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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Adult Siblings’ Grief May be Overlooked
June 2, 2012
Yes, it is dreadful for our parents when our sibling, their child, dies. Horrific actually, made even more so because we know. We see it in their faces and feel it in their words. We know because we may be parents ourselves and the thought of losing one of our children is unfathomable. It’s also awful for our sibling’s spouse and their children. We see and feel it in their faces and wonder how they will survive. And, it is dreadful for us too. We’ve lost our mirror, our confidante, in some cases our anchor and the person we expected to […]
Man Writes Music to Ease Grief
May 29, 2012
My name is Michael, and I lost my talented, loveable, indescribable sister to suicide, and my solid, strong, and loyal father to a cancerous brain tumor- in the space of half a year. I don’t have to tell you how that felt. Most of you reading this have your own pain to help you empathize with my story. What I do want to share here with you is how I deal with it; how my music helps me and allows me to try and help others, how it brings me comfort, how it gives me strength. For me, my more […]
Richard Rosser; Keeping the Creative Spirit after Loss
April 26, 2012
Richard Rosser is a Children’s Author/Playwright/Cartoonist. While in high school, his brother died in a car accident. Richard has worked in the entertainment business since college. After watching a man steal a parking space from his mother-in-law, Richard created Piggy Nation. Tragically, Richard’s son Nick died in a car accident soon thereafter. Richard has since written two children’s books, a musical, and created a comic strip, all influenced by Nick’s spirit. https://media.blubrry.com/open_to_hope_1/audio.opentohope.com/2012/07/Richard-Rosser_01.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Teen Loses Brother to Suicide, Learns to Cope
April 25, 2012
At the age of 16, Carl David suffered the loss of his 22-year-old brother by suicide. In his words, “The effects on myself and my family were devastating, beyond description. We had but two choices; to pull together or tear each other apart. We chose the former and used every bit of strength to rebuild our lives. The challenges were monumental as every day was day one. We had to start over with each sunrise because the after-effects were so persistent and the pain so ever-present that at times it seemed insurmountable. We wondered if we would ever be able […]
Can grief be classified as a disorder?
April 19, 2012
Should grief be included in the new version of the DSM -V? Can you put a time frame on grief? When does grief stop being grief and become a disorder? Check out this programme that explores these questions. Hear form professionals and those that are grieving. Very interesting. Link to programme: http://www.sbs.com.au/insight/episode/w … Good-Grief
‘Whispers From Beyond:’ Faith-Filled Heart Comforts after Loss
April 6, 2012
There is nothing more important or powerful in our lives than our faith. I have had a wonderful experience about a presence more powerful than ourselves. I have seen the movies, books and specials through out the media world about life after death, God, the Divine Source and Heaven. It is an amazing and mysterious subject matter, which captures the attention of millions no matter what faith they practice. My life has been embraced by heaven. I have been able to realize the connections with our loved ones who have passed away are never broken. After the loss of my […]
Newborn Niece Completes Circle of Life
March 9, 2012
My sister died two years ago. Her first grandchild was born just over a week ago, a baby girl name Victoria. My niece, Victoria’s mother, is a strong, beautiful woman. Her husband called me that morning to tell me they were at the hospital. He promised to keep me updated throughout the day. At noon, he called to tell me she was dilated to 7 and he was having lunch to get ready for the big push! He told me his wife, my niece, my sister’s daughter, was doing remarkable. He said not a whimper from her; she was staying […]
Dr Betty Davies and Dr Heidi Horsley; Sibling Bereavement
February 20, 2012
Dr Betty Davies and Dr Heidi Horsley talk about sibling bereavement and how children cope with a loss and how we can help them. This interview was conducted at the Annual Association of Death Education and Counseling.
The First Clear Day Without Rain, Ten Years On
February 8, 2012
5,256,000! Over 5 million! That’s the number of minutes since my sister died…the minutes and moments she has missed out on in these past years. That’s a lot of time….ten years worth to be exact. Ten years ago, my only sister Tarnia was killed in a car accident. It was the first clear day without rain, the last few days of the school holidays in Australia. My sister had decided since it had stopped raining, she’d take her kids to the beach. That day, my sister’s destiny was decided. I often wonder if it had of kept raining if she’d […]
