Harriet Hodgson

Harriet Hodgson has been a freelancer for 43 years, is the author of thousands of articles, and 42 books, including 10 grief resources. She is Assistant Editor of the Open to Hope website, 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 www.harriethodgson.com.

Articles:

Christmas Memories of my Daughter

Christmas was my daughter’s favorite holiday and she planned for it all year. But she didn’t have much money and there were times when she relied on the local food […]

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Daughter’s Fungal Meningitis Scare Causes Anticipatory Grief

Last spring, my younger daughter had surgery to relieve nerve pain in her back. The surgery took about five hours. My husband and I supported her emotionally before surgery and […]

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Mindfulness is a Way to Cope with Grief

“Crisis impacts your writing,” the author said. “I wrote some of my best stuff when I was in crisis.” Though I had never met this local author before, I felt […]

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Finding Your ‘Essential Self’ after a Loss or Life-Changing Event

Yesterday, I finished reading “Finding Your Own North Star” by therapist Martha Beck, PhD. I bought the book because it looked empowering and this proved to be true. In fact, […]

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Your Spiritual Path to Grief Healing

Though grief has common symptoms, each person’s grief is unique. Your grief isn’t quite the same as mine, and each of us must find our way. In 2007, after losing […]

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Writing Heartfelt Words Can Lead You Out of the Darkness

Recently Deb Kosmer, a bereaved parent, author, poet, health care professional, and blogger, posted on Facebook about accumulating words. I don’t know the source of her post, but it said […]

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Aurora Tragedy Reminds Us What to Say to Bereaved — and What Not to Say

The massacre in Aurora, Colorado, brings up the idea of the fragility of life. Finding the “right” words to say to a grieving person can be a struggle. You want […]

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Does Staying Busy Get You Through Grief or Lead to Avoidance?

Several days after my daughter died from the injuries she received in a car crash, I received call from a friend. She told me her son had died in a […]

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The Push and Pull of Grief Recovery

For me, 2007 was a year of grief. In the span of nine months, I lost my daughter, father-in-law, brother, and former son-in-law. As I discovered, grieving for multiple losses […]

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Recovering from Grief: Creating Memorials Helps to Keep Your Child’s Spirit Alive

After our elder daughter died in 2007, my husband and I searched for ways to keep her spirit alive. Our daughter, a composite engineer with an MBA degree, was 45 […]

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