Find hope and support by reading, listening and watching stories of spouse loss and recovery.
Looking for hope? Join Dr. Gloria and Dr. Heidi Horsley in an interview with Phil Pinti, a practitioner of resilience. Phil is a widower, a father of two children, and […]
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Struggling with grief? Join Dr. Gloria and Dr. Heidi Horsley in an interview with Sharon Ehlers founder of Grief Reiki® – award-winning Author, Grief Educator, Death Midwife and Reiki Master […]
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I was born in Detroit on 7/17/1952 and attended parochial grade school and high school. I graduated from Eastern Michigan University in December of 1974 with a B.S. in psychology […]
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Feeling stressed about upcoming holidays? Join Dr. Gloria and Dr. Heidi Horsley for tips and tools on handling special days during stressful times. https://www.opentohope.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Dr.-Heidi-and-Dr.-Gloria-Horsley-Avoiding-Thanksgiving-Grief-Blues.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | […]
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Having lost her only sibling, mother, and most recently her husband, Jennifer O’Brien encourages compassionate, real conversation about caregiving and end of life through her book, The Hospice Doctor’s Widow: […]
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Are you afraid you will never be happy again? Join Chelsea Hanson, a leading grief expert and educator, who will discuss “joy blocks” and ways to overcome them. Chelsea presents […]
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As a single parent are you wondering how to raise your bereaved children? Richard Ballo was a stay-at-home parent and journalist caring for two little boys when his wife, Lisa, […]
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Soaring Spirits has one goal; to connect widowed people with each other. As an organization, our leaders have personally experienced the power of the words, “Me, too.” We have felt […]
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The International Day of Hope and Healing After Loss, this is a first-of-a-kind, virtual experience bringing together major organizations and leaders in the field devoted to supporting the bereaved. Our […]
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After losing his wife, Michelle in 2016 he found his passion with helping others through their pain. John writes, coaches and speaks on grief, healing, dating, relationships, personal growth and […]
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Rob asks about what to do with his stuff and his partners after the death of their spouses. They want to move in together, but where do they start? https://www.opentohope.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Dr-Gloria-and-Dr-Heidi-Horsley-After-the-Death-of-a-Spouse-What-About-the-Stuff.mp3Podcast: […]
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Elena Schwolsky is a nurse, community health educator, activist, and bereaved spouse. She lost her husband to AIDS in 1990. Struggling to find meaning she visited Cuba where she […]
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Robert Zucker and Teresa Weybrew share their story of love after Robert’s wife died and Teresa’s life partner. They share their struggles and hopes. https://www.opentohope.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Finding-Love-After-Loss-with-Robert-Zucker-and-Teresa-Weybrew.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | […]
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Nichole Stangel, MA, MS, LPC, NCC, CT, is the Bereavement Coordinator/CISM Coordinator at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin. Chair of the Southeast WI Grief Network, a leader and educator for Traumatic […]
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Paula Meyer and Denise Dielwart are bereaved widows who collaborate to help other widows get back in the game of life in months not years. Denise is collaborating with Paula […]
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Larry M. Barber is a minister, licensed professional counselor, and certified thanatologist (specialist in the study of death, dying and bereavement). His interest in the field of death and bereavement […]
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Jan Warner created Grief Speaks Out, an online community that offers support and strength to over two and a half million “Grief Warriors” around the world. A “Grief Warrior” herself, […]
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Niles Finch is an actor and Celebrity Ambassador for a CaringHand and is spokesperson for Katie’s Club. In 2013 Niles’ father, Frederick, was diagnosed with lupus nephritis and passed away […]
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Dave is a bereaved spouse who uses his life experience to introduce successful people to themselves. He helps them balance health and happiness with significant achievement. He shows them how […]
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Claire Bidwell Smith is a licensed therapist specializing in grief and the author of several books about grief and loss. The Rules of Inheritance was a Barnes & Noble Discover […]
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At The National Alliance for Grieving Children, 23rd Annual Symposium on Children’s Grief; Juli Friedman talks about finding support for she and her son after the death of her husband. […]
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Michele Neff Hernandez is the founder and executive director of Soaring Spirits International, an international widowed peer-support network which has served over three million widowed people over the past ten […]
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Hard to believe it has been five months since my husband Phil, passed away of a staph infection post back surgery. Phil loved Open to Hope and all the wonderful […]
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Excerpt from the book Surviving Widowhood: Suggestions from Widowed People to You for Coping with the Death of Your Husband, Wife or Partner by Elaine Eggebraaten, John Hanson, Lori Keller, Tally R. Reynolds, Suzan Styer, […]
