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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Does Grief End? Signs From Our Son in Heaven
August 21, 2009
Our son Billy crossed over to heaven on June 26, 2004, four days before his 29th birthday. Billy was killed instantly while riding his ATV at night, hitting a tree. My first goal was to try to survive the next day and make sure that my wife Jo-Anne and our other son, Robert, were OK. Beyond that, my goal was to find a way to make a connection with our son, Billy, in heaven. I had tried on my own in different ways for a few months without any success. That all changed when my wife Jo-Anne asked me if I […]
Does Grief End? Rediscovering Laughter
August 21, 2009
I heard the sound coming from somewhere close, swelling from the deepest part of my being. I was almost startled when I felt it resonate through my body, felt the vibration, lungs rising and falling to keep up with the demand of my spirit. How long had it been since I had felt laughter? The noise was both familiar and startling. The overwhelming sense of loss that guarded the gate to my soul must have been on a lunch break. Loss and I had made an agreement after my daughter died that I could never be happy again. But now, […]
Does Grief End? Giving Up on Having it My Way
August 21, 2009
I knew I had turned the corner on grief the moment I lost it all; the moment I let my hopes, my dreams, my world, fall apart. For six months, I refused to accept that my infant twin daughter was gone. I couldn’t see how life would be possible without my daughter. I had always envisioned a grand way of living and was convinced that living an extraordinary life was no longer an option for me after my daughter’s death. I felt I deserved something better, something more than a life of grief. So, as a woman of faith, I […]
Does Grief End? Belly Laughs and Crème Brule
August 21, 2009
“Mom, we didn’t move into the pub,” my daughter laughed, “we went there to cool off and eat.” No wonder my memory was hazy. My husband and I were still recovering from the loss of our elder daughter, my father-in-law, my brother, and our former son-in-law. Four deaths in nine months were overwhelming. The pub topic came up during a family dinner at a French restaurant. We were reminiscing about a trip we and our younger daughter had taken to London and the Isle of Man. I told the story about calling the hotel desk clerk to report the lack […]
Does Grief End? Deciding That It’s OK to Survive
August 21, 2009
My wife, Kathy, and I present a workshop for bereaved parents that we have titled, “Into the Valley and Out Again.” We conclude that presentation with some of our observations on our recovery and reinvestment. We believe that many of these observations apply to all forms of grief. So here are some excerpts from our workshop. A few years ago the Queen Mother in England died after more than 100 years of life. She was much beloved as the “Queen Mum,” and even before her death, she was planning how she would help the people of England recover from her […]
Does Grief End? Sense of Smell Leads the Way for One Mom
August 21, 2009
By Debra Reagan — There is a smell that is part of my memory of Clint. Since the blessing of this smell doesn’t happen often, I cherish each moment. Recently, I encountered the precious smell several times over the span of a day and a half. I enjoyed the bitter sweetness of it and went about my day with a smile in my heart. The next day the following took place. I had a glass hummingbird ornament that Clint had given me when he was 16 years old hanging on the bathroom mirror. I enjoyed looking at it each morning […]
Death of Dog Compared to Child’s Death
August 18, 2009
Not long ago I was listening to the Today Show and Jill Rappaport was interviewing a woman who had lost her dog. This woman compared the loss of her dog as equal to the loss of a family member. As much as I loved the two dogs I owned in my lifetime for 15 years each, there was no comparison for me when my daughter died. We may get attached to our pets, we mourn when we lose them, but to make that comparison for me is unthinkable. Granted, there are similarities that while this woman who was interviewed may say she […]
Finding Support in Grief
August 15, 2009
by Sandy Fox Bereaved parents find support from many sources during their grief journey. The results of one survey conducted by Compassionate Friends showed that parents said the most helpful and providing the most information for bereaved parents are: Friends (82.3%) Family (80.3%) Physicians (58%) Coworkers (44.8%) Clergy and hospitals (39.5% each) Websites (20.5%) Therapists/counselors (19%) Online chats/message boards/forums (13.3%) Support groups (12%) Supporting someone whose child has just died is difficult. From this survey, friends and family seem to do the best job, but this loss is so enormous that we have few words of comfort to offer. Though […]
Jean Regan: Death of a Sibling
August 13, 2009
Jean Regan shares the story of the death of her son and the affects it had on his sister. https://media.blubrry.com/open_to_hope_1/audio.opentohope.com/2010/10/Jean-Regan-081309.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
