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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Am I Holding Onto the Past? Why We Keep the Clothes of Those We Love
January 13, 2009
I’ve had my Daddy’s suede jacket hanging in my closet since 1982, the year he died. I didn’t know I’d be a keeper, but I guess I am. It’s brick-red suede, and has completely worn through at the edge of the sleeves. It no longer smells of him, but I keep it. I remember when I was a child, riding with him to Sears on Saturday morning just to buy salted peanuts and look at the tools in the tool department. He wore that jacket. I was adopted and maybe that makes me more sentimental, I don’t know, but keeping my […]
2009: A Year of Remembrance
January 9, 2009
Happy New Year everybody! Now that the gorging, celebrating, and partying is over its time to focus on goals for 2009. Not resolutions, but goals. Resolutions are things that fade by the wayside after a week like many people going to the gym. Goals are measurable, defined and most important reachable. This has been the third holiday season after my father’s death. I will tell you certain days of the year are not that much fun. The start of the New Year is a day filled with happiness, hope, and most important remembering all […]
Woman Starts Grieving 12 Years After Mother’s Death
January 6, 2009
Cora writes in with this question: “I just started grieving about my mom this Christmas. She died in 1996. I thought about all the events and things we shared from age 6 to adult. It was like a series of flashbacks. I was in a depressed state for 4 days. Is that normal? Pamela Gabbay, certified bereavement counselor, responds: Dear Cora, I’m so sorry to hear about the loss of your mother. Whenever someone we love dies, we yearn for them and miss everything about them. We miss the sound of their voice, their touch, the smell of their hair, […]
Dr Robin Goodman: Public Grief after Traumatic Loss
January 1, 2009
Stevie, Susan & Dr Robin Goodman talk about 9/11, traumatic loss and grieving with the public. https://media.blubrry.com/open_to_hope_1/audio.opentohope.com/2009/01/Esposito,_Lambardo,_Goodman.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Take care of the small stuff for the new year
December 31, 2008
As we approach the new year, I can’t help but think of something my Dad always used to tell me: Take care of the small things and the big things will fall into place. How true that rings in an ever changing world. Take one thing at a time and nothing ever seems so big that it can’t be solved. The turning of the new year is always a time for reflection, hope, optimism, and happiness. I hope everybody takes a moment and be thankful for what you have. I know my Dad constantly reminded our […]
Some Things I Miss About My Dad…
December 31, 2008
By Eric Tomei — This is a season to reflect on things that matter the most. Here are three things that I do to remember my dad. 1. Celebrate the little things he did for us. When I was about 10 years old, and my sisters were young, my dad built an ice skating rink in the backyard one Christmas season. One of us must have said to him that it would be cool to have one. My dad, an engineer, thought he would take on this challenge and he did. He dug out enough snow in our backyard, but […]
Is This Your Last Christmas Together?
December 23, 2008
Do you feel this is the last Christmas with your spouse or parent? Maybe your loved one has just been placed in hospice–or maybe you just know. You have that feeling. Perhaps you or your loved one is facing a cancer diagnosis, or you’re at the end stages of Alzheimer’s or heart disease. This can put a cloud over the festivities. It’s hard to get in the holiday mood while your kitchen counter is filled with medicine bottles–and not gingerbread men. It gets tiring when you worry about what you say or do being “the last.” Everything drips with meaning. You’re standing […]
