Open to Hope Articles
Do you want to read stories of others who have been where you are? Are you looking for bereavement help, and advice? Look no further. We offer over 3,000 articles written by our Open to Hope authors.
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‘Würmchen is Dead’
September 18, 2014
There’s an old pear tree in our back yard. It’s too close to the house. One of these days, a windstorm will blow one of the high branches onto the roof, and we’ll wish we’d had it removed earlier. Already, windstorms have taken down the three ancient apple trees that were on the property when I bought the house. The pear tree is very sick. The center is nearly hollow, and you can see the rot in the branches. It’s only a matter of time. But I hate the thought of chopping it down. It’s the last of the old […]
Rosalie Deer Heart: Healing Grief
September 18, 2014
Rosalie Deer Heart is a veteran of grief who chose to open her heart even wider to love after the sudden death of her teenage son, Mike. She is the author of eight books including Healing Grief—A Mother’s Story. https://media.blubrry.com/open_to_hope_1/audio.opentohope.com/Rosalie-Deer-Heart.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
The Terms of My Surrender
September 17, 2014
From the moment you came into my life, I hated you. I despised you. You came on the heels of my worst nightmare come true – the death of my young daughter. I didn’t know your name at the time. I just knew that you brought with you all the horrible feelings and emotions I had spent a lifetime learning how to repress and ignore. You broke my defenses down like they were candles trying to stay lit in a hurricane. You pounded me with pain, panic, anger, confusion, hysterics, anguish…and too many more to list. Mostly you came in […]
Because My Son is in a Box
September 6, 2014
Because my son is in a box on my shelf, I no longer give a shit about how I appear to the outside world. I do not care that I am misunderstood. I do not care that I am offensive or seem selfish. For once in my life I have no desire to explain myself. I want what I want out of this dense experience, and I am tired of defending that. I will attempt, here, perhaps in vain, to do so one last time. The only difference between myself and any other woman on this planet is that I […]
Linda Hunt: Finding Strength and Renewal After Child Loss
September 4, 2014
Linda Lawrence Hunt’s 25-year-old daughter Krista was killed while volunteering with her husband in Bolivia. She and her husband co-founded the Krista Foundation for Global Citizenship. Linda is the author of Pilgrimage through Loss: Pathways to Strength and Renewal after the Death of a Child. https://media.blubrry.com/open_to_hope_1/audio.opentohope.com/Linda-Hunt.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
We Would Have Died For You: The Journey of Bereaved Parents
August 19, 2014
From the moment we found out you were coming into our lives, we felt electric: a mix of excitement, adrenalin, and a dose of fear for good measure. We dutifully began plotting the course of our lives together – starting with milestones like kindergarten, puberty, graduation, career, wedding, grandchildren, etc. Then we began making our maps more detailed with our hopes and dreams for you. We prepared as well as we could for your arrival. On the day we welcomed you into our lives, we held out our loving arms and said softly, “Welcome. We’ve been waiting for you.” We […]
Accepting a New Life After a Multiple Loss
August 19, 2014
When I was only thirty-three years old, suddenly one day I felt my life was over and my only future was my past. Up until then, my life seemed magical, full of much love and happiness. Everything had been going according to plan. My husband Bart and I had just finished building our house in Idaho, where we wanted to raise our two boys, six-year-old Benjamin and four-year-old Samuel, through their high school years. We were preparing to set off on an adventure of a lifetime, to live in Avezzano, Italy, for one to two years while Bart worked there. […]
Another School Year Begins
August 19, 2014
We hosted a college graduation party at our house for our nephew last weekend. My husband’s family was here, including our 95-year-old great-grandmother, all four grandparents in various levels of physical health. This made five generations gathered to hear my brother-in-law speak of his three children, who have now all graduated from college, and we toasted their accomplishments. I sat on the porch with my beautiful daughter Izzy, 16, listening to the toasts and thinking that it won’t be too long before she is graduating high school and heading to college. But our sweet Mack, who died suddenly of sepsis […]
K. Paul Stroller: Writing a Posthumous Memoir
August 14, 2014
Dr. K. Paul Stroller, MD, started his medical career as a pediatrician and currently uses hyperbaric medicine to treat brain-injured children and adults. He is the bereaved father of Galen who in 2007 at the age of sixteen was killed in train collision. He is the editor of My Life After Life: A Posthumous Memoir and Life Chapters. https://media.blubrry.com/open_to_hope_1/audio.opentohope.com/K-Paul-Stoller.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
