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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After Son’s Death, Mom Creates Room of Her Own
June 11, 2012
Early on in my grieving process, I felt that my house was my safest place, and I couldn’t wait to get back to it after being out in crowds. Other times I wanted to run away because of all the memories. In fact we almost moved to get away from the reminders. Now I’m glad we did not. Memories and reminders of what might have been are everywhere, not just in our home. Instead I, like Virginia Woolf, created a room of my own in the house where our sons grew up. Six years after our son Paul died, I […]
Responding to Multiple Losses: ‘Power in the Broken Heart’
June 1, 2012
The bare bones story of my life is this: I lost two daughters to a vile and nasty genetic disease called Cystic Fibrosis. My older daughter, Heather, was twelve when she died undergoing a bronchial lavage that was meant to prolong her life. My younger daughter, Holly, died twelve days following an unsuccessful bilateral lung transplant that we thought would give her new life. During those twelve long days, Holly was comatose. She was twenty-two when the medical team decided to unplug the equipment that were keeping her vital functions going. Five years later, my husband, the girls’ father, put […]
Thank You to Compassionate Friends
June 1, 2012
This May 29th marked the 17th anniversary of Lance’s death. It’s even longer for Scott and Erin. As I look back, I realize that the passage of time has helped but without the help and assistance of my Compassionate Friends, I fear I would be mired in despair and desperation some place along the road that we all are traveling. So, as I reach this milepost I would like to thank those who helped along the way. Seventeen years ago, another bereaved parent volunteered to read the obituaries, saw Lance’s story and sent us a packet of information on the […]
Kelly Buckley; Topic: Gratitude
May 31, 2012
Kelly Buckley is an author, speaker and bereaved parent. In response to the loss of her 23 year old son Stephen in 2009, Kelly published Gratitude in Grief, a book about finding the goodness that remains in life, even in the pains of loss and making the connection between gratitude and resilience. https://media.blubrry.com/open_to_hope_1/audio.opentohope.com/2012/07/Kelly-Buckley_01.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Still Mourning, Still Dreaming After Death of a Child
May 29, 2012
Shortly after my son’s death, I came across his bathrobe in a closet; hugging it to my chest, my nose detected his scent. For the next few days, I frequently held his bathrobe to my face to breathe in his smell and perpetuate the illusion of his presence. The scent eventually dissipated, but the journey had just begun. I have approached many people to talk about their grief journey – especially parents who lost a child – hoping to learn something from them. What I ultimately learned is that even when the pain is similar, people grieve differently. When your […]
What Will Happen to our Possessions After We Die?
May 28, 2012
When we are gone, who will want our pictures and possessions, especially if we have lost our only child? If we have surviving children and/or siblings, cousins, aunts and uncles, will any of these people want the items we now cherish, or do these items lose their meaning entirely when someone in a family dies? Throughout my life and my daughter’s, I took many photos, saved many possessions and encouraged her to do the same. Here I am with all these memories that I enjoy having, and it scares me to think of what may happen to them when I […]
Moms on Losing A Child
May 17, 2012
Mary Jane Hurley Brant, Joan Garbutt and Suzanne Schoenhut are the guests on this week’s Patch Presents for our Mother’s Day show. Mary Jane Hurley Brant, Joan Garbutt and Suzanne Schoenhut are the guests on this week’s Patch Presents for our Mother’s Day show. Sam Strike interviewed the women about surviving the loss of a child. video-losing-a-child#youtube_video-9898934
Mary Rondeau Westra; Death of a Son
May 17, 2012
Mary Rondeau Westra is the author of After the Murder of My Son. A former teacher and fundraiser for arts organizations, she started writing after the death of her 24 year old son, Peter, in 2001. She gave a keynote address at the national conference of The Compassionate Friends in 2011. Mary and her husband live in White Bear Lake, MN. https://media.blubrry.com/open_to_hope_1/audio.opentohope.com/2012/07/Mary-Rondeau-Westra_01.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Recovering from Grief: Creating Memorials Helps to Keep Your Child’s Spirit Alive
May 13, 2012
After our elder daughter died in 2007, my husband and I searched for ways to keep her spirit alive. Our daughter, a composite engineer with an MBA degree, was 45 years old when she died. Like every parent who has lost a child, we felt she died too soon. Other family members had also died — my father-in-law, brother, and former son-in-law. We sobbed for them all. As days became weeks, and weeks became months, our tears slowed. “It was time and past time to heal the stones of sorrow within our hearts,” Bettyclare Moffatt writes in Soulwork. The time […]
