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:

Grief Journaling: Don’t Let a Blank Page Scare You

By Harriet Hodgson — A blank journal page or computer screen can be intimidating. But this thought did not enter my head after my daughter and father-in-law died the same […]

Multiple Losses: Start With the Pain

By Harriet Hodgson — Nobody expects multiple losses. If and when they come the pain is unbearable. ?Who should you grieve first? How long will you grieve? Will you ever […]

Multiple Losses: When the Tears of Grief Return

By Harriet Hodgson — Recovering from multiple losses takes time, grief work, and years of self-examination. You do not recover from multiple losses, you learn to live with them. The […]

The Last Goodbye: Clearing Out Our Deceased Daughter’s House

Seventeen months ago our daughter died from the injuries she received in a car crash.? Since that tragic accident we have walked with grief every day.? We have also become a GRGs — grandparents raising grandchildren.? My husband and I are the legal guardians of 16-year-old, fraternal twins.? Raising them is our new life mission […]

Finding Hope After the Death of a Child

By Harriet Hodgson I am still in shock at the death of my daughter, the 45-year-old mother of twins. The shock of her death in a car crash will be […]

Anticipatory Grief and Holidays: 12 Survival Tips

Anticipatory grief – a feeling of loss before a death or dreaded event occurs – is a hard journey. Holidays make it even harder. At a time when you’re supposed […]

Recovering From My Daughter’s Sudden and Tragic Death

Grieving is hard work. It is really hard for me because I am grieving for three loved ones at once — my daughter, who was killed in a car crash, […]

Why Don’t We Talk About Anticipatory Grief?

I know anticipatory grief – a feeling of loss before a death or dreaded event occurs – far too well. My mother suffered from probable Alzheimer’s disease and I was […]

The Anticipatory Grief of Dementia

Dementia – the loss of intelligence, reasoning, memory, and will – is an awful thing to happen to anyone. There are many causes of dementia: Alzheimer’s disease, stroke, thyroid problems, […]

Anticipatory Grief Work: What is It and How Do You Do It?

If you’re going through anticipatory grief you’ve probably heard of “grief work.” Health professionals may use the term without explaining it. Anticipatory grief is so draining and confusing you may […]

Open to Hope is an online community offering inspirational stories of loss, hope and recovery. We believe hope is the bridge between loss and recovery.