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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Phil Pinti: Resilience And Loss
April 8, 2021
Looking for hope? Join Dr. Gloria and Dr. Heidi Horsley in an interview with Phil Pinti, a practitioner of resilience. Phil is a widower, a father of two children, and an ultra marathon runner. https://media.blubrry.com/open_to_hope_1/www.opentohope.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Phil-Pinti-Resilience-And-Loss.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Sharon S. Ehlers Dealing With Grief On A Daily Basis
March 18, 2021
Struggling with grief? Join Dr. Gloria and Dr. Heidi Horsley in an interview with Sharon Ehlers founder of Grief Reiki® – award-winning Author, Grief Educator, Death Midwife and Reiki Master Teacher. https://media.blubrry.com/open_to_hope_1/www.opentohope.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Sharon-S-Ehlers-Dealing-With-Grief-On-A-Daily-Basis.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Finding Hope After Spouse Loss
March 14, 2021
Hard to believe it has been five months since my husband Phil, passed away of a staph infection post back surgery. Phil loved Open to Hope and all the wonderful people we have spent time with since the death of our son, Scott in 1983. As I like to say I have talked the talk of helping the bereaved find hope and now I am again walking the walk. You may wonder if being a part of the grief world has helped me during my loss and I would say a definite “yes”. I have learned a lot from our […]
Valentine’s Question: When Should I Start Dating Again?
February 11, 2021
Excerpt from the book Surviving Widowhood: Suggestions from Widowed People to You for Coping with the Death of Your Husband, Wife or Partner by Elaine Eggebraaten, John Hanson, Lori Keller, Tally R. Reynolds, Suzan Styer, Bob Baugher & Margarita Suarez. Available at Amazon. Making a Decision to Date or Not to Date For those of you early on in your grief, the word “dating” may seem a strange, perhaps even cruel term. You might be saying, “Why would I even consider dating someone when I still feel married? Why would I consider letting someone into my life when my life is so confusing right now?” […]
Cooking with Love: My First Valentine’s Day After My Husband’s Death
February 11, 2021
He Was a Chef My husband used to say, “I cook for a living, but you cook with love.” When our girls were 4 and 6, I decided to make a gourmet five course dinner to celebrate Valentine’s Day, but of course since he was a chef, he had to work on Valentine’s Day, and the fancy dinner was on a different night. The girls did not like the fancy new potatoes with sour cream and caviar that I prepared for the appetizer. They did not understand the concept of a meal served in segments or courses. They wanted to […]
James Sesnak: A Journey Through Widowhood
January 28, 2021
I was born in Detroit on 7/17/1952 and attended parochial grade school and high school. I graduated from Eastern Michigan University in December of 1974 with a B.S. in psychology and a minor in sociology. I began my healthcare career at Ypsilanti State Psychiatric Hospital in 1973 as a nursing assistant. I graduated from Mercy School of Nursing in June 1979. I met my late wife in December, 1979. We moved from Ann Arbor, Michigan in 1981 to Salt Lake City, Utah. We moved again in 1989 to San Diego then to Sedona, Arizona in 1999. I worked as a […]
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Assembling My Grief Survival Kit: What’s In Yours?
January 15, 2021
My husband died two weeks ago, but I had been preparing for his death a long time. I was my husband’s caregiver and watched him summon courage when he learned he was paraplegic. I watched him adapt to failing health and make the most of each day. I watched him and learned from him. Hundreds of times, he said, “I love you to eternity,” and I loved him the same way. I continue to feel his love and it gives me strength. During 63 years of marriage we were a couple and now it was just me, flying solo. What […]
Writing Happy Holiday Memories
December 23, 2020
I wrote this story as a happy Christmas memory…it especially holds true since my husband passed in 2017. I found a Charlie Brown-like tree: pitiful, sparse, complete with Charlie, Snoopy, Lucy, Linus and Schroeder at the piano ornaments on it. This is my new Christmas tradition since it is too difficult both physically and emotionally to put a tree with all the memories of past Christmases. This one is enough to bring me joy. A Charlie Brown Christmas “Babe, we’re going to have to cut back a lot this Christmas. Just found out from HR that we will have to […]
Change: The Unwanted Gift
December 19, 2020
“What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the Master calls a butterfly. ” – Richard Bach Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 — To everything there is a season; And a time to every purpose under the sun; A time to get and a time to lose; A time to keep and a time to cast away. My wife died after we were married for 63 years, but at the same time I still have her with me. What do I mean by that? I mean that her humor, beauty, love and spirit are still beside me and will never be lost […]
