Read Articles of Hope


February 12, 2022

Forever Trying to Rescue You

A guy is bragging to his friend that he has a dog who is so talented he can do anything he is commanded to do. The friend says, “OK let’s try a simple command first,” so he picks up a stick, throws it a distance and commands the dog, “Fetch!” The dog looks up at him for a moment, doesn’t even move and instead begins shouting, “All day long people tell me what to do. Roll over! Jump! Go through the fiery hoop! Good dog. Bad dog. Sit! Heal. Eat this! Don’t eat that! I can’t take it anymore. It’s no fun being a dog. I hate it. I wish I were never born! The fellow interrupts the dog and tells him with a sense of frustration, “All I asked you to do was fetch.”
September 30, 2020

Keep Calm And Carry On – Rabbi Steven Reuben – 2020

A guy is bragging to his friend that he has a dog who is so talented he can do anything he is commanded to do. The friend says, “OK let’s try a simple command first,” so he picks up a stick, throws it a distance and commands the dog, “Fetch!” The dog looks up at him for a moment, doesn’t even move and instead begins shouting, “All day long people tell me what to do. Roll over! Jump! Go through the fiery hoop! Good dog. Bad dog. Sit! Heal. Eat this! Don’t eat that! I can’t take it anymore. It’s no fun being a dog. I hate it. I wish I were never born! The fellow interrupts the dog and tells him with a sense of frustration, “All I asked you to do was fetch.”
August 11, 2020

Helping A Grieving Grandparent

“When a grandchild dies, grandparents grieve twice. They mourn the loss of the child and they feel the pain of their own child’s suffering. Sometimes we forget about the grandparents when a child dies. You can help by not forgetting, by offering the grandparents your love, support and presence in the weeks and months to come.” ~ ~ ~ A child or young adult has died. Everyone who loved the child is now faced with mourning this tragic, untimely death. The child’s parents are heartbroken. But what about the grandparents? How might they be feeling? How can you help them with their unique grief? This article will guide you in ways to turn your concern for the grandparents into positive action.
August 4, 2020

12 Insights Into Grieving After The Death Of Your Loved One

The journey through grief is different for all of us … we all take our own path. Someone you love has died. This presents you with one of the most challenging experiences any human being can face—coping with the loss of your loved one in your life. In this article, you will learn about your grief (experiencing your reactions to the loss of your loved one) and your mourning (making necessary readjustments to ultimately fit that loss into your life). Learning how to grieve healthfully and to mourn so that you can learn to adapt to life in the absence of your loved one, is no simple task. It often requires more work, takes more time and is more impacting than most people anticipate.
August 4, 2020

Understanding Grief is Another Expression of Love

Ken sat on the couch across from me, smiled and exclaimed, “I stopped it! The uncontrollable crying. I stopped it!” Just the week prior I had been at a loss as the 59-year-old self-avowed “momma’s boy” cried with an overpowering despair. He had been completely inconsolable over the death of his 82-year-old mother. As a fledgling bereavement counselor, I had walked away from his initial session wondering if I could ever be able to help Ken. His inability to see any reason for joy and hope had silenced me for almost the entire hour. For all of Ken’s life prior to his mother’s death, each had been all the other had. A successful businessman, Ken had never married and neither had his mother.
July 28, 2020

Gift

I became a mother when Riley was born. I became a poet when he died. His death and writing poetry are intertwined like the malformed vessels of his AVM and his brain—rooted, inseparable as a banyan and its host tree. If Riley hadn’t died, I would not be writing poetry. I wouldn’t have survived the tsunami of his death without that lifeline. In the hospital, when we were given the news that Riley would not survive his third bleed, a nurse whispered in my ear. I don’t remember what she looked like, but I remember her ethereal embrace and the way she placed my hair behind my ear, and whispered, “You’ve been given a gift.”
July 6, 2020

Contact From My Son After Eleven Years

David’s birth was not guaranteed. Because my cervix was pre-cancerous, I was told by my doctor to get pregnant immediately. If the cancer spread, he’d remove my cervix and the baby, too, no matter how far along I was. David made it! My first-born child was full term and a wonder. By eighteen months he could read the alphabet and at two he was playing chess with my father, who called him “King David.” He was the happiest little guy, full of curiosity and bursting with love. David was so kind and gentle that I often said to my sister-in-law, “He’s too good to live.”
June 17, 2020

Coping With Grief

Losing someone you love can change your world. You miss the person who has died and want them back. You may feel sad, alone, or even angry. You might have trouble concentrating or sleeping. If you were a busy caregiver, you might feel lost when you’re suddenly faced with lots of unscheduled time. These feelings are normal. There’s no right or wrong way to mourn.Losing someone you love can change your world. You miss the person who has died and want them back. You may feel sad, alone, or even angry.
June 17, 2020

QA Bet Mother Who Lost 21 Year Old Son Ten Years Ago And SEW

Am I going crazy? To address your question “Am I going crazy?” the answer is no, you are not, although I understand how you might feel as if you are sometimes. We have all felt that. You are grieving normally and naturally, given your circumstances and lack of physical grief support, such as private counseling by a true grief expert or regularly attending a grief group with other parents who get it. I'm still having a hard time understanding why. After ten years, I wonder if the question you ask of “Why?” is still a true/real question or one that you find yourself, as when you are in disbelief that he is actually gone from this world, asking as a more generalized question, still trying to understand how such a thing could have happened so quickly
June 17, 2020

Suggestions For The Holidays

The holidays are here, and for most people it is a time of coming together with families and friends. Sure, some of you might dread what happens when your families get together and the challenges of getting along begin, or for some it's nothing but a spectacular time with love and laughter and gratitude that you are all together. Yet, for those who are grieving, the holidays, especially for the first few years, are something often dreaded as people try to figure out how to endure the holidays. What used to be a time they looked forward to is now a time they would rather forget about.