The Widowed Parent Podcast

I had such a great discussion with David Kessler for this episode. David is one of the world's foremost experts on grief and loss. He's also had two very personal losses: the death of his mother when he was just 13, and the death of his younger son when his son was 21. David has just come out with a brand new workbook, Finding Meaning: The Sixth Stage of Grief Workbook. In our discussion, he share...

I had such a great discussion with Michelle Glogovac for this episode. Michelle lost her dad when she was 7, and I'm so grateful that she was willing to come on and speak with us for this special discussion that is our first episode of this year's Children's Grief Awareness Month. It's kind of funny how I came to be speaking with Michelle for this. It's actually a melding of my two professional wo...

I had such a great discussion with Amanda-Lee Pitzer for this episode. Amanda-Lee is the author of the new memoir The Relieved Widow . "Relieved," you say? Yes, the title is perhaps a bit jarring. But Amanda-Lee is doing readers a service by being open and honest about her story of losing her military husband to suicide when their boys were 8 and 10. She recalls that when her therapist friend poin...

I had such a great discussion with Jeanette Koncikowski for this episode. We first talked five years ago, when Jeanette was my guest way back in episode 10. I invited her back now because she's out with a brand-new book, Shipwrecked: A Memoir of Widowed Parenting and Life After Loss . It's a "teaching memoir," in which Jeanette both shares her family's journey and explores themes, issues, and ques...

I had such a great discussion with Jessica Waite for this episode. I've had a number of listeners recently asking for more discussions with widowed parents who have complicated situations. Or, as one listener put it, "the end-of-life stories that are really ugly." One of the gifts Jessica is giving us with her new book is that she's writing about stuff that not everyone is willing to write about....

I had such a great discussion with Sara Wingerath-Schlanger for this episode. Sara is from Tuesday's Children, which was founded in the wake of 9/11 to serve families affected by that tragedy in 2001, including the 3,051 kids who lost a parent that day. Sara tells us they are one of only three nonprofits started because of 9/11 that are still operating today, and she fills us in on who they serve...

I had such a great discussion with Lisa Keefauver for this episode. You may know Lisa from her popular podcast, Grief is a Sneaky Bitch, and now she has a brand new book out by the same name. In this episode, we talk all about ambiguous losses, disenfranchised grief, how the three most important rules of scuba diving also apply to life—and, of course, the origin of her podcast and its name. Lisa i...

I had such a great discussion with Ryane Moates for this episode. I love what Ryane is doing with her YouTube channel, Ryane to the Rescue , where she educates on all things home repair, yard care, and more that widowed people find themselves responsible for after the death of their partners. Ryane herself felt so empowered after she started learning and doing all the things her husband used to do...

I had such a great discussion with Jordan Arogeti for this episode. Jordan and her company have a new tool called Support Now . It's a bit like a mashup of some tools you may be familiar with, such as CaringBridge, Go Fund Me, and online meal trains. But it's SO much more than that. In preparing to speak with Jordan, I had an "Ah-Ha!" moment: Support for the newest grievers is all about ORGANIZING...

I had such a great discussion with Dr. Linda Shanti McCabe for this episode. We haven't tackled the topic of art and how it can help with grief on the show before, so I was excited to talk with Linda about that as well as her program called the Art of Grief which is starting soon. Linda is a widowed parent herself, and she's also a licensed clinical psychologist. Listen, too, as she shares the maj...

I had such a great discussion with child life specialist Jessica Correnti this week on the Widowed Parent Podcast. Jessica is the founder of a practice called Kids Grief Support. She is also the author of two picture books for young grievers, including her newest, The ABCs of Grief , which will be available in February 2024. In this discussion we dive deep on a number of topics, such as: the power...

I had such a great discussion with Dr. Katie Davis for this episode. This week we tackle a thorny parenting topic: screens. The pandemic period of online school, work, play dates, happy hours, fitness classes, therapy sessions, music lessons, and so much more has taught us that asking whether screens and screen time are "good" or "bad" are not necessarily the right questions anymore. Technology ha...

