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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Grief Goes to Work: Part II
June 12, 2009
By Patrick T. Malone — In the last installment, I told you about the deaths of my two sons, Scott and Lance, and my work experiences related to the grief associated with those deaths. We ended with my reaching out for help from others fully expecting the world was coming to an end. Well, as many of you probably know, the world does not end when you reach out for help. As a matter of fact, the relationships and interactions in my work environment improved immensely after my explaining exactly what would help. As I moved further along, I have […]
Kim McLean and Paula Prime: Finding Peace and Light After Loss
June 10, 2009
From Healing the Grieving Heart radio, May 14, 2009 Listen to radio show archive: MP3 Link First Guest: Kim McLean is a mainstream artist whose music is used often for comfort and hope of the bereaved. Although that was not her initial intention, people have sought her out because of the healing quality of her songs and vocal presentation filled with inspiring music. Second Guest: Pamela Prime is a mother, grandmother, spiritual director and author of When the Moon is Dark We Can See the Stars. She has survived the loss of two children, including an infant daughter to SIDS, […]
Welcome to My New Column and First Posting
June 10, 2009
Dear Friends, Welcome to the first post of my new weekly column, A Mother’s Thoughts. I’ll be sharing stories from my own experience, stories told to me by others, and any topics I come across that are relevant to pregnancy loss and infant death. I welcome your comments, questions, and your own personal experiences, for it is in sharing that we find healing and meaning in our own lives. Blessings, Monica Choosing to Live By Monica Novak Three weeks after our daughter Miranda was stillborn, shattering my Marsha-Brady-like-existence, my husband Al and I attended a Share pregnancy and infant loss […]
What Happened Between Two Children was Extraordinary
June 9, 2009
By Fran Dorf The following is the Prologue for Saving Elijah, Fran Dorf’s novel about child-loss. When the woman phoned, I couldn’t place her name until she said she was Maggie’s mother. Then I knew. They’d made quite a pair at the hospital, my son and her daughter. Eight-year-old Maggie was stricken and hairless and exhausted, her ashen face steroid-bloated beyond all reason. Five-year-old Elijah, with his thick glasses and crossed eyes, looked like a weird little Martian, his red-blond curls pasted to his skull with goop, an electrode and wire bonnet attaching him to a rolling EEG machine. He […]
TCF Changes Many Lives
June 8, 2009
by Sandy Fox I have watched miracles happen when parents who have lost a child are helped. At a national Compassionate Friends Conference one summer, I spend a lot of time in the bookstore selling my book. It was there I met Bobby and his sister when they bought my book. He was very quiet and withdrawn. She explained: “I had to bring Bobby here. I was afraid for him.” In 2001 one of his teenage children was killed in a car accident. In 2002 the second of his teenage children was killed in a car accident. In 2003 the […]
Others Share Ways To Help Bereaved
June 8, 2009
by Sandy Fox On my web site, www.sandyfoxauthor.com I have listed 10 ways that others can help us through our grief. Here are 10 additional ways I collected from friends to develop a new level of understanding between you and your friends that may help parents as they travel down that long, difficult road to recovery. **Acknowledge my grief; don’t ignore me because you are uncomfortable with the subject of death. It makes me wonder if what happened means nothing to you. **Don’t try to understand the depth of my pain. Just put a loving hand on my shoulder or […]
The Robin’s Song
June 8, 2009
It’s spring once again. Our part of the world is turning back towards the sun; trees are leafing out; wildflowers are blooming. Robins are again singing to one another. And, I believe, also singing to those who are grieving. Before my daughter Lori died, I was under the misperception that only the English robin had a glorious song. That smaller, red-breasted scalawag of a bird delights all who hear it, and I had felt that we in the United States had been short-changed when they’d misnamed its larger, boring American cousin the same sweet name. All I’d ever heard our […]
Writing Condolence letters
June 6, 2009
by Sandy Fox Whether you are a bereaved parent or just know of someone else who has lost a child, the most challenging letter an individual is ever called upon to write is a letter of condolence, particularly one about a child. The written word can bring much comfort when coping with a loss. We want to convey so much to these bereaved parents, particularly if we are close to them, but how should we do it? A few tips follow. First, acknowledge the loss and how shocked and dismayed you were to hear about the child dying. Then express […]
GRIEF SUPPORT 101: How to Help a Bereaved Friend or Loved One
June 5, 2009
By Fran Dorf – Thirty years after her son’s death, my friend still smarts when she remembers all the people who pointed out how lucky she was to have two other children. Another friend, whose brother recently died, grumbles that everyone keeps telling her it will get better with time. Another, whom I originally met in a grief support group, for years avoided anyone who hadn’t also lost a child. Having received my share of insensitive, even hurtful, comments after I lost my son, Michael, thirteen years ago, I certainly understand. Why do people so often say and do the […]
