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, …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

If anyone believes that losses experienced by others is not their concern, I’d ask them to think again. The cost to our society, both individually and collectively, of those experiencing complications from mourning is astronomical …

Courage.  It’s a word that paints many different images in our minds.  Each one of us has a different picture of what courage looks and feels like.  This may change for each one of us …

If the information I have been writing about were in a text book, or taught in medical school, I would not be writing these articles for the Open To Hope Foundation website. But this information …

When we hear someone is grieving, we tend to think it is the result of loss brought on by the death of a loved one. But there are other losses that cause people to suffer …

Loss throws us into a world of unknown emotions, some of which we may never have experienced before. Understanding these emotions can be a key factor in transforming through loss. Yet it can be hard …

It has been two years and seven months since I had the misfortune to discover how effective the hormone oxytocin is in helping one cope with pathological grief. That was the same month I gave …

From the moment you become a parent there are two questions that become foremost in your mind: Where is my child and is he or she okay? E
ven when you are dealing with an infant …

No, I did not see Toy Story 3; but, recently, my wife and two daughters did. When my wife came home, she shared with me the premise of the story. As she told it to …

There is a tendency in our society to talk about healing loss, like it is a physical wound.  It reduces loss to nothing more than an illness to be cured.  Our objective is to heal …

Taking time to put your situation to the side and to focus on somebody else is a powerful way to get back in touch with who you are and what you can give. When you …

Every mourner has a story to share. You may share your story with family members, close friends, and community groups. But you need to share it without upsetting listeners so much they turn you off. …