Today's discussion is such an important one. For families who have been touched by suicide losses, for sure – and also for any parents of grieving teens from any death losses. Joanne tells us today about her new film, " Talking Out Loud - Teens & Suicide Loss: A Conversation." I've seen it, and I have to say it's such a privilege to hear directly from teens about such a sensitive topic. They knew...

I can't think of a better way to kick off Children's Grief Awareness Month than to share my recent discussion with Laurel Braitman, author of the new memoir What Looks Like Bravery. Longtime listeners will recall that I've often mentioned what a privilege it is to speak with grown-up grieving kids, and to hear firsthand their experiences and reflections after losing a parent at a young age. What L...

I had such a great discussion with Azurae Johnson Redmond for this episode. Azurae is the founder of Young, Black & Widowed Inc and she is also the foreword writer for my new book, out this week: "Widowed Parents Unite: 52 Tips to Get Through the First Year, from One Widowed Parent to Another ." I'm thrilled that Azurae and so many other contributing authors are part of this book. Widowed Parents...

I had such a great discussion with Mae Yoshikawa for this episode. Mae's boys were young when her husband died. One was 8 years old, and the other was just 5 months old. Listen in our discussion for the important question Mae asked her older son after her husband died: What if the question right now is not "Why?" This hearkens back to her own experience when her mom became gravely ill when Mae was...

I had such a great discussion with Gina Moffa for this episode. Gina is a therapist specializing in grief and loss, and she has a brand-new book out this week: Moving On Doesn't Mean Letting Go: A Modern Guide to Navigating Loss . I was honored to read an advance copy and provide an endorsement for her terrific book. Perhaps the best way I can introduce our discussion is to share what I wrote abou...

I had such a great discussion with Phyllis Fagell for this episode. Phyllis just released a brand new book, Middle School Superpowers: Raising Resilient Tweens in Turbulent Times . We haven't specifically talked about middle schoolers on the show before, and I knew Phyllis would be just the right person to tackle this with. She's a parenting author and speaker – and I had to laugh when I saw on he...

I had such a great discussion with Chris Buchanan for this episode. Chris has written a graphic novel for grieving teens and kids – something that is unique among the grief literature. She was inspired to write this book because of a death in her community, and she brought her many years of expertise as a speech-language pathologist to the task of writing this book in order to create a different t...

I had such a great discussion with Lynn Haraldson for this episode. She was widowed 40 years ago, at the age of 19—with an 11-day-old baby at home. I especially appreciated the longer lens she brings to the experience of being a widowed parent. Her journey has included many twists and turns, and she reflects on it all in her new memoir, An Obesity of Grief . Listen especially for Lynn telling us a...

We're trying something a little different today. Or actually: a lot different. We've got our first non-human guest on the show. No, I'm not interviewing either of my dogs, Daisy and Penny, although that could get interesting. Today I'm interviewing the artificial intelligence tool ChatGPT. What is ChatGPT, you ask? I asked it to describe itself briefly, in a non-technical way, and this is what it...

I had such a great discussion with Talia Kovacs for this episode. We talked about an important topic: building resilience in our kids. Listen for Talia explaining what she means when she says resilience is learned , but it can't be taught . It's an important nuance that I hadn't thought about before, and Talia explains to us what this means for us as parents. The Widowed Parent Institute guides th...

I had such a great discussion with Heidi Carson for this episode. Heidi is a fellow widowed parent, and she lost her husband, Chad, when their kids were 12 and 14 due to complications related to a rare telomere disease. I so appreciate Heidi talking with us because I believe that hearing other people's stories helps us feel so much less alone. Listen for Heidi sharing how getting involved in volun...

I had such a great discussion with Dr. Lisa Damour for this episode. I always love talking with Lisa, and her books and podcast are incredible resources for parents. I frequently recommend her book Untangled to parents of teen and tween girls, and she's got a brand new book out this week: The Emotional Lives of Teenagers . In addition to unpacking that topic, we talked about trauma, and also why o...

I had such a great discussion with Rabbi Steve Leder for this episode. So great that I may just have to have him back. We talked mostly about his second-most-recent book, The Beauty of What Remains , which I found fascinating and helpful and comforting, all in one. He describes it as both a memoir and a field guide. We talked about what he's learned working with a thousand grieving families in his...