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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Messages of Love
June 3, 2014
Over the years since my son’s death by overdose in 2004, I have received many messages and signs from him. Some have come in dreams, some through songs on the radio. Perhaps the most powerful of all have been the heart-shaped stones and shells washed up by the sea to remind me that love never dies. September 2004, South Padre Island – Calling Out Four months after my son died, I visited South Padre Island and walked on the beach, feeling broken, drained and missing Cameron. I shouted and cried my grief into the sky and the sea. I felt […]
How to Feel Better in Less Than an Hour
May 31, 2014
I often read internet postings from fellow bereaved parents expressing the terrible pain they are feeling after the loss of a child. I hear it in support groups and have lived through it myself. My son, Anthony, died when he was five years old to leukemia four years ago. As I hear and read these stories of depression, pain and sadness, I find that if I am not careful I, too, can take on those same feelings. Perhaps the same type of thing has happened to you. Depending on the energy in the room of a support group, you may […]
Grief as a Backpack
May 27, 2014
People seem to think the ache of missing our children would become more bearable over time. It doesn’t. In fact, some of my days now are more painful as the years go on, because I’m further and further since I last held my son safely in my arms. You’d think after all this time I’d be less caught off guard when I think of my son and I suddenly cannot breathe. I’m not. It doesn’t get easier to choke on air. It doesn’t get easier to live without a huge piece of your heart. Over time I think we learn […]
The Upside of Sadness in Our Grief Journeys
May 19, 2014
Entitled No More During the last few days of my existence, I have experienced more sadness than usual. Considering that I am a parent whose child died over 11 years ago, I could justify my sadness as something that I was entitled to because of my daughter Jeannine’s death. However, entitlement hasn’t been a part of my vocabulary for a long time. I have learned to express gratitude for the blessings in my life, as opposed to regret over what I don’t have or what I feel that I am entitled to have. Plus I have found my peace with […]
Healing Through Art: Interview with Sharon Strouse
May 18, 2014
At the annual ADEC Conference, I had the opportunity to speak with Sharon Strouse of The Kristin Rita Strouse Foundation and discuss with her ways to deal with grief after losing a child. Sharon is also the author of a book called Artful Grief: A Diary of Healing. Using her book, anyone can create their own collage and begin the process of moving through grief. In the video below, Sharon shares how to use art therapy to heal. Here are some key takeaways from the video: Sharon lost her daughter to suicide on October 11, 2001. About a year after […]
Ministry of Bereavement: Interview with Ronald Ritter
May 17, 2014
Today, we had the privilege to interview Ron Ritter about a very basic tool that will assist people of faith to minister intelligently and effectively to those who grieve. The turning point for Ritter was when the shackles of clinical depression were removed five years after his son Steve’s death when he could focus his full energies into the ministry of bereavement. Here is the full interview: Ron Ritter was born the 7 September 1938. Born and Raised in Baltimore, MD. B.S. Business Administration, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA. B.Th. Concordia Theological Seminary, Springfield, IL 1970. Ordained, Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, […]
Beth Rotondo: Hope For Those Who Grieve
May 8, 2014
Beth Rotondo has worked in the bereavement for 20 years. She has lost an infant, parent, and sibling. Her losses and expertise have made her a comforting companion for those who grieve. She is the author of Threads of Hope and The Big Chair. https://media.blubrry.com/open_to_hope_1/audio.opentohope.com/Beth-Rotondro.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
A Day of Rebirth
April 16, 2014
I originally wrote this piece for my blog on March 1, 2014, my daughter Jeannine’s 11th angelversary date. Since year nine of my life as a parent who has experienced the death of a child, I have written about the teachings I have discovered when spending time with Jeannine, on her angelversary date. I decided that I wanted to share my experience again as we approach spring, a time of both rebirth and renewal. I have discovered clarity in ritual and ceremony, while recognizing that Jeannine still exists, but in a different form of energy. I still have occasional yearnings […]
Ghostbelly
April 10, 2014
Ghostbelly is Elizabeth Heineman’s personal account of a home birth that goes tragically wrong—ending in a stillbirth—and the harrowing process of grief and questioning that follows. It’s also Heineman’s unexpected tale of the loss of a newborn: before burial, she brings the baby home for overnight stays. Elizabeth Heineman’s book, Ghostbelly is available here.
