Loss of a Family Member

After Loss of a spouse

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  • Get a Grief Buddy

    Posted on September 8, 2021 - by Harriet Hodgson

    Get a Grief Buddy Many grief books and articles say it’s important to tell your story. Indeed, telling your story is a forward step on the healing path. And one […]

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    How to Help a Dying Spouse

    Posted on August 8, 2021 - by Fred Colby

    How Can We Help a Dying Spouse? There are so many ways to help a dying spouse. When my wife, Theresa, was in the hospital, one incident made me realize […]

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    Dealing with Guilt While Grieving

    Posted on July 18, 2021 - by Peggy Bell

    The road of grief is paved with many emotions. You can experience denial, shock, anger, fear, depression, and bargaining and guilt. You may not feel all of them, but one […]

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    Helping a Widower After the Loss

    Posted on July 18, 2021 - by Fred Colby

    This article on helping a widower is excerpted from Widower to Widower, by Fred Colby. Purchase it on Amazon. Advice on Helping a Widower This portion of the book is […]

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    Healing Grief Through Nature

    Posted on July 18, 2021 - by Michelle Kaisersatt

    The Cancer Diagnosis At thirty wonderful years of marriage, my husband and I were revisiting the honeymoon stage. Kids enjoying their own adult lives, and us looking forward to adventures […]

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    From Married to Widowed: Can You Know How I Feel?

    Posted on June 14, 2021 - by Gary Sturgis

    From Married to Widowed Shortly after the death of my spouse, I was filling out a form at the bank. One of the questions was what my “status” was. In […]

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  • ‘Why Me?’: Surviving Partner Loss

    Posted on June 14, 2021 - by Gary Sturgis

    Daily Reminder of Surviving Partner Loss   I was at the post office picking up the mail a couple of weeks after my loss. It was always such a painful […]

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  • What to Do With a Loved One’s Possessions

    Posted on May 21, 2021 - by Rachel Kodanaz

    Definition of Loved One’s Possessions Until Rod’s passing, I was unaware of the true significance of a personal possession – something belonging just to you, something that doesn’t have meaning […]

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  • Tips for Dealing with a Spouse’s Belongings

    Posted on May 1, 2021 - by Peggy Bell

    A difficult task to tackle after losing your spouse is dealing with the spouse’s belongings: what to keep and what to give away. It is such an emotional decision. You […]

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    Finding Hope After Spouse Loss

    Posted on March 14, 2021 - by Gloria Horsley

    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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  • Valentine’s Question: When Should I Start Dating Again?

    Posted on February 11, 2021 - by Bob Baugher

    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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  • Cooking with Love: My First Valentine’s Day After My Husband’s Death

    Posted on February 11, 2021 - by Linda Freudenberger

    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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  • Assembling My Grief Survival Kit: What’s In Yours?

    Posted on January 15, 2021 - by Harriet Hodgson

    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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  • Writing Happy Holiday Memories

    Posted on December 23, 2020 - by Linda Freudenberger

    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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  • Change: The Unwanted Gift

    Posted on December 19, 2020 - by Bernie Siegel

    “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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  • Stages of Grief: Real of Not?

    Posted on December 14, 2020 - by Peggy Bell

    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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  • 5 Reasons to Still Celebrate This Holiday Season Even Though You’re Grieving

    Posted on December 13, 2020 - by Peggy Bell

    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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  • Navigating 5 Life Changes: Reflections on the Journey

    Posted on December 8, 2020 - by Mary Lou Meddaugh

    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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  • Navigating 5 Life Changes: Coming Home

    Posted on December 6, 2020 - by Mary Lou Meddaugh

    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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  • Navigating 5 Life Changes: Adrift at Sea

    Posted on December 4, 2020 - by Mary Lou Meddaugh

    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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  • Navigating 5 Life Changes: A Major Loss

    Posted on December 1, 2020 - by Mary Lou Meddaugh

    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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  • Navigating 5 Life Changes: Love, Loss and Renewal

    Posted on November 28, 2020 - by Mary Lou Meddaugh

    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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  • Navigating 5 Life Changes: An Odyssey of Resiliency and Hope

    Posted on November 25, 2020 - by Mary Lou Meddaugh

    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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  • Navigating 5 Life Changes: Overview

    Posted on November 23, 2020 - by Mary Lou Meddaugh

    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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  • Soldier On: When Hope is Fading

    Posted on September 25, 2020 - by James Sesnak

    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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  • Anxiety Over Fading Memories

    Posted on September 20, 2020 - by Bob Baugher

    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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