Loss of a Family Member

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Open to Hope TV

  • Episode 229: Grief as a Teacher

    Posted on November 6, 2024 - by admin

    Is it possible to learn something from your grief? Join host Dr. Heidi Horsley and her co-host Alan Pedersen as they discuss how grief can be a teacher. Joining them […]

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Articles

  • Death of an Ex-Spouse

    Posted on October 10, 2024 - by Marty Tousley

    Death of an Ex-Spouse Dear Marty: I’m not really sure how to explain how I feel after losing my ex-spouse a month ago—especially since he died the same day that […]

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  • Loving a New Pet after the Last Pet Has Died

    Posted on July 29, 2024 - by Veronica Crawford

    Loving a Pet From as early on as I can remember, I have always connected with animals. My first pet was an orphaned lamb, Mary. I was obsessed with horses […]

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  • The Magic of a Child’s Grief

    Posted on May 14, 2024 - by Anne Abel

    Son’s Grief Opens a Door I got a belated birthday card from my mother for my 41st birthday. “To Our Wonderful Daughter,” was scripted on the front, in gold, above […]

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  • Childhood Pet’s Violent Death Still Haunts

    Posted on May 6, 2024 - by Anne Abel

    Childhood Pet was a Gift My father worked in a lab at MIT next door to an animal experimentation lab. The summer I was seven, he surprised us with a […]

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  • Emotional Responses to Grief

    Posted on February 19, 2024 - by Ilana Estelle

    Grief is a highly individual and complex emotional experience that manifests differently in each of us. People may express their grief through a variety of emotions and behaviours. Some common […]

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  • Embracing Grief When a Pet Dies

    Posted on February 5, 2024 - by Ken Breniman

    Embracing Grief When a Pet Dies In the midst of grieving, have you ever been surprised by a sign that you are on the right path or at the right […]

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  • Suicide Leaves Question of Why

    Posted on July 3, 2023 - by Donna Berger

    Suicide Leaves Question of Why Five years ago, my nephew – my brother’s son – died by suicide. He left behind his wife, three precious young children, his mom, dad, […]

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  • Letter to a Dear Pet: One Year After Her Death

    Posted on January 5, 2023 - by Veronica Crawford

    Letter to a Dear Pet Dear Blaze, my spirited and loyal friend. It has been twelve months since you transitioned. Just twelve months, yet it feels like a lifetime ago. […]

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  • Dear Max: Last Words to a Special Dog

    Posted on January 3, 2023 - by Veronica Crawford

    Dear Max – AKA squishy, macchiato, mackie, snowy, little man, maximus and monkey. I miss you so much. So much that it hurts to think about it. I haven’t fully […]

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  • Coping With the Loss of a Beloved Pet

    Posted on December 11, 2022 - by Jacqui Coombe

    Introduction Our animal family members provide us with joy, loyalty, and unconditional love. The loss of a beloved pet can be an excruciating experience. Despite that, our society can trivialise […]

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  • The Many Losses of COVID: A Survey About Moving Ahead

    Posted on August 20, 2022 - by Bob Baugher

    The Many Losses of COVID As humans, loss is something we all experience. One way to make sense of this is to look at a number of different types of […]

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  • Uvalde Murders Trigger Grief

    Posted on June 27, 2022 - by Lo Anne Mayer

    Uvalde Murders Trigger Grief Ever since our daughter died in 2005, I have experienced heartbreak each time I learn of other children who have died.  My own awareness of the […]

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  • All of Us Grieve After Mass Shootings

    Posted on June 13, 2022 - by Samantha Ruth

    Every single day, I’m seeing news of another mass shooting. It’s not okay. And more than expressing our concern about gun laws, we need to have the conversations about grief. All […]

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    Five Common Pet Loss Grief Myths

    Posted on October 10, 2021 - by Wendy Van de Poll

    Would you like more support with your pet loss journey? Are people saying things to you that don’t make sense or feel supportive? If so, it is important to consider the […]

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  • Our Aching Earth: When We Grieve About Our Natural World

    Posted on April 20, 2021 - by Claire Willis

    Species are Threatened We don’t have to look far to read or hear about the devastating events that are happening in the world around us. Everybody knows this on some […]

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  • Coping With Post-Election Grief

    Posted on January 18, 2020 - by Mary Jane Hurley Brant

    The 2020 Presidential election is over. We have a voted for a President Elect and Vice President Elect – Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.  It was a race to the […]

