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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For the Ones Left Behind: A Guide for Helping Loved Ones After a Death
May 23, 2016
A death can shatter the lives of those left behind. Now, there are so many things to do. Who do you call? Where do you start? How can you help? Managing to survive in the aftermath of a loved one’s death is a daunting task. For the Ones Left Behind, A Guide for Helping Loved Ones after a Death was written with the intentions of assisting the countless who step forward or are called upon to provide support after a death. by Carla J. Vagnini Purchase Yours Today
A Daughter Remembers Her Father’s Creative Legacy
May 9, 2016
My father, Geoff Relf, a longtime San Diego advertising and communications figure passed away July 28, 2015, at 85, after battling cancer, surviving his wife, Connie by five years. The couple met at the University of Washington and moved to San Diego in 1956, then to La Jolla in 1959, where they raised four children: Terrie, Robin, Kirk, and Katherine. He was born in Tacoma, Washington, the son of Henry Clark Relf, an international lumber broker and De Lonto May Kirk, who met at the University of Washington. He was fond of sharing stories of his precocious childhood endeavors and […]
A Message for Mother’s Day: After Mother Has Died
May 8, 2016
Yesterday I received a text message saying, “I’m sorry I couldn’t call you back. I had a rough night.” I wasn’t keeping track and couldn’t readily remember what I’d called to say in the first place, so I asked if she was O.K. She responded telling me that a young friend had received a cancer diagnosis and the prognosis wasn’t good. She’d been up all night thinking about life and mortality. She closed her message with, “Life is short. I’m sure you learned that after your mom died.” People say things like that all the time, and it never bothers […]
I Still Grieve my Father’s Silence
April 13, 2016
My wife pointed to a curved red slash on my leg. “Where’d you get those scrapes?” “Maybe from the dog when we played a couple of hours ago?” Our dog has raggedy claws and abundant enthusiasm. Two cats also own us and one, Milo, randomly treats our flesh like a pincushion. An errant branch could slap my cheek when I’m biking or hiking. I cook, using sharp objects and boiling liquids. Life can be dangerous in the suburbs. I always enjoy the scene in 1975’s Jaws where Richard Dreyfuss and Robert Shaw compared scars while hunting Hollywood’s most famous shark. […]
Sharon Taylor: Father Loss
March 13, 2016
A professor of psychology and the chair of the Women’s Studies department at St. Martin University, Dr. Sharon Taylor, talks with Dr. Gloria Horsley about father loss. Dr. Taylor’s father died at war when she was just a few months old. This was in 1945, right at the end of the war, and during this time nobody dealt with the issue of war. As a result, Dr. Taylor was raised by a grieving mother who never had a chance to mourn. She tried to move on, and everyone in the family was sad about Taylor’s father. His body was never […]
Episode 64: Talking About Grief
March 9, 2016
On this show Dr. Gloria Horsley and Dr. Heidi Horsley interview Rachael Stephenson an advocate for honest and open discussions regarding grief. A clip is shown from Rachael’s Ted Talk Against Grieving in Silence. Their second guest is John Welshons author of Awakening From Grief; One Soul, One Love, One Heart and When Prayers Aren’t Answered.
Episode 63: Finding Your Way Back to Joy After a Loss
March 2, 2016
On this show Dr. Gloria Horsley and Dr. Heidi Horsley interview John Welshons counselor, teacher and lecturer. As a young child John contracted polio and faced death but had a miraculous recovery. He is the author of Awakening From Grief; One Soul, One Love, One Heart and When Prayers Aren’t Answered. Tribute is paid to deceased author and teacher Dr. Wayne Dyer. Dr. Dyer wrote the foreword to Awakening From Grief. A clip featuring Dr. Dyer is played.
Wearing My Father’s Clothes
February 18, 2016
Many days since my father’s death, I have worn some piece of his clothing. Often it is just a belt, brown or black. Today it was a blue dress shirt (several from which to choose), a navy blazer, an overcoat, and a wool cap…and the brown belt. I also have pullover sweaters, turtlenecks, mock turtlenecks, a plaid blazer, a brown hat with a brim, and more dress shirts. Lots of blue, red and white which fit the school district in which he worked and also his personal preferences. I’m more of a black, brown and green kind of guy—closer to […]
Turning Grief Into Creative Expression: Lauren Mascarella
January 21, 2016
Lauren Mascarella founded MamaQuest in May 2010, four years after she lost her mother to breast cancer. Since starting Mama Quest, she has launched Trauma to Art; a non-profit which empowers others who have lost loved ones to use creative expression to cope. She is a writer for Open to Hope and is the author of Alice’s Law: Finding Deeper Meaning and Honoring Lost Loved Ones. https://media.blubrry.com/open_to_hope_1/audio.opentohope.com/OpenToHope_LaurenMascarella.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download
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