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.
SORT BY RELATIONSHIP
Father Recalls Son’s Suicide on the 10th Anniversary
March 10, 2009
By Dick Loehr — You are reading this because you have lost someone to suicide or perhaps you have had suicidal thoughts yourself. I am writing this to tell you about Keith, what I have learned in these 10 years, and what I do for myself in order to keep surviving. When Keith took his life, he was a working adult, located in a city far from us. We weren’t around Keith very much. He was not in treatment for depression, and we had little understanding of depression or other brain disorders. Keith was a high achiever, well-liked by his […]
Opening Grief as a Gift
March 8, 2009
By Alice J. Wisler — Some view grief as a dirty word. It’s associated with pain, hardship, suffering, endless days of crying and never seeing the sun. It’s hard – tough on the body, spirit and mind. No one wants to have to go through grief. All hope to avoid it. The Oxford Dictionary defines “grief” as the media does – intense mourning. I know that’s true because when Daniel first died, the agonizing pain was intense. To walk into a store was painful. Seeing my surviving children and knowing that from now on Daniel would not be with us […]
Film Review: Steel Magnolias
March 7, 2009
Reviewed by Yvonne Lancaster — “Steel Magnolias,” directed by Herbert Ross, includes the cast of Sally Field, Dolly Parton, Shirley MacLaine, Daryl Hannah, Olympia Dukakis, Julia Roberts, Tom Skerritt, Dylan McDermott, Kevin O’Connor and Sam Shepard. The story centers around six women customers at Truvy’s Beauty Parlor in a small Louisiana town. They share gossip and good natured ribbing as they deal with the joys, sadness and the trials and tribulations of their everyday lives. Through their strong and lively personalities and their different points of view, each woman has her own unique way of expressing love, loss, pain and […]
How Can I Let Go of Anger After the Death of a Child?
March 5, 2009
Question from Jay: My son Josh died July 12, 2008, from a drug overdose. The person who sold him the drug was his girlfriend’s mother. The police did an investigation that went nowhere due to the fact that they needed one of my son’s friends to make a buy off of her, but no one had the guts to do it. I know that she sold him the drugs because of a conversation that I had with my son two nights before he died. I was waiting to have spinal fusion surgery and was in constant pain, and my son […]
When Words Become Precious Gifts
March 5, 2009
by Sandy Fox I often think of an afternoon stage production I attended with five friends because it confirms to me that my child lives on in other hearts as well as mine. While waiting on line to get in to the production, I saw an old aquaintance whose chidren knew my daughter Marcy. The mother, Yetta, and her son Mark were there to see the production also. Mark’s wife wrote it and stars in it. After saying hello to Yetta, I was introduced to her son. “Mark, this is Sandy Fox. Do you remember Sandy’s daughter, Marcy Finerman?” Before Mark’s […]
Jennifer Steinman: Giving is Healing
March 5, 2009
In her documentary film Motherland, Jennifer chronicles the journey of four women to South Africa who go to give back in order to heal. Each woman had lost a child. https://media.blubrry.com/open_to_hope_1/audio.opentohope.com/2009/03/Jennifer_Steinman_030509.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Mother Seeking Help for Military Son With PTSD
March 4, 2009
Question from Stephanie: I am writing you in regards to my son, who was enlisted in the Army for 20+ years and at this time, he is dealing with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. In the beginning, he was having bad dreams and would constantly “jerk” during the night. Currently, the dreams seem to be getting worse. I need to find out where to go or who to call in order to get him the help he needs. I’ve been talking it over with him and he does not want to be placed on drugs. We wrote two years ago about the […]
Film Review: Space Between Breaths
March 4, 2009
By Rosemary Smith – Who are we? What really matters? Is it possible to find true happiness after a great loss? These were some of the questions we tried to answer in the film my husband Luther and I produced, call “Space Between Breaths.” In the film, we looked at the possibility that grief can be a motivational, transformational force in our lives. The film features conversations with parents who have lost a child (as we did), including those whose loved ones died at Columbine, on September 11th, and in Iraq. We hope that “Space Between Breaths” offers an inspired […]
The Twins Born From Grief
March 1, 2009
Exactly one year to the day after losing my 26-year-old son to a drug overdose, I had this dream: May 3, 2005 – The doctor tells me I’m pregnant. Oh my God, I don’t want to have another baby at this age! It will be so much work and I don’t have the energy. I am torn. I love babies, but I don’t want one of my own. Yet, I can’t have an abortion because I feel like God must have given me this baby and I can’t turn away from that. I hope that maybe the doctor is wrong. […]
