate degree in adult education at the University of Toronto. Adult sibling loss is one of the most disenfranchised of losses. Suddenly, a few years ago, Marshall’s brother died. That was her “last day of normal.” […]

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  • Sibling Loss Changes a Sister Left Behind

    April 25, 2016

    “Every loss is unique. The truth is, the worst loss is the one that is happening to you, the one that has picked you up and thrown you down and left you struggling to put your life back together.” — (Devita-Raeburn, 2004, p. 184) When I was 20 years old, I was awakened in the […]

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  • It’s Never Too Late to Grieve

    March 19, 2016

    How do I make peace and forgiveness with myself for not grieving and mourning my sisters Margie and Jane for 30 years? It is more the regrets, of years lost, of memories forgotten, of a soul missing, of dreams shattered, of a hole in my heart. Was the the pain too hard? I got used […]

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  • Dr. Kay Fowler: Adult Sibling Loss

    March 6, 2016

    Adult sibling loss is a common disenfranchised loss. Dr. Heidi Horsley interviews Dr. Kay Fowler at an Association for Death Education and Counseling (ADEC) conference. Dr. Fowler is the editor of the ADEC Forum, and she lost three adult sisters in a 15 year period. The deaths of Jenny, Ann, and Mary Grace have largely […]

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  • Bridget Park: Teens and Sibling Loss

    March 1, 2016

    The Executive Director of the Open to Hope Foundation, Dr. Heidi Horsley, talks to Bridget Park about losing a brother. Sibling loss is often a disenfranchised one. Park recommends leaning on your family and letting others love you and just be there for you. It’s tempting to push people away because you don’t want them […]

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  • Celebration of Sisters: Full Circle After 30 Years

    February 13, 2016

    Celebration of Sisters, an annual ice skating fundraiser to honor and commemorate the lives and memories of my sisters Jane E. Lipson and Marjorie E. Lipson to benefit The John D. Stoeckle Center for Primary Care Innovation at Massachusetts General Hospital. Ice skating is my passion, solace, peace, and where I have come full circle […]

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  • Photographs Help Sister Heal After Sibling Losses

    November 8, 2015

    There is an expression originating from a Chinese proverb: “One picture is worth ten thousand words.”  My vote is that one picture or video is worth ten thousand memories. When I lost my beloved sisters, Margie and Jane, I scrambled to find pictures to compose a collage, to place my beloved sisters’ images into frames. […]

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  • Jennifer Collins Taylor: Conversations About Death

    November 7, 2015

    Dr. Heidi Horsley of the Open to Hope Foundation interviews Jennifer Collins Taylor on behalf of the Association for Death Education and Counseling (ADEC) organization. Taylor is the founder of Living Life, Dying Death, an author, and a speaker specializing in how to have meaningful and healthy conversations about death, dying, and grieving. She lost […]

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  • Sibling Bereavement

    October 30, 2015

    Dr. Heidi Horsley interviews Dr. Betty Davies, a professor and senior scholar at the University of Victoria’s School of Nursing. Also a professor emeritus at the University of California, San Francisco, Dr. Davies wrote Shadows in the Sun: The Experiences of Sibling Bereavement in Childhood for her students, those who have lost a sibling themselves, […]

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  • For the Ones Left Behind: A Guide for Helping Loved Ones After a Death

    May 23, 2016

    A death can shatter the lives of those left behind. Now, there are so many things to do. Who do you call? Where do you start? How can you help? Managing to survive in the aftermath of a loved one’s death is a daunting task. For the Ones Left Behind, A Guide for Helping Loved […]

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