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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Slideshow and Music: Keepsake of Memories
April 16, 2009
by Sandy Fox A special project I did in memory of my daughter was a slide/music show on the computer. This is something you may want to do. You can look at it anytime, when the memories overwhelm you, or when friends and relatives come over who would appreciate seeing it. I started out by going through every album I have from birth to death and chose the pictures I thought represented her life through candid action shots of activities she was involved in, trips she took, boyfriends she had, honors she won, and of course, family posed pictures. I […]
Four Friends for the Grief Journey
April 16, 2009
During my journey through grief, here were four friends that never failed me: journaling, expressive arts, dreams and synchronicity. My book, The Deep Water Leaf Society, is full of examples of how these companions helped to guide me toward healing. Here is a brief overview of how you can bring these friends along with you on your own healing journey. JOURNALING When you’ve lost a loved one, all kinds of things go through your mind and heart. You feel many emotions. You may have regrets. You may be beating yourself up with the “if onlys.” There may be things you […]
Corresponding With Bereaved Parents
April 13, 2009
by Sandy Fox This morning I opened my email and heard from a mother who had lost her 21 month old son in a car/pedestrian accident last year. She had just finished reading my book, saying it was the first one she had read since the accident, and found that reading about other parents who have lost children and what they have gone through reaffirms her own feelings. She, like many, is having a rough time. Her email has inspired me to write today’s blog. In another email I received recently a mother said she read my book twice, enjoying […]
When a Child is Dying, What Do Classmates Need to Know?
April 13, 2009
By Norman Fried — Children with chronic illnesses are often absent from school due to medical treatments and their attendant side effects. Frequent hospitalizations, chemotherapy, outpatient doctor visits and general malaise and fatigue have all interfered with the child’s ability to maintain proper and consistent attendance in school. In the circumstance of a life-limiting diagnosis, or when the child has entered into a palliative care and end-of-life phase of his disease, questions and concerns from classmates eventually arise. Fears about their friend’s medical condition, his abilities and disabilities develop. A visit to the child’s classroom should be made available by […]
Death Creates Secondary Losses
April 12, 2009
by Harriet Hodgson Death creates many secondary losses. Some are major, some are minor, and some are just annoying. After four family members died within nine months I coped with dozens of secondary losses. I was in such shock at the time, however, I did not realize how powerful these losses could be. According to Bob Deits, author of “Life After Loss,” secondary losses are really a series of losses. These losses hit and hurt the core of your being, Deits says, and “how you measure your happiness and value your life.” Well, I can honestly say I didn’t have […]
Easter Reminds Us That We Can Rise From Our Grief
April 11, 2009
By Pamela Prime — Easter and the days leading up to it are a sacred time for many. In some ways, this is an extraordinary time, a time filled with mystery. It was a time I could not fully relate to because it was about the mysteries of Jesus and didn’t have much to do with me or my life. It really was not until my daughter died of Sudden Infant Syndrome that I really appreciated this as sacred time, a time to identify with the God who suffers and the God who rises. I began to see it as […]
Meaning of Easter: Time to Grieve Before the ‘Resurrection’
April 10, 2009
By David Daniels, M.D. — Easter is the season of renewal. But what does this mean in terms of our grieving the loss of loved ones? In the Christian tradition, Easter is the time of the death and resurrection of Jesus. Many Christians believe in the literal truth of this, of the resurrection and of life everlasting. Many Christians and others also believe the account of Jesus’ death but in a symbolic way, as a representation of undying spirit. Thus, Easter is a time both of mourning the passing of loved ones and of rejoicing in their lives. In either […]
Good Friday: Even in Darkest Night, Sun Waits to Rise
April 10, 2009
I’ve been thinking about the Easter story as a metaphor for my own journey through grief. I’ve been thinking about Good Friday and the days leading up to it, because in reality that’s where the Easter story begins. It begins with the dark night of the soul. It begins with a death. In my life, the darkness wound through years of watching helplessly as my son Cameron struggled with addiction and, at times, homelessness. The darkness only deepened with his death by overdose in the county jail on May 3, 2004. As in the Bible’s story of Jesus’ death, there […]
The Season of Renaissance
April 9, 2009
By Yvonne Lancaster — The yard was still icy near the fence where it hides from the lowering sun. As a brave New Englander who shoveled her way through the long months of winter, it was heartening to see and feel the crusty brown earth beneath my feet and see crocuses peeking at me with their little green buds. Since childhood, I have always enjoyed the changing seasons. In many ways, nature taught me about life, death and many things that matter. In the summer, we were allowed to play outside until the street lights came on. In the fall, […]
