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:
Shared Hope: A Source of Comfort and Energy
For six months, my husband has been hospitalized, recovering from a dissected aorta and a deep surgical wound. His scar is closing and he will need ongoing physical therapy for […]
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Recovering from a Loss is Up to You
My mother had a saying and used it often: The good fairy isn’t coming. The saying applied to many aspects of life. She would say it before she began a […]
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How Tokens and Linking Objects May Help the Bereaved
“I’ve come to see the flag,” she declared. The white-haired woman had come from skilled nursing section of the nursing home to the rehabilitation unit. She parked her walker, sat […]
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Moving to a New Home Sparks Grief
My husband’s aorta split and during emergency surgery he had a spinal stroke. Now his legs are paralyzed and he can’t return to our current home, which has lots of […]
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Caregiving is an Unavoidable Link to Anticipatory Grief
More than a decade ago I became my mother’s caregiver. Though she lived in an assisted living community, I had many responsibilities and, as mini strokes robbed her of memory, […]
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The Grief of Disability is Powerful and Life-Changing
In October, my husband’s aorta split for the second time. He had three operations in less than a week. The third one, to remove blood and insert grafts, took 13 […]
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Moving after Loss: The Grief of Leaving the Home You Love
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 […]
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Creating a Spiritual Path to Healing
In 2007, after my grandchildren lost both parents in separate car crashes, I remember what I said to them outside the hospital emergency room entrance. All of us, especially my twin […]
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How Can You Bring Holiday Cheer to a Loved One in Intensive Care?
They arrive one-by-one — bouquets, potted plants, green boughs, and more, lined up like a florist’s parade. But none of these plants make it to patients’ rooms. Plants are not […]
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Keeping Traditions Helps Us to Keep Hope
My husband has been hospitalized for weeks, most of this time in intensive care. I visit him three times a day, an erratic schedule that doesn’t leave much time for […]
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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.
