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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Music Can Heal a Broken Heart
October 3, 2014
I love to write. I write about the spiritual in our everyday lives, and I write children’s books. Yes, I know that they are two completely different genres; yet both make me feel complete. I believe that writing about the spiritual is what I was meant to do. It is my reason for being here, and I feel if I have helped just one person with my spiritual writing, then I am fulfilling my mission in life. Writing children’s books takes me to places where all things are possible, where bears can talk, princesses live in lovely castles, and magical […]
Quiet and Patience are Stepping Stones to Healing
October 1, 2014
The earliest feelings of mourning include the initial shock (this can’t be happening), the denial of the reality, and feeling overwhelmed and numb. It is not uncommon to feel some loss of self-esteem and extreme vulnerable. Symptoms usually include a variety of internal complaints, a great deal of crying, insomnia, waking from sleep or not being able to fall asleep, feeling anxious, loss of appetite, possible sweaty hands and heart palpitations. You may also experience irritability, lack of patience, forgetfulness, distractibility and loss of concentration. Feelings of sadness and loneliness accompany feeling bewildered. Disassociation of feeling is common. “I feel […]
Music and Grief
September 30, 2014
I was afraid. If death could just sweep in and take Duane and Jody, then none of us is safe. Her death robbed me of an innocence of sorts…the belief that we all will live full lives surrounded by the people we love. But that all changed on January 26, 2003, and, now, I am a realist. I’ve talked with thousands of people who have been in crisis of one form or another. I’ve walked through the grief process with friends who have lost babies, born and unborn, husbands, children and parents. So it’s not like I live in a […]
Happy Birthday to a Husband Gone
September 30, 2014
I wonder how your Retire-at-55 plan would be going by now? Would we be Florida-bound? Or woefully far from the dream? That seems to be how life goes. We smugly think our plans are well-made, well-plotted, that hard work and diligence paid. Or we think God had other plans or we missed the mark, failure at our backs. Our dreams become what we have at hand. A widow’s work is never done. I’m sitting outside on my London-green park bench, a Mother’s Day gift from long ago, another life, and I am wishing, crying, that I could personally wish you […]
Sadness Creeps Back, Sometimes Out of the Blue
September 27, 2014
I lost my husband of 35 years nine years ago, and the overwhelming grief that I felt is somewhat of a distant memory. “Yes, somewhat of a distant memory, until something triggers that gut-wrenching heartache,” I mutter out loud as I write. It is strange how it manages to creep back into our lives, out of the blue, shattering our day, and reminding us that we are here without the love of our lives. The triggers can be something as simple as seeing a couple walking together holding hands, or watching a football game and remembering those autumn afternoons when […]
Already Among the Dead
September 25, 2014
I walk among the dead. This began when my wife died in April 2001. So when the planes slam into the World Trade Center, my heart doesn’t move. The towers collapse, sending clouds of dust billowing into the sky, people stumble into the streets stunned, and I feel nothing. Why should I cry? Why should I grieve faces and names I don’t know? My heart’s silence tells me that I already wander among the dead. They would not have cared about Evelyn’s death if they had known. There are too many deaths in the world to care about each one. […]
Allen Klein: The Healing Power of Humor
September 25, 2014
Allen Klein discovered the therapeutic value of humor after his wife died at thirty-four. He now shows others how to lighten up loss. He is the author of 19 books including The Healing Power of Humor and Learning to Laugh When You Feel Like Crying. https://media.blubrry.com/open_to_hope_1/audio.opentohope.com/Allen-Klein.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Easing The Way At the End of Life: A Conversation with a Palliative Care Doctor
September 8, 2014
Elaine Mansfield: My husband Vic was strong and fit when he was diagnosed with incurable lymphoma. He went through chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant with relative ease and regained his vitality. Eight months after the stem cell transplant, we went to the ER because of swelling and arrhythmia. I refused to leave the room and witnessed as he was put on life support—a rough process. He survived twelve cardiac arrests of mysterious cause that night. He suffered in following months, but still taught a last class and completed a third book. Was this the time to call hospice even though […]
Wildest Dreams: How We Can Learn to Grieve
September 8, 2014
On the day my wife died, the house was overflowing. In the room with me were our kids, 2 1/2 and 14, and a few friends who had pretty much moved in with us those weeks when we knew it was the end. Out in the living room were people who had supported us through her illness, really supported us! They fed us, took care of our baby and helped our teenager navigate having a parent with life-limiting cancer. They had been there when we cried, and laughed, and napped; even for our difficult conversations. We all learned together to […]
