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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What Does The Research Tell Us About Grief?
March 19, 2026
Grief is part of the human experience; however, the grief of daughters whose mothers have died is significantly different than other losses. Research is needed that does not quantify or reduce the suffering women experience to only numerical findings, but includes tools for grief empowerment. According to the National Alliance on Caregiving, over 53 million baby boomers are now caring for their ailing parents, and 61 percent of caregivers are women caring for a female relative, most likely their mothers. Because caregiving is considered a “woman’s job” (i.e., unpaid), women often suffer emotionally and financially from what is referred to […]
Grief, Identity, Change, and Post Pandemic Mental Health
March 15, 2026
Grieving Who We Were Before the World Changed I didn’t need another reason to mentally and emotionally struggle. It’s what I have always known, what continues for me. There is a quiet kind of grief that doesn’t always come with a clear ending. It’s the grief for the version of ourselves that existed before Covid struck, before uncertainty became the norm, and before we were reshaped by it. We not only lost loved ones, but we lost ourselves. We were quietly expected to continue, to move forward, but not everyone has been able to do that. Long-Covid is something many […]
What Are Our Choices? A Personal Story By Susan Whitmore, Founder and CEO, griefHaven
March 10, 2026
How do we handle the road stretching before us when we are grieving? Erika, my daughter and only child, died at 32 in 2002 from a rare sinus cancer. A year later, with the love and support of many people, I started griefHaven. Before Erika died, time felt like a friend. After, it became my tormentor—each day dragging on, the months ahead looking like endless miles to endure without her. When I imagined the future, it no longer held the excitement of possibility. It felt like a long, empty road. Heartbreak hits like a sudden tsunami. It leaves us gasping, […]
How To Understand Grief Visions: They Really Are Common
March 4, 2026
Grief is part of the human experience; however, the grief of daughters whose mothers have died is particularly significant, especially for older women who were often caretakers during their mother’s end of life. The components of grief differ widely, and you are the expert on how to navigate this challenging yet sacred journey. It is important as part of this difficult and often lifelong journey to understand that grief is not limited to ordinary dimensions and that the metaphysical dimension that may often occur after a loved one has passed away may include inner knowing, visions, and dreams. Often, grievers […]
Skating for My Beloved Sisters
February 26, 2026
Skating is a sport I shared with my beloved sisters. When we were young girls, we proudly carried our skates in plaid bags and raced to be the first ones on the ice. Margie, my older sister, the most talented, Jane, the youngest, was athletic, and I, the middle sister, a bit of a klutz. Little did I know that skating would become the chord that would bind me, honor, and remember, and forever find peace and joy with my sisters. Throughout my life, somehow the ice called me, a pull I never quite understood, my happy place, where […]
Grief And The Trouble With Universal Stages Of Grief
February 19, 2026
Death is the eternal mystery, a mystery that fills our souls with both awe and terror. The consequences of the death of one’s mother is not like any other ordeal in life. Daughters are often faced with resurrecting a new life without a road map, catapulted upon the ruins that remain while enduring indescribable emotional pain. Based on my experience of my mother’s death, and the shared narratives with other daughters I have spoken with, this journey is both courageous and terrifying. Grief is often a taboo topic, and many women (and men) in mourning are not only distraught but […]
How Grief Becomes Your Greatest Superpower
February 17, 2026
Loss can feel like the moment the world shifts beneath your feet. You look around and everything appears the same, yet nothing feels the same. And still, even in the deepest ache, something extraordinary begins to stir. I have spent more than four decades companioning people through loss, and I have learned: Grief is not the end of your story. It is the beginning of your transformation. Loss shakes us to our core and reveals what truly matters. It invites us gently, quietly, and at our own pace, to discover strengths, truths, and inner resources we never knew we possessed. […]
A Lighthearted Valentine Evolved Into a Lasting Commitment. A commitment in life and in death.
February 14, 2026
““ Success in marriage is more than finding the right person. It’s becoming the right person.” Many of us had those “puppy love crushes” in our teenage years with no expectation of it leading to the altar. I purchased a cute Valentine’s Day card for a “guy” I was dating on-again, off-again. There was no intention in mind other than to get his attention with a bit of lighthearted humor. For all I knew, he could have promptly discarded the greeting card. On the front of the valentine was a picture of a sad, droopy hound dog and the words: […]
ANTICIPATE THE ANNIVERSARY YEAR(S)
February 9, 2026
It happened in New York, April 10th, nineteen years ago. Even my hand balks at the date. I had to push to write it down, just to keep the pen moving on the paper. It used to be a perfectly ordinary day, but now it sticks up on the calendar like a rusty nail. —Donna Tartt, author of The Goldfinch There is a year nearly every daughter who has lost her mother describes as being very significant. This is the year when she becomes the age of her mother when she died. This was also true for me. When I […]
