Find hope and support by reading, listening and watching stories of spouse loss and recovery.
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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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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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 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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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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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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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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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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Looking for ideas on dealing with recurring grief trauma? Join Dr. Gloria and Dr. Heidi Horsley in a conversation with Dr. Benjamin Perkus and learn how using essential oils can […]
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Wondering how to handle a recent Loss? Join Dr. Gloria and Dr. Heidi Horsley and James Hilgendorf, filmmaker, speaker, poet, and author of eleven non-fiction books for insights on coping […]
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Looking for insights on the challenges faced by men after spouse or partner loss? Join Dr. Heidi and Dr. Gloria Horsley and Herb Knoll bereaved spouse, retired banking executive, professional […]
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Are you interested in developing and validating your intuitive capabilities? Join Julie Ryan businesswoman, inventor, podcaster and author in a discussion of how Psychic and Medical Intuitive skills can be […]
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Bobbi Milne joined The Compassionate Friends in after the death of her 11-year-old son, Andrew. On this show she discusses how coping skills and service have helped her to get […]
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Wondering how to keep it together when loss comes around again? Join Sharon Neff bereaved daughter and spouse for messages of hope. Her blog is Travails and Conquer and she […]
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Are you looking to find your way from loss to peace? Buddhist Chaplin Clare Willis will give you ideas and practices to help you navigate the grieving process. She is […]
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Janice Nadeau, Ph.D, is a psychologist, marriage and family therapist, nurse and author of Families Making Sense of Death. She has been active in the loss and grief field for […]
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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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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.
