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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How We Heal After the Death of a Child
April 22, 2024
The death of a child is so profound, it’s like no other loss. There’s no such thing as getting over the death of a child. Instead, bereaved parents must learn to adapt to a new life without our child’s physical presence. It’s part of the long, slow process of healing after the death of a child. Devastating Pain If you’re never fully healed after a child’s death, how can you gauge your healing progress? The intense pain after my 4-year-old daughter’s death felt devastating and unbearable. The most common question from newly bereaved parents in child loss support groups is […]
A Nerd’s Guide to Grief
April 22, 2024
My Life in Grief I absolutely, freaking hate the saying “Life only gives you as much as you can handle.” If that’s the case, then just call me Atlas, baby, because apparently life thinks I can handle the weight of the world on my shoulders. I’ve endured a laundry list of traumatic events that has made everyone close to me wonder exactly whom I pissed off in another life. Maybe someday I’ll write a memoir, and I’ll go into a bit more detail about some of these events later in the book, but for now I’ll give you the CliffsNotes […]
Mother Maintains Contact with Deceased Son
April 17, 2024
Mother Loses Son to Addiction To all of my fellow parents of deceased children — mothers and fathers — I offer greetings. I too have suffered this unthinkable loss and know the grief that accompanies it. My son, Danny, died on July 1, 2008, from an overdose of alcohol and prescription drugs, a death all too common in this day and age. Shortly after he passed, I read that the incidence of deaths due to overdose has quadrupled in young people between the ages of 18 and 23. Dan was right in there at 22. Needless to say, this has […]
When a Child Dies of Drug Addiction
April 8, 2024
A Child Dies of Drug Addiction Ben was an addict. That declaration is enormously painful and takes even more courage to write than Ben died at age nineteen. He was an honor student, football captain, neighborhood skateboard star, altar server, little league all-star, and lead singer in a punk rock band; he was handsome, popular, kind, and gentle. He was my first born, my only boy…he was an addict and heroin killed him. When Ben was in the throes of his disease, I would jolt awake, stare at the blank ceiling, feeling my blood turn to ice. With my hands […]
Do We Ever ‘Get Over’ the Death of a Child?
March 27, 2024
Getting Over a Child-Loss There was a time when I believed that people should “get over” their grief by the 12th month following a loss. After all, isn’t that what our society believes to be true? In the summer of 1976, I was employed by a doctor in a medical office building. There were several other offices on our floor, and at noon time, I would meet with some of the other doctors’ employees for lunch. One woman, whom we called Gracie, had lost her 16-year-old son two years prior in a drowning accident. Each day at lunch break, Gracie […]
Loss of a Child: A Pain Like No Other
March 26, 2024
A Pain Like No Other All loss is hard. All loss is lonely. But there is something about child-loss that puts it in a unique category. I have experienced other types of loss. When my very much loved father died in 2001, I was devastated. My father was a wonderful, kind man, a devoted husband and father. I grieved for him. I will forever miss having him in my life. I will treasure my wonderful memories of him forever. Then, in 2006, my 23-year-old daughter suddenly died. In a single phone call, my life as I knew it came to […]
Susan Lataille: Navigating Grief
March 14, 2024
Are you on a journey to peace and acceptance while struggling with overwhelming grief? Join Drs. Gloria and Heidi Horsley, along with guest Susan Lataille, as she shares her personal journey to peace and acceptance following the death of her 28-year-old son. Susan, a Certified Master Grief Coach and author of the anthology series “Shining a Light on Grief,” provides insights and inspiration for those seeking solace in the midst of profound loss. https://media.blubrry.com/open_to_hope_1/content.blubrry.com/open_to_hope_1/Susan-Lataille-Navigating-Grief.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Signs and Dreams from our Children
March 7, 2024
Signs and Dreams from our Children Dreams and signs of our children. Do they really exist? Are dreams and signs a technique our deceased children use to contact us to let us know they are fine and indeed do live on? I believe with my whole heart they do. I am very fortunate and blessed. Because of my Grief Support website, I am privileged to hear about numerous dreams and signs deceased children have shown their parents and grandparents. Although they vary in context, they all have the same theme of our deceased children communicating to us that they still […]
William and Millie Hunton: Coping with Solitude After the Loss of a Child
February 22, 2024
Feeling isolated after the death of a child? Join Drs. Gloria and Heidi Horsley along with bereaved parents William and Millie Hunton, who have provided support to thousands through their work with The Compassionate Friends. As co-chairs of the TCF National Conference in New Orleans in July 2023, they share insights on overcoming loneliness and finding connection in the midst of grief. Register for the conference today: https://www.compassionatefriends.org/event/47th-tcf-national-conference/ https://media.blubrry.com/open_to_hope_1/content.blubrry.com/open_to_hope_1/William-and-Millie-Hunton-Coping-with-Solitude-After-the-Loss-of-a-Child.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
