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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Poem: Going the Distance
August 14, 2007
Life was tough So many challenges Just getting back on my feet again Fighting life head on Lost my dad, got up and fought again Lost my mom, got up, bruised, and struggled to gain my footing Lost my marriage…got up all alone Faced life’s challenges on my own And then lost my only child Was going for the ninth round Got that knock out blow To the heart I just didn’t know Thought I could go the distance After losing my dad, my mom, and my husband Thought I could make it Then dealt that fatal blow When I […]
My 4 year old son drowned in a town sponsored program
August 13, 2007
Almost 4 weeks ago my 4 year old son drowned in a town sponsered rec program. He was found under the dock. They wouldnt allow them to wear life jackets because there were too many kids. The dock was shaped like a lower case h where the kids are only supposed to be in the shallow u end. I cant find the words or strength to move on. He was my best friend, His 5 year old brother was with him and had to watch the whole thing. In Massachusetts for every 10 kids there needs to be 1 lifegaurd. […]
A Father’s Grief by David Pellegrin
July 28, 2007
A Father’s Grief By David Pellegrin Honolulu, Hawaii At my second meeting of The Compassionate Friends about three years ago, one of the mothers said how nice it was to see a man attending, since “men grieve differently from women.” Her remark was no doubt meant to help put me at ease. I hadn’t said a thing so far, and might have been intimidating in my silence. But it caught me off guard. What I was feeling after George’s death was so absolute, so awful, how could it possibly come with any “differences”? Would one grieve differently for an infant […]
Nancy Thomason: Honoring a Young Child’s Death
July 12, 2007
Nancy Thomason founded the Oklahoma Brain Tumor Foundation to help others cope with loss. https://media.blubrry.com/open_to_hope_1/audio.opentohope.com/2007/07/Nancy_Thomason_071207.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Poem: Shopping (after the death of my daughter)
June 26, 2007
“May I help you?” The answer is always, “No, thank you” And then I say I am fine When in reality my words are nothing more than lies. My heart is so weary Of trying to pretend I am feeling cheery. Behind those laughing eyes Lies pain on the face in whose falsehood lies. Broken heart and broken dreams A false facade hides in those unheard screams. Pain no one could ever imagine Fights a fight that no one can ever win. “May I help you?” The clerk repeats And again I say, “No,” as our eyes meet. Things are […]
Love and Connections Beyond Death by Suicide
June 26, 2007
We all use our minds to try to understand why our children died. I am no different; when our son Keith died, I continued to ask that endless question, “Why?” Throughout my pursuit for answers, my niece Juli and her son Cody helped me realize that maybe I was not looking at all possibilities–just maybe I would have to go beyond my own realm of understanding. As Juli shared some of Cody’s spiritual experiences with me, I found it would take a child to help me break through the spiritual barriers that I, as an adult, had created. Cody was […]
Reflections of a Bereaved Dad, Part 6: Rainbows Above You
June 25, 2007
So as it often does, once again, how we manage our grief becomes a matter of choice. I remember Rich Edler once said, “We cannot change what happened, but we do have a choice what we do about it. Grief is inevitable. Misery is optional.” So here are some of our choices. We can choose whether that videotape plays tragic memories, or a remembrance of all the good things in a life that was too short. We can choose to stay stuck in the gray fog of depression, or seek out others who can help guide us on this journey. We […]
Reflections of a Bereaved Dad, Part 5: Measures of Love
June 24, 2007
As many of you have been or are currently, I was consumed with the question WHY? I needed to make some sense out of these tragedies. Why was Scott, a normal full term baby, only to experience difficulties during labor and expire after only 16 hours of life? Why was Erin miscarried? Why did the truck turn in front of Lance? Why was Lance going too fast to stop? Why wasn’t he going a little faster so he could have avoided the accident? Why did this happen to us? Why were we being punished? I read everything I could get […]
Reflections of a Bereaved Dad, Part 4: Grieving Together
June 23, 2007
I believe that early on, I reached an intellectual understanding that my wife and I were dealing with grief differently. When I was up, she was down. When I was down, she was up. When she needed company, I needed to be alone and vice-versa. I sort of knew that but it didn’t really sink in until a number of months down this road. Most Friday nights we try to have dinner out. So on this particular Friday evening we’re in the middle of dinner and Kathy tells me that I don’t seem to talk about Lance as much as […]
