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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Beverly Hurley: Bereaved Parents USA
May 21, 2009
Beverly Hurley shares the story of the loss of her daughter due to cancer and her work at Bereaved Parents USA https://media.blubrry.com/open_to_hope_1/audio.opentohope.com/2010/10/Beverly-Hurley-072408.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Son’s 40th Birthday Would Have Been Today
May 20, 2009
Our son Keith died when he was almost 30 years old; that was 10 years ago. Today, May 20, 2009, he would have been 40 years old. As Keith’s birthday approached, I wondered what he would have accomplished in the last 10 years. Keith loved the outdoors, so I can still see him fishing, running, hiking, skating, skiing and scuba diving. However, I know how much Keith loved children, so if he was not married, with children of his own, he would be working with children that needed a Big Brother. I can also see Keith working with young children, […]
Death, and Hope, in the Middle East
May 18, 2009
By Reg Green — When the doorbell rang in John Boria’s house in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, on August 31, 2004, and he saw three National Guard Air Force colonels standing there, his first thought was that they had come to the wrong address. The second, a moment later, came with sickening force. “Has something happened to my son?” he asked. Yes, they told him, something has happened. The Boria’s elder son, Capt. John Javier ‘Javy’ Boria, a 29-year-old Air Force pilot, had been injured in an off-duty accident in an all-terrain vehicle he was driving in Qatar, where he was […]
Death of a Child: ‘Unfinished Motherhood’
May 15, 2009
By Clara Hinton – When child-loss occurs, a mother goes through a difficult time of emotional turmoil and questioning. “Am I still a mother?” “Does my child still have a birthday each year, or does time stand still?” “Can the mother/child relationship continue to grow, or am I now an ‘unfinished mother’?” Losing a child often places a mother on a road that begins a lonelier journey than ever expected-one that can never really be explained. There was a beginning, but with the death of the child, there is no middle and no end. Everything seems so unfinished. Hopes and […]
Sharing My Child With the World
May 13, 2009
by Sandy Fox As a bereaved parent, we always want to keep our child’s memory alive and in front of people so they are not forgotten. We constantly think of ways to do this. Here are a few ideas of things I do that you may find interesting. I took a color (or you can use black and white) picture of my daughter to a Penny’s store jewelry department (other stores may do it also), chose a gold oval pendant (I liked the oval best but there are also round, square and heart-shaped ones), and then the store sends it […]
Honoring a Mother Who Has Lost a Child
May 10, 2009
By Karla Wheeler — In every community there are mothers who need extra doses of TLC this Mother’s Day. I’m thinking of the mothers who are enduring that painful grieving experience, the loss of a son or daughter. As we go about our usual Mother’s Day activities, lavishing our moms with gifts or paying tribute to mothers who are no longer living, let’s take a moment to reach out to a mom we know who has lost a child through death. My father was a role model in this regard. His reverence for his mother, and all mothers, reached new […]
Missed Opportunities
May 9, 2009
by Lana When we lose a loved one, sometimes when we reflect on the past, we find missed opportunities. The spring before Alicia died, she was invited to a 2 week seminar at Princeton. I never told her how proud I was of her accomplishments! She was working on her PhD in mathematics and she had earned the highest score on her Preliminary exams and was one of the most promising students they had at the University of Colorado at Boulder. So, she was invited to attend this two week seminar. When you lose a loved one, you think of […]
The Yellow Butterfly
May 9, 2009
by Corinne Ruiz April 22, 2004, my life was forever changed. My 14 year old daughter, Olivia Corinne Hoff passed away. As I look back now, I don’t even know how I survived. I didn’t think it was possible to live another day, another week, another month and another year, but I have. My grief journey continues to this day, such hard work, every day. For those parents who have lost a child, you all know too well how difficult this journey is. Along the way, I felt as though I were stuck, unable to move forward and, of course, […]
Mother Accepts Sorrow, Doesn’t Let it Rule Her
May 9, 2009
By Diana Doyle Five years ago, our daughter died. Savannah was only four. The grief I felt that day is still with me and still raw, but it helps me move forward and heal. After she died, it was hard to accept that nothing had changed for anyone else. The sun still rose and set and people went about their business as usual, even though my own personal corner of the world would never be the same. I had to find a way out of it, or be trapped there forever. My new baby girl and my husband both needed […]
