Brave Widow Show

Being a widow makes celebrating Mother's Day and Father's Day a little tricky and a little tough at times, and one of the of the questions that I've been hearing most recently is, What can I do with my kids to honor my late spouse on Father's Day?   So I have some ideas. I have some things that I've done, but more importantly, I went to the experts. I asked various groups of widows what they...

In episode 34 of the Brave Widow show we have a really amazing person. Her name is Sue Peters. She is a fellow widow and she's going to share some parts of her story and some insights of what she's learned through her grief journey, and Sue is just a beautiful person on the inside and out. Sue is from Indiana. She was married to her husband John for almost 35 years until his untimely passing due t...

I have a special guest on the show today. Yolanda ( @h3haven ) and I met through a mutual life coaching certification program that we're a part of. We connected on a topic of grief. And while Yolanda isn't a widow, she has personally experienced a very deep grief and loss, which she'll tell you about. I think you're really going to enjoy hearing from Yolanda.   We talk about: ~ Giving yoursel...

In episode 32 of the Brave Widow Show, I get to talk with Donna Kendrick ( @widowandwisdom ). Donna is someone who lost her husband nearly 10 years ago, and she's done a lot of work to give back to the widow and the grief communities, and I think you'll agree after watching this episode that she's just a lovely person, so I think you'll really enjoy the episode today. Donna's husband, Greg passed...

Oftentimes in grief, Widows feel very misunderstood. That's pretty common. And in all of the widow communities that I'm involved in, I hear a lot of times people say, "oh, I just wish that people understood this, or I wish that my family or friends could know this, but I don't wanna have to tell 'em. I wish I could just say it, but I can't". So what I've done over the past few months is really com...

Losing a spouse sends you to the edge of the earth.  You may often feel like you’re living in a different reality from everyone else.  Things that used to be important to you may no longer matter as new priorities and interests emerge over time. In episode 30 of the Brave Widow Show we talk about 5 mindset changes that can happen when your spouse dies.   We talk about: ~ Shift in pr...

Commonly widows report having a completely new social circle once their spouse dies.  They may feel abandoned, misunderstood, judged, rejected, forgotten, and lost. You will be disappointed by people who don’t show up for you the way you wish they would; alternatively you will be delighted by people who show up for you who you never thought would. When you become a widow, your social circle c...

Being a widow is lonely.  Isolating.  Brutal. Today in episode 28 of the Brave Widow show, I’m going to share five reasons why having a community during grief is important and five things to look for to find the community that’s a good fit for you.   We talk about: ~ Grief must be felt ~ We're not taught how to process loss ~ Shared experience of loss ~ Wisdom and insight for decisi...

Today’s episode covers why grief and the new normal is so tough.  We know it’s hard, living this new life without our person, but we don’t always think about all the little things that feed into that.   Grief is about embracing the concept of AND not OR.   You now live a life with an evident and strange duality… The past two weeks have been incredibly challenging for me.&n...

In today's episode I get to talk to an amazing young woman by the name of Alosina Wellington, and Alosina is gonna share with us not only her overall story, but also some of her best tips and advice for other young widows. Alosina has been widowed for about seven years now, so she has more perspective on her experience and time for when she was first widowed and actually came across a post that sh...

Laura Sinclair (@flourishorganizing) is a professional home organizer and the owner of Flourish Organizing.  She works with clients one-on-one, helping guide them through decluttering their belongings and reorganizing their spaces to maximize their storage and increase efficiency in their homes.  Laura has taught students and adults of all ages and enjoys working with clients individuall...

In today's episode I share five tips for networking as an introvert and how to actually enjoy it! And I know what you're probably thinking, especially if you're an introvert, this is not even possible. But I promise you, someone who is a hardcore, introverted preference type like myself. I am at a place where I really enjoy networking and meeting new people, and you can too! This is actually a cou...

