Message from our Founder
“On the night of September 11, 2001, as anguish hung in the air like a veil of tears, I began to pray for a way to bring some small measure of comfort and healing to the families who had suffered the most devastating loss of their loved ones. Then, on the first anniversary of that day of sorrow, as I watched the children call out their parents’ names at Ground Zero with great courage, a space opened in my heart that made way for earnest verses about love, hope, and courage to flow out of me. I had never written poetry before, but I felt I was being shown a way to bring comfort to those families in need, and the result, three years later, was the publication of Healing Light: Thirty Messages of Love, Hope and Courage. That book was sent as a gift, through the kindness of John C. Whitehead, then chairman of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, to all the Survivors’ Families. I want to take this opportunity to thank my publisher, Marta Hallett at Glitterati Incorporated, for believing in my message and publishing my work.
Encouraged by those who had found Healing Light to be soothing in troubled times, I wrote Heavenly Order: Twenty Five Meditations of Wisdom and Harmony.
Then, with Beloved Spirit: Pathways to Love, Grace and Mercy, I came to believe in an intimate moment of surrender, a time when the soul may connect with a higher being, light, spirit, or God, a part of which I am convinced resides within all of us. I believe this instance of release allows us to be open to creativity, take a step forward into the unknown, make untold mistakes along the way, and learn from them. It permits us to be vulnerable to sorrow, accepting of criticism, and fosters a willingness to do better. It provides untapped courage in the face of terror and ultimately the peace with which to depart this life.
This philosophy led me to found the Light of Healing Hope Foundation in the hope it will help light a new pathway to comfort. I have given my rights, titles and interests in Healing Light, Heavenly Order, and Beloved Spirit to the Foundation so that the Foundation may continue the work of bringing hope and healing to those in need.
Thanks to our generous supporters we produced Healing Courage, To Catch a Thought, and Catch a Happy Thought to bring comfort to those who are suffering. We also created two journals with soothing words and images to inspire patients to write their own thoughts.
In searching for a way forward after the death of my beloved husband, Arnaud, I found myself drawn to wise sayings of ancient philosophers that were remarkably relevant to our lives today. I returned to the magnificent 16th century Illumination manuscripts at the Freer|Sackler Galleries of Art and, in a new approach to my previous books, I incorporated contemporary images, many from National Geographic Creative, to serve as illustrative backdrops to the words of the philosophers. Two books emerged as a result: Love & Wisdom: 37 Timeless Reflections (2018) and Love & Peace: 37 Eternal Reflections (2020) published by GILES LTD with thousands of copies donated by LHHF to medical centers nationwide. I returned to my own words in our latest publication, REVERIES: In Search of Love, Hope & Courage (Light of Healing Hope FDN, 2021).
I am thrilled the Light of Healing Hope Foundation has been able to deliver over 70,700 of our gifts to 109 hospitals and hospices including Johns Hopkins, NIH, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, INOVA, St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital and the Washington Home and Community Hospices.”
~Alexandra Villard de Borchgrave
Please see our full list of recipient centers.