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.
SORT BY RELATIONSHIP
Did I Say that I’d Never Marry Again?
May 10, 2014
So it was just over a year that I became a widow. I was doing ok. I had my good days and my not so good days. But over all, life was tolerable. I was getting used to being a single mom and accepting the fact that this was my new and permanent life. “Are you dating anyone?” a family member innocently asked me. I CAN’T BELIEVE HE ASKED ME THAT! “No, and I don’t plan to,” I said. “Nobody will ever take Nelson’s place, and I’ll never marry again.” He looked at me doubtfully. I didn’t understand why people would ask me […]
Nita Whitaker LaFontaine: Death of a Husband
April 24, 2014
After twenty years of marriage, three daughters, and an active career in music and film, nothing could have prepared Nita for losing her husband to cancer. Her acclaimed memoir Finding My Voice exposes readers to the pain she suffered and how she learned to live in a world without her greatest love. https://media.blubrry.com/open_to_hope_1/audio.opentohope.com/Nita-Whitaker-LaFontaine.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Moving to a New Home Sparks Grief
April 21, 2014
My husband’s aorta split and during emergency surgery he had a spinal stroke. Now his legs are paralyzed and he can’t return to our current home, which has lots of stairs. So our home is for sale and I’m building a wheelchair friendly town home for us. It’s supposed to be finished in a month, and I’ll move there before my husband. I want to have everything ready for him: a hospital bed, bedside table, and shower wheelchair. Thinking about all I have to do wakes me up at four in the morning. Once I’m awake, I rarely go back […]
Audrey Pellicano R.N.,M.S.: Wise Widow
April 10, 2014
Audrey Pellicano is a nurse, mentor, educator, speaker, author, mom, wife and widow. Audrey helps clients tap into the power of their minds to heal from loss. Audrey hosts Death Café at The Open Center of New York City and is the author of the handbook Six Secrets to Surviving Widowhood. https://media.blubrry.com/open_to_hope_1/audio.opentohope.com/Audrey-Pellicano.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Conscious Uncoupling aka Readjusting the Picture of Your Late Spouse
April 1, 2014
Conscious Uncoupling. This is the new buzz word that is getting lots of play due to the announcement of Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin about their upcoming divorce. This concept is actually the brainchild of Katherine Woodward Thomas, a licensed psychotherapist who coined it to describe how she approached her own divorce process. I may not have come up with such a catchy phrase, but I’ve been preaching for years about successfully moving forward through your grief by making conscious decisions, which includes conscious uncoupling from a late spouse. In fact, the latter is a necessary step to take AFTER […]
Guilt Over the Loss of a Spouse
March 31, 2014
One of my widowed friends recently told me, “I feel guilty being happy alone.” She had been happily married for over forty years and widowed for a few years. My friend explained that she had discovered how comfortable she was as a single woman. To her, being happy without her husband somehow reflected on how she felt about marriage in general, and ultimately cast a negative light on her own marriage. I am certainly not a qualified grief counselor, but as another widow I feel like the fact that my friend found peace as a single woman is perfectly normal. […]
Coping With the Death of a Parent: Galen Goben
March 27, 2014
Galen, a Certified Thanatologist, is one of the Grief Support Coordinators for Forest Lawn in Southern California. He is responsible for providing grief education and services to the community and to the grieving families served by Forest Lawn. Galen is an ordained Disciple of Christ minister. https://media.blubrry.com/open_to_hope_1/audio.opentohope.com/Galen-Goben.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Comic Janice Messitte on Being a Newly Wedded Widow
March 24, 2014
In the space of two weeks, newly wedded Janice Messitte – stand-up comic, singer and actress – went from planning a dream “Jewnorican” wedding to planning her husband’s funeral. Hear how she used her comic’s wit to survive, as she sits down with memory artist, Nancy Gershman to recall the details. Double check on your husband – especially when he looks fast asleep Mothers: be as happy as your happiest child Don’t beat yourself up for losing the husband on your watch Don’t sap your energy tracing bad luck to a possible curse What audience can there be for a videotape […]
Understanding Grief From A to Z
March 24, 2014
“Understanding Grief From A to Z” presents an alphabet soup of emotions that mourners may experience in response to the loss of their loved one. After each emotion is described, the reader is given an actionable suggestion on how to develop a change in perspective that can help him/her move from the darkness of grief to the light of renewal. Concise and easy-to-read, this book is perfect for a mourner who has a short attention span. It is also a great book to read for the support team of a mourner, for it gives an insider look at the emotions […]