In today's episode we talk about finance basics. How to get started with finances, how to create a budget, how to start thinking about getting out of debt, when to work with a financial coach and more. Our guest speaker is financial coach, Seth Connell (@coach_connell) who has been a financial coach since 2018. In his time coaching, he has helped his clients pay off over 2 million dollars of debt....

Today we're gonna talk about why it feels like we get stuck in grief. Why time doesn't magically heal all wounds. Why we're ultimately not prepared to handle grief and loss and what you can actually do about it.   We talk about: ~ Power of words. ~ Misconceptions that we have learned about grief and how to process loss. ~ How others are ill prepared to help us navigate grief ~ Who is ultimate...

Have you thought recently: -Should I get a new puppy? -I have a new puppy, and I'm so frustrated! -I've tried training my dog, but it's not working   Puppies are amazing and they bring all kinds of joy and sometimes frustration into our world. But the reality of it is that many times when someone loses a significant other or any loved one, they may get a dog or people may gift them one. And w...

Grief: Is Year Two Harder than Year One?  For some people, it seems like the second year of grief is harder. For other people, it seems like the first year of grief is harder, and this is often a question that newly widowed folks really want the answer to, because let's be honest, those first few months and probably that first year, you are in full survival mode and you want to know, am I eve...

  Sheyna James is extremely transparent and authentic. She has overcome tragic loss and uses that time of her life to help others who are going through difficult times to discover God's unique purpose and divine destiny as disciples of Jesus. She was a widow and single mom of two boys for 13 years, and recently was blessed to find love again. She is now married to Anthony James and they are a...

Daniel Kopp is a fee-only fiduciary financial planner and founder of Wise Stewardship financial planning, where he helps young widows and widowers, as well as service members organize their financial lives by aligning their money with their deeply held values. He is an Air Force veteran after almost nine years as an officer on active duty. On the personal front, Daniel is a widower After his wife...

Cindy Lupica has been through so many traumatic events in her life, and yet she still pours into others, wants to give back to others, and is able to share her story here with you today. Cindy is a cancer survivor, advocate and coach, a dancer, teaches ballet and a widow. After losing her late husband, suddenly and unexpectedly, she was left with young children to raise and find her second new nor...

Have you ever wondered why grief hurts so much? Or why we can feel like we're adapting to the new way of life. We've accepted that our person isn't coming back, but then we find ourselves almost reverting or going back to being in denial and thinking that we have this weird balance of I know they're not coming back, but I think this is just a bad nightmare and I'm having a hard time reconcili...

Teresa is very open, vulnerable, and incredibly brave as she shares about her experience with dating too soon. Being intimate too soon and dealing with this thing that those of us in the industry call Widows Fire. So let me introduce Teresa. Teresa Taylor Williams is a widow, an award-winning newspaper journalist, and a self-proclaimed grief butt kicker first losing her job to downsizing. Then her...

Jennifer Mullins became a widow in 2012 after her husband's sudden death from an accidental overdose. She was not prepared for the heartache that would follow. She found solace in support groups and other widows and reading stories of others who have traveled this path. She has gradually learned to live with grief and find joy in life. She believes in paying it forward by being there for others wh...

Jarrett’s mom was widowed with ten kids, five of which were still at home; their life insurance had expired only a few months before.  As widows, we should know best that life insurance is something we need, yet it’s something we can easily put off or ignore until it’s too late.  Jarrett’s passion for widows, life insurance, and eternal life is evident and contagious!   Making decis...

Content Warning: miscarriage, suicide, drugs, alcohol, PTSD, and death.   At the age of 26, Janine tragically lost her husband (age 27) to suicide.  She shares her experience navigating the traumatic events and offers advice for young widows.  She was able to find freedom from overwhelm by asking for help, designating a point person to speak with companies, and accepting help from f...

This episode is designed with supporters of widows and the grieving in mind!  Widows, share this with your family, friends, or support group to help them better understand your mindset, how grief has affected you, and how to best support you.  Learn how being widowed impacts a person, the mindset widows have, sayings (platitudes) to avoid, and what to say instead.  Help support wido...