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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Little People with Big Hurts
April 28, 2009
By Cathi Lammert, RN – Most children who have a sibling that dies due to a pregnancy loss, stillbirth or in the first few months of life will experience a grief reaction. However, often times, their grief is overlooked or discounted. Parents may be so overwhelmed by their own grief that they are unable to assist their children with their issues. Parents often ask me “Will my child be negatively affected by the death of their baby sibling?” I have to say the answer to this question is, “Usually not, if the child’s grief is acknowledged.” In this article, I […]
Vet Centers Offer Grief Counseling for Military Survivors
April 27, 2009
Bereavement counseling is assistance and support for people with emotional stress following the death of a loved one. It can include a broad range of transition services, including outreach, counseling, and referral services. The Department of Veterans Affairs offers bereavement counseling to parents, siblings, spouses, and children of Armed Forces personnel who died in service to our country, including family members of Reservists and National Guard service members who died while serving on federally activated duty. The VA’s bereavement counseling is provided by the VA Vet Center program, which operates a system of 232 community-based counseling centers. These Vet Centers […]
Dealing with Media Attention After a Loved One Dies
April 27, 2009
For many surviving families who have lost a loved one in the military, our interactions with the media are interwoven with our experiences in the days immediately after our loved one dies. We encounter the reporters on our front porch, field phone calls from the Associated Press, and might even scan pictures to share. As a seasoned public relations professional with more than a decade of experience, I am no stranger to this type of intense scrutiny from the media. I have faced attack ads and rallied supporters for threatened programs. After Hurricane Katrina, I handled an avalanche of media […]
Dealing With Grief Over the Holidays: Practical Tips to Help
April 27, 2009
Holiday cheer and merrymaking may be everywhere at certain times of the year, but for thousands of Americans grieving the loss of a loved one, the holiday season can be an emotional minefield. And there’s no road map for easy navigation. “The holiday season can be particularly challenging for families who are grieving the recent loss of a loved one,” said Bonnie Carroll, the founder and chairman of the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, TAPS. “We offer tips to help surviving military families, and they are applicable to anyone who is grieving.” For more than a decade, TAPS has helped […]
Grandmother Reinvests in Life
April 26, 2009
By Nina Bennett When I was young, New Year’s Eve was always magical. It was the only night my brother, sister and I were permitted to stay up late. We would watch the ball drop in Times Square on television. We made New Year’s resolutions, even though we had no idea what a resolution was. As I moved through my teenage years, New Year’s Eve presented a dilemma. I wanted to go to parties with my friends and the special someone in my life, but families I baby-sat for throughout the year were willing to pay what at that time […]
Loss of Infant Twin Inspires Mother to Share Story
April 22, 2009
By Beth Larson – In 2001 I gave birth to my twin daughters Madelyne and Shirley. They were only 26 weeks gestation, and I had been in the hospital on bed rest because the water around Shirley broke everyday starting at 19 weeks. I was in the hospital for 7 weeks, laying there praying and watching my other two children, Alexander and Emmalynn, ages 3 and 5, come to visit me. I was terrified, my husband was anxious and the children were scared because Mommy was not at home. When I went into labor I knew that I had 50/50 […]
A Gift of Remembrance
April 22, 2009
by Sandy Fox Sometimes in the mist of everyday living something special happens that you know you will keep in your heart forever. For me that something special happened about six months ago. Out of nowhere I received a letter from my daughter Marcy’s first high school boyfriend from 25 years ago, a very personal letter in which he opened his heart about what Marcy meant to him. Almost 15 years is a long time to wait to write such a letter, but just the fact that it was sent at all was so very special to me. He found me because of an […]
What It’s Really Like When Your Child is Terminally Ill
April 20, 2009
By Lisa Buell — How could death possibly happen to a child? We all enter into an unspoken contract that our children will outlive us. It’s what gives us the courage to become parents in the first place. When that assumption is suddenly thrown into question because of a child’s illness, we find ourselves looking for reasons hidden in the unreasonable. We seek for clues to explain why this tragedy is happening to this particular set of parents, to gain understanding and to create distance as well. As parents of a dying child, we didn’t want to see ourselves as […]
Let’s Stop Judging Others’ Pain
April 17, 2009
By Alice J. Wisler “Never criticize a man unless you have walked a mile in his shoes.” Many of us repeat this line, most likely when we have been criticized as opposed to when we are the ones with a differing opinion. Years after my four-year-old son died, I received an invitation that got under my skin. Missing my son, a little under the weather, and experiencing the realities of a damaged engine of our Lincoln Sable, I was not at my best. So I felt I had nothing left within me to cushion my feelings when a fellow bereaved […]