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He Was a Chef My husband used to say, “I cook for a living, but you cook with love.” When our girls were 4 and 6, I decided to make […]
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My husband died two weeks ago, but I had been preparing for his death a long time. I was my husband’s caregiver and watched him summon courage when he learned […]
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I wrote this story as a happy Christmas memory…it especially holds true since my husband passed in 2017. I found a Charlie Brown-like tree: pitiful, sparse, complete with Charlie, Snoopy, […]
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“What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the Master calls a butterfly. ” – Richard Bach Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 — To everything there is a season; And a time […]
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Excerpt from Life After Loss For Widows: Lifting the Veil of Grief You may have heard there are stages of grief we all go through. If you google it, you […]
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Sometimes after losing our spouse, it is difficult to find things to be happy about. In the early stages of our grief, finding anything good in our life requires coming […]
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This is an excerpt from Navigating 5 Life Changes: An Odyssey of Resiliency and Hope, which is available at: https://www.creativecoachingmethods.com/ “We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of […]
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This is an excerpt from Navigating 5 Life Changes: An Odyssey of Resiliency and Hope, available at: https://www.creativecoachingmethods.com/ “The world is round and the place which may seem like the […]
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This is an excerpt from Navigating 5 Life Changes: An Odyssey of Resiliency and Hope, available at: https://www.creativecoachingmethods.com/ “We must be willing to get rid of the life we’ve planned, […]
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This is an excerpt from Navigating 5 Life Changes: An Odyssey of Resiliency and Hope, which is available at: https://www.creativecoachingmethods.com/ “What lies behind us and what lies before us are […]
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This is an excerpt from Navigating 5 Life Changes: An Odyssey of Resiliency and Hope, which is available on my website: https://www.creativecoachingmethods.com/ When we hear the word odyssey what images […]
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This is an excerpt from Navigating 5 Life Changes, An Odyssey of Resiliency and Hope, which is available at https://www.creativecoachingmethods.com/ Preface to the Book A major life change has “an […]
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This is an excerpt from “Navigating 5 Life Changes,” An Odyssey of Resiliency and Hope” which is available on my website: https://www.creativecoachingmethods.com/ All Rights Reserved. First Edition. Copyright 2018 by […]
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https://www.amazon.com/Soldier-James Sesnak/dp/1733872205/ref=sr_1_1?crid=28YNX3RJYSQO&dchild=1&keywords=soldier+on+sesnak&qid=1600520693&sprefix=soldier+on%2Caps%2C211&sr=8-1 “The pain I feel now is the happiness I had before. That’s the deal.” C.S.Lewis C.S. Lewis’s memorable quote summarizes my life as I write these words. […]
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This is an excerpt from the book: Coping with Grief: A Guide for the Bereaved Survivor by Bob Baugher. You can order it at: www.bobbaugher.com One of the most […]
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SCENE I I awoke with a start; I had been buried in a dream, but a sound reached in and pulled me out abruptly. Was it a thump? Raising up […]
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This is an excerpt from Embracing Life After Loss: A Gentle Guide for Growing Through Grief by Allen Klein. Available on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/Embracing-Life-After-Loss-Growing/dp/1642500062/ref=sr_1_1?crid=330F5I7PHDK96&keywords=embracing+life+after+loss+klein&qid=1579904828&sprefix=Embracing+lif%2Caps%2C219&sr=8-1 Life is risky; we are all […]
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The holidays are a time of togetherness and family traditions. It’s even been dubbed the “most wonderful time of the year.” But for many in the widowed community, it can […]
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It’s been many years, many miles, and many tears since the early, raw days of being widowed. The life I am living now is one I would never have recognized […]
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Men need support after the loss of a spouse, and one way to get it is to create a team of people who can coach you. I refer to them […]
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What do Tom Brady, Wayne Gretzky, Michael Jordan, and Derek Jeter all have in common? We could start with a considerable amount of athletic ability. Each has been recognized as […]
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As someone who has had a near death and past life experience, I know the truth about what we call death. When my wife died 18 months ago, the incredible […]
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Excerpt from Life After Loss For Widows: Lifting the Veil of Grief I remember this one incident so well. A little over a year after losing Randy, I was enrolling […]
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Grieving men are misunderstood. And for a good reason. After all, men don’t believe they have permission to grieve in the first place. When a man experiences a loss, they […]
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What is the story you tell yourself about your loss? Even as a child, I understood the power of stories. Through words, I could escape into worlds far, far away. […]
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1. You Can Go On Even When You Feel Like Giving Up I honestly didn’t think I’d survive the first month of being widowed, yet here I am… 88 months […]
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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.
