Bereavement, Complicated Grief, Death of a Child, Open to Hope, Your Grief

A Different Kind of Mother’s Day for My Friend 

Saturday, May 9, 2026

Mother’s Day usually stirs up memories of celebrating my Mom with my brothers and sisters when we were kids- showering her with all the snuggles, handmade cards and French toast from the Betty Crocker Boys and Girls Cookbook. Nothing said I Love You like delivering fresh flowers to her (right out of her garden).🌷   This year, though, I’ve been thinking a lot about my dear new friend, Marlene, who will be navigating her first Mother’s Day since the shocking death of her beloved son, BJ.    Marlene shared the heart shattering news on social media last year, “No words […]

After Life Connections, Bereavement, Death of a Parent, Open to Hope

The Eternal Bond: Daughters Honor Their Mothers On The Other Side

Saturday, April 4, 2026

Death is the eternal mystery, a mystery that fills our souls with both awe and terror. The consequences of the death of one’s mother is not like any other ordeal in life. Daughters are often faced with resurrecting a new life without a road map, catapulted upon the ruins that remain, while enduring indescribable emotional pain. Based on my experience of my mother’s death, and the shared narratives with other daughters, I have spoken with, this journey is both courageous and terrifying.  You will regain your balance, but you will not be the same person. I have never surrendered my […]

After Life Connections

My Run-in with the Divine

Monday, June 16, 2025

grief and hope

My Run-in with the Divine As I drove teary-eyed in the twilight, I panicked, how in the world did I wind up here? How did my life end up like this? This wasn’t how I imagined my life would be when I was younger. In that very instant, I had an incredibly intense feeling that someone was in my car with me. So much so, that I whipped my head around to look in the back seat to see who was there. Of course, I was alone, but also, not-alone. I sensed something or someone with me — intangible, yet […]

Bereavement

Faith is Like Insurance When a Loved One Dies

Thursday, December 5, 2024

Faith is Like Insurance The summer of 2011 will be remembered as a season of violent storms and will be marked by many lives that were turned upside down by the havoc of mother nature. Tornados ravaged Alabama.  Hurricane Irene washed the east coast and 11 states with flooding and chaos. Winds and driving rain ravaged the country creating destruction; and flood waters broke records from half-century ago. People were trapped in their homes. Rescue crews worked to dig through the rubble for survivors or bodies of those not so fortunate. The devastation was so widespread that it took days […]

Complicated Grief

Caring for Your Spirit after a Suicide

Monday, August 26, 2024

Caring for Your Spirit after a Suicide For many people, the suicide of a loved one raises agonizing spiritual or existential issues. These include many questions such as Why does suicide happen? I’ve tried to be a good person, so how could God let this happen to me? Is suicide a sin? Is my loved one in hell? What happens to a person after death? Will I ever see my loved one again? What good is my religion to me now? Who am I now? What is the purpose of my life? Why should I go on living? Suicide Challenges […]

After Life Connections

Coming Back from the ‘Afterlife’

Monday, August 12, 2024

PAST THE VEIL In an earlier Open to Hope essay, I wrote about the gripping After-Death experience of a friend I call Chief. The anesthesiologist had a heart attack 60 feet underwater while scuba diving in 2007 and, by all measures, was clinically dead. (That’s why he insisted on calling it an After-Death experience.) Chief wanted to write a book about this but crossed over to stay in 2021 before he could finish. He did get as far as drafting a manuscript, which he shared with me because I also wrote a book about the Afterlife (My Dead True Love). […]

Death of a Parent

My Father’s Conscious Dying

Monday, June 10, 2024

My Father’s Conscious Living As Father’s Day approaches, memories bubble up of my beloved dad. I grew up feeling valued by him, and as a kid, I was always willing to do my part. I learned that when everyone pitches in a reasonable portion of the work around the home, it makes the chores go smoothly. When shared with others, work can be a fun enterprise. Daddy always asked me to be his helper as he worked at various chores around our home. One of my favorite jobs was washing the car with him. He made it fun to lather […]

Complicated Grief, Death of a Parent

When God Leads You to a Parent’s Deathbed

Monday, May 27, 2024

I got used to living a fatherless life, even before he died. When I thought about him, it was always followed by guilt, and then I would actually stutter. It was better to not think about him at all. And then one day my sister, Peggy called. “Hello Anne. You’ve got to come. It’s Dad. He’s dying of cancer.” Is she crazy? She knew what he had accused me of. He blamed me for our mother’s death. She knew all about that. And now she is telling me I need to come and see him? “No!” I shout. “I can’t.” […]

Complicated Grief, Death of a Grandparent

Finding God’s Comfort Through Loss

Finding God’s Comfort Through Loss “Just go downstairs and wait for your aunt, she’ll be here soon,” my mom said. I can hardly wait. Our aunt is taking us to Kiddieland. I start going down the steps and make up a new song, using words the grown-ups were using. When you’re only 6, you don’t know what all the words mean, but you can still sing them. “Yia Yia’s dead…Yia Yia’s dead…” I see Aunt Jeanette coming up the stairs. She hears my words, rushing past me. “Wait! Aren’t we going to Kiddie…?” I call out. But she doesn’t stop […]

After Life Connections

Doctor Journeys to the Afterlife

Monday, April 15, 2024

DOCTOR ON A JOURNEY In an earlier Open to Hope essay, I wrote about the riveting After-Death experience of a friend I call Chief. The anesthesiologist had a heart attack 60 feet under water while scuba diving in 2007 and, by all measures, was clinically dead. (That’s why he insists on calling it an After-Death experience.) Chief wanted to write a book about his After-Death encounter but crossed over for good in 2021 before he could finish. He did get as far as a first draft, a manuscript he shared with me because I also wrote a book about the […]