Barbara Thompson is a licensed clinical social worker, registered occupational therapist and associate professor with The Sage Colleges. In 1964, when Barbara was 12 years old and living on Long Island, her father died …
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Open to Hope is an online resource center dedicated to helping people find hope again after loss.
Experts We bring together grief experts as well as ordinary people who have experienced a loss in their lives.
Focus We share our stories so that others can find ways to cope and hope through articles, podcasts, and videos.
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Tribute Open to Hope was created as a tribute to Scott Horsley, who died in 1983 in a car accident at the age of 17. His mother, Dr. Gloria Horsley, and his sister, Dr. Heidi Horsley, are honoring Scott's life by reaching out to other bereaved people to let them know that there is hope after loss.
Hope We invite you to lean on our hope until you can find your own. You need not walk alone.
Barbara Thompson is a licensed clinical social worker, registered occupational therapist and associate professor with The Sage Colleges. In 1964, when Barbara was 12 years old and living on Long Island, her father died …
Read the full Article »
I want to tell you the story of Louella Gaines from Ypsilanti, Michigan, who has persevered through many bouts of cancer, during which she has lost a lung, a kidney, her female organs, …
Have you recently lost someone you love? Lost your health? Maybe lost your job?
How about something as simple as growing older – and realizing you are losing
your youth?
It’s okay. You are not alone – everybody …
Last weekend, my husband and I took our granddaughter to college. She is a freshman at a small, historic, respected college in Iowa. We are excited about her college choice and acceptance. But our emotions …
When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives means the most us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving much advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share …
I always thought that going through a profound loss would make someone an expert on loss. I mean, we always work with what we know, right?
You would think after experiencing the death of my husband …
Charles Corr Ph.D. is an educator and pioneer in the field of Death and Dying. He has volunteered in both British and America hospice
programs and a local chapter of The Compassionate Friends. Much …
When you’re a couple in a family, there are things that are no brainers. Who will run to the grocery store, who will pick up the kids, who will help with the kid’s …
It was a Friday night when I received a call from my Uncle Paul who told me that my Aunt Jerry, who had end-stage Alzheimer’s disease, had suffered two seizures and a heart attack and …
The emotions of grief are the same for men and women. How and when these emotions surface is what defines each journey. But what I am struck with the most in my practice as a …
In his book, The Spiritual Lives of Bereaved Parents, Dennis Klass, Ph.D., discusses the importance of bereaved parents maintaining connection with their deceased children in communities that support that connection. Our ability as bereaved parents …
Grief is a natural response to the loss of something, so where better to look for understanding about grief and loss than to nature itself? If we look at the seasons, we can gain understanding …
I always used to get upset when I lost something.
Other people could misplace a key, lose a glove, or forget where they set down their wallet without going nuts. But whenever that happened to me, I …
Humans were meant to laugh. The ability to laugh is wired into our minds, and that is a good thing for all who mourn. Four of my loved ones, including my elder daughter, died in …
My name is Kaitlin Carrozza, and I am a doctoral student at Loyola University in Maryland. I am completing my dissertation on sibling loss, and I’d like your help with my study.
The current study investigates …
Reverend Robert T. Phillips , M.Div. is the Bereavement Manager and Chaplain for VITAS Innovative Hospice Care in Washington , DC . He has experienced grief from rapid losses of family members and personal …
Is there some magic amount of time to grieve a death, or the break up of a relationship, the break up of a family, loss of a job, financial downturns, loss of a pet? I’m talking about …
The Compassionate Friends, providing support for bereaved families after the death of a child, is one of the 100 nonprofits to be awarded $25,000 for receiving the most votes from its members and friends in the first round of the Chase Community Giving program. The Compassionate Friends now moves into round 2 voting January 15-22 where the charity with the most votes will receive a $1 million grant while five runners-up will each receive a $100,000 award. This is an opportunity to help a great organization with only minutes of your time. For the latest information, visit
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Remembering Alexandria: A Personal Story of Perinatal LossWoman Loses Organs to Cancer, Still Revels in LifeCaregivers Need Time to Let GoRespecting Boundaries When Comforting a Grieving HeartShhhh…Listen Closely. It’s the Sound of Someone HealingAugust 26, 2010: Guest Charles Corr: Helping Children Cope with Death and GriefAugust 19: Guest Rev. Robert Phillips: Topic: Speaking the UnspeakableGuest: Dr. Sandra Straub: Topic: Death 101Guest: Dr. Kent Koppelman: Topic: Death of a ChildJuly 29, 2010: Guest Irene Kendig: Transforming Thoughts About Death & Dying
Alicia: Hello. I’d like to write Good Morning, but I just don’t know if it is one. I lost my 20 year old son on May 3rd 2010. It is...
David Roberts: Hello Shirley: Thank you for your validating comments about my article. Please accept my heartfelt condolences on the death of your... David Roberts: Hi Nelly: Please accept my condolences for the death of your daughter. The death of our children is unnatural because it defies the...
Louise Lagerman: Dear Brenda words cannot express to you how sorry I am that you lost your daughter. What saved me was bonding with other grieving...
K Paul Stoller, MD, FACHM: I will contact you offline, but contact your family physician and I will walk him through the process of getting you...
CT: I have been married almost 30 years. When my husband was 7/8, he witnessed his mother die (intantly) in a car accident. He never had...
Shirley: Dear Mr. Roberts, Your article could not be more true. I have not lost a child. That is a thought I can not even fathom. I have however...