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  • Suddenly This Summer

    Posted on August 23, 2019 - by Carol Henderson

    On the evening of July 4th, 2019, I was sitting with my daughter Olivia and my son-in-law Patrick on their small New York City apartment terrace. In the far distance, […]

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  • The Loss of My Fur Family

    Posted on June 6, 2019 - by Ann Schiebert

    Lately, I have had many patients come to see me to get grief counseling over the loss of a beloved pet. Their grief aroused my grief over my past losses. […]

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  • When the Loss is Not a Death: Interview with Dr Darcy Harris

    Posted on January 2, 2019 - by Heidi Horsley

    At the annual ADEC (Association of Death Education and Counseling), I spoke with Dr Darcy Harris about families and their struggles with infertility and the unacknowledged loss. Darcy originally got […]

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  • Taking Care of Yourself Through the Grief Process: Interview with Dr. Howard R. Winokuer

    Posted on December 18, 2018 - by Howard Winokuer

    At the annual ADEC (Association of Death Education and Counseling), I spoke with Dr. Howard R. Winokuer about burnout after the death of a loved one and how we can […]

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  • David Meagher: Children and Pet Loss

    Posted on December 7, 2016 - by Heidi Horsley

    How can you help children address pet loss? David Meagher, a professor emeritus at The City University of New York, explains that pets genuinely become part of a family. The […]

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  • Deborah Antinori: Pet Loss

    Posted on July 10, 2016 - by Heidi Horsley

    Registered nurse and licensed professional counselor Deborah Antinori joins Dr. Heidi Horsley to talk about pet loss, one of the most disenfranchised losses. She’s also a drama therapist and grief […]

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  • Ted Bowman: The Hidden Losses

    Posted on June 9, 2016 - by Dr. Gloria and Dr. Heidi Horsley

    In this webisode of the Association for Death Education and Counseling (ADEC) organization, Ted Bowman joins the show to talk about different types of loss. Things rarely work out as […]

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  • Open to hope

    Remembering Izzy

    Posted on September 30, 2015 - by Sue Trace Lawrence

    It was a baby rat. Recently, after years of contemplating the possibility, I obtained two adult rats as pets. They were potentially to be used as live examples in the […]

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  • Open to hope

    Cori Bussolari and Wendy Packman: Pet Loss

    Posted on July 26, 2015 - by Cori Bussolari

    A professor at the University of San Francisco, Dr. Cori Bussolari, and a professor at Palo Alto University, Dr. Wendy Packman, recently spoke with Dr. Heidi Horsley during the 2015 […]

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  • Open to hope

    Finding the Good Stuff on Father’s Day

    Posted on June 10, 2015 - by Anne Hamilton

    I will always remember my Uncle Steve in his work clothing, coming home from a long day of repairing cars and trucks. His boots were worn, and his clothing stained […]

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  • Cartoonist Keith Knight in Tears

    Cartoonist Keith Knight on How Words Live On

    Posted on February 9, 2015 - by Nancy Gershman, LMSW

    Keith Knight is a “gentleman cartoonist” whose various, nationally syndicated comics are published in the Washington Post, MAD, Daily Kos, Medium.com, and the Funny Times. Visit Keef on his website and watch the documentary on his work. […]

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  • comic Yisrael Campbell

    Comic Yisrael Campbell on Uplifting the Dying

    Posted on August 23, 2014 - by Nancy Gershman, LMSW

    How can you use your talents to make the dying feel like they’re at the center of your universe? Be a DJ on a pretend radio station with your friend’s name […]

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  • Open to hope

    The Malaysian Airlines Crash: Reflections on Grief After Tragedy

    Posted on July 20, 2014 - by David Roberts

    This past Thursday (7/18/14), Malaysian Airlines flight MH 17 was hit by a missile while flying over the Ukraine. All told, 298 individuals from 11 countries, including 80 children were […]

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  • Open to hope

    The Upside of Sadness in Our Grief Journeys

    Posted on May 19, 2014 - by David Roberts

    Entitled No More During the last few days of my existence, I have experienced more sadness than usual. Considering that I am a parent whose child died  over 11 years […]

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  • Open to hope

    Helping Kids Cope with the Death of a Pet

    Posted on February 28, 2014 - by Linda Goldman

    All too often, pet death is discounted as not important, and those undermining words, “We’ll get you another one,” are offered as a hollow consolation. They diminish the love the […]

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