Beverly Chantalle McManus

Beverly Chantalle McManus serves as Vice President and on the Board of Directors for the Open to Hope Foundation. She has over 25 years of experience as a marketing executive for professional services organizations, including some of the world’s largest legal, accounting, health care, consulting, architecture and engineering firms. She has edited and co-written numerous published books and professional articles across a range of topics. After the death of her husband Steve in 2003, she began focusing on grief and bereavement support, and for the past 13 years, has been a bereavement facilitator, and core team member of the Stepping Stones on Your Grief Journey Workshops. She is a frequent speaker and writer on the topic of loss and grief and is one of the featured writers for the Open to Hope website, for which she publishes a regular column. She has served on the Board of Directors of the San Francisco Waldorf School and is active in the community, arts, and civic enhancement initiatives. She and her two daughters reside in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Articles:

Handling the Holidays After the Death of a Spouse

The holidays are often the most difficult time of the year for a grieving spouse. Dr. Heidi Horsley talks with Beverly McManus about how to deal with the holidays following […]

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Taking Baby Steps on the Grief Journey

We’re right in the middle of baseball season. One of our family’s favorite pastimes was to attend the Giants games at the old Candlestick Park in San Francisco, where we’d […]

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Will I Ever Find Me Again? — New Roles After the Death of a Spouse

In response to “From a Plea for Help,” Julie Z. wrote:  My husband died about 1.5 years ago, I continue to cry daily. He was everything to me. I am […]

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An Egg Today? Or a Hen Tomorrow? Our Choices in Grief

I’m a big believer in fortune cookies.   In fact, I’ve long thought that if read very loudly — so that everyone else in the restaurant can hear — the […]

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Without a Mooring — For Bereaved, the Waves Keep Crashing

By Beverly Chantalle McManus — Those of us who have survived the death of a spouse receive ongoing reminders that life will never be the same.  Just as we feel […]

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Nature’s Remedy – Allowing the Universe to Embrace Us in Our Pain and Need

Responding to How Do I Cope After the Death of My Husband?, Annalise wrote:  “When does the pain ease off?? Two months today and getting worse.” Beverly Chantalle McManus, Grief […]

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Writing Thank You Notes After a Funeral

By Beverly Chantalle McManus Over the past six years since Steve’s death, in grief workshops and counseling sessions, I’ve talked with hundreds of people whose loved ones have died. One […]

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Everything Seems So Unreal — Coping with Unexpected Death

Responding to Ten Things Every New Widow Should Know to Survive, Jean writes:  I just lost my husband on 2/23/09. He passed away at the airport before taking the trip […]

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“Widow’s Weeds” — Symbols of Mourning and the Profound Effect of Colors on Our Emotions

In the not-so-distant past, when an individual within a family died, there was a prescribed period of mourning, during which expectations of the bereaved family were lightened.   In fact, […]

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Journaling My Grief Experience

By Beverly Chantalle McManus My birthday took place a week after Steve died. Although I did not feel like celebrating, my family members thoughtfully brought some gifts over, one of […]

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