Harriet Hodgson

Harriet Hodgson has been a freelancer for 43 years, is the author of thousands of articles, and 47 books, including 10 grief resources. She is a member of the Association of Health Care Journalists, Alliance of Independent Authors, Minnesota Coalition for Grief Education and Support, and Grief Coalition of Southeastern Minnesota. She is well acquainted with grief. In 2007 four family members died—her daughter (mother of her twin grandchildren), father-in-law, brother (and only sibling) and the twins’ father. Multiple losses shifted the focus of Hodgson’s work from general health to grief resolution and healing. She has appeared on more than 185 radio talk shows, including CBS Radio, and dozens of television stations, including CNN. In addition to writing for Open to Hope, Hodgson is a contributing writer for The Grief Toolbox website and The Caregiver Space website. A popular speaker, she has given presentations at The Compassionate Friends national conference, Bereaved Parents of the USA national conference, and Zoom grief conferences. Her work is cited in Who’s Who of American Women, World Who’s Who of Women, Contemporary Authors, and other directories. For more information about this busy grandmother, great grandmother, author, and speaker please visit I’m no longer Assistant Editor, I’m the author of 47 books, and my website is www.harriethodgson.net.

Articles:

Mother Finds Comfort Saying Daughter’s Name

Few ask how I’m doing these days. Friends have resumed their lives and so have I. Today, I’m living a new, meaningful and happy life. Yet there are times when the pain of losing my daughter in 2007 hits without warning. Suddenly, I am transported back in time and see terrible images from the hospital emergency room. Since these mental pictures drag me down, I consciously switch my thoughts to positive pictures, such as my twin grandchildren graduating from high school. I’m glad I learned how and when to do this. Though we all go through grief, Americans tend to […]

Moving after Loss: The Grief of Leaving the Home You Love

Moving after Loss Moving is one of the most stressful experiences of life. My husband and I have moved so many times we’ve lost count and we’re good at moving. We’ve lived in our present house for 20 years, the longest time we’ve lived anywhere, and made the house our own. This house has nurtured us through some tough times and now we must move. In the fall, my husband’s aorta dissected for the second time. He had three emergency surgeries, including a 13-hour operation to graft a Dacron descending aorta to his existing aorta. It was life-threatening surgery. His […]

Using Linking Objects on Mother’s Day

“I’ve come to see the flag,” she declared. The flag waved outside a rehabilitation floor window. The woman parked her walker, sat down, and peered at the flag. “Look at that!” she exclaimed. “The flag is straight out.” Her husband served in the navy, she shared, and the flag reminded her of him. She came to see the flag many times, an object that linked her with her beloved husband, the man she loved and missed and admired so much. Objects that Link You Mother’s Day is coming, and if your mother has died, you may want to find items […]

Learning from Grief

Learning from Grief In the early stages of grief, sadness was all I could think about. I viewed my life—indeed the world—from the lens of sadness. Each day, I felt like I was drowning in sadness and there was nothing to be happy about. Unfortunately, when I did this, I made my life darker and turned it into a future without hope. What might happen if I changed my thinking? I had read about the human mind and how miraculous it is, how we may be the only living species capable of consciously changing our thinking. Dr. Heidi Horsley and […]

I Need to Say Her Name: Surviving the Holidays

Surviving the Holidays In 2007 my elder daughter died from the injuries she received in a car crash. Helen loved Christmas and the first one without her was indescribably painful. I thought the second Christmas without Helen would be easier for me. It wasn’t. In fact, my grief seemed worse. While my grief has eased during the passing years, every bereaved parent knows holidays can spark grief again. We go backwards on the recovery/reconciliation path and may come to dread the holidays. We’ve lived another year without a child and there are more years to come. So how can we […]

Multiple Losses Can Increase Isolation

Multiple Losses Can Increase Isolation “We don’t see many people these days,” my husband commented. “I know,” I answered. “It’s because of our multiple losses.” After our twin grandchildren lost their parents in separate car crashes in 2007 we became their legal guardians and conservators — roles that required tremendous time and documentation. Then two more family members died. Grieving for four loved ones while raising grandchildren is the hardest thing we have ever done. Coming to terms with one death is hard, but coming to terms with four is much harder. According to Alan D. Wolfelt, PhD, Director of […]

Love is Stronger than Death

I was a member of the church choir for 20 years. A line from one of the songs we sang keeps rattling around in my mind: “Love is stronger than death.” Though I sang the line fervently at the time, I doubted its truth. Years later, I lived this line and found it was true. In 2007, four family members died in a row: my daughter (mother of my fraternal twin grandkids), father-in-law, brother, and the twins’ father. My daughter and father-in-law died the same weekend. I didn’t want to look at their photos on the obit page of the […]

Coping with Traumatic Loss of Daughter

What is Traumatic Loss? In 2007, the traumatic loss of my daughter became imprinted in my mind forever. A traumatic loss is sudden, unexpected, and happens without warning. The loss of Helen was more than traumatic; it was violent. I pictured the crashed car in my mind and Helen’s crushed, bleeding body. The images were torturous. Her death was nature’s mistake, an out-of-turn death. The car crash happened on a snowy February night. Helen and her daughter, one of her twins, were on their way home from a Girl Scout meeting several towns away. It was snowing, and the country […]

The Lonely Year for Widows

The Lonely Year for Widows After so many losses in one year, loneliness was personal for me. We’d had Golden Retrievers for years, and I missed them. One dog was named Sally and the other was named Max. I longed to have a pet again, but according to retirement community rules, I could only have fish. In my mind, fish weren’t true pets; they didn’t respond to names or offer affection. For centuries, dogs had adapted to humans and learned to “read” their body language and conversation. While it was fun to see the pet therapy dogs that came to […]

Joining a Grief Support Group

Joining a Grief Support Group Joining a support group can help those who are grieving. Many support groups were available in my area, and they differed widely. Before I joined a group, I did my homework and considered the following factors. Factors in Joining a Support Group Type of group: Support groups are supposed to meet needs. They include faith-based groups, disease-specific groups, end-of-life groups, after-death groups, and more. I wanted to find a group that fit my needs. The meeting place: Support groups meet in churches, hospitals, and places that have a minimal charge or are free. I looked […]

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