The Widow's Collective

One of the biggest fears many widowed parents carry after the death of a spouse is this: "Will my child be ruined by this?" When your child loses a parent, it's natural to worry about what this loss will mean for them long-term. Who will they become because of this experience? What will they carry forward? How do you help them navigate something so enormous while you're grievin...

After the death of a spouse, many widows don’t just lose the person they love — they also lose their sense of safety, predictability, and trust in themselves. In this episode, we explore the invisible ways grief impacts self-trust and why loss can leave widows feeling hypervigilant, emotionally unsteady, fearful of future pain, and disconnected from their own inner voice. We discuss: • Why widowho...

So many grieving women quietly carry the pressure to do widowhood “correctly.” To cope correctly. To heal correctly. To move forward correctly. To parent correctly. To honor their person correctly. But grief is not a performance. And widowhood is not something you master perfectly. In this episode, we explore the invisible expectations many widows carry after the death of a spouse — the pressure t...

In this final episode of the identity loss series, we explore one of the most tender and complicated parts of grief after the death of a partner: The experience of feeling like certain parts of you only existed because they did… while also slowly realizing that there are still parts of you that remain. This conversation moves into the layered complexity of relational identity, nervous system conne...

Mother’s Day after the death of a spouse is not a simple day. It is layered. It is emotional. It is often holding multiple truths at once. In this bonus episode, we talk about what it actually means to move through Mother’s Day as a widow and a mother — where love and grief are not separate experiences, but happening side by side. We explore:  The emotional complexity of Mother’s Day after loss   ...

In this episode, we take a deeper look at what it actually means to live inside identity loss after the death of a spouse. Because while grief is often talked about in terms of emotion—what you feel, how you process, how you “move through it”—there is another layer that doesn’t get named as often. The internal shift. The part where you don’t quite recognize yourself. Where the way you think, respo...

In this first episode of the series, we’re exploring something that many widows quietly recognize but rarely have space to fully unpack: The experience of identity loss after the death of a spouse. Not just grief in the emotional sense, but the deeper internal experience of no longer recognizing yourself inside your own life. We talk about why identity rupture is not separate from grief, but part...

In this episode… I explore why suffering becomes such a common (and often misunderstood) part of widowhood and early grief and how it can quietly take root not just as pain, but as meaning, identity, and even connection. This is not about pathologizing grief or suggesting we “do it wrong.”  It’s about gently understanding what is actually happening beneath the surface of our experience. Because fo...

Episode Description: There’s a moment in grief when the outside world begins to respond to you differently. You’re getting out of bed. You’re showing up for your kids. You’re going to work, answering messages, maybe even laughing again. And from the outside… it can look like you’re “doing better.” But internally, it can feel like something completely different. In this episode, we explore the quie...

In this deeply personal episode, I slow things down and return to the earliest version of myself: the one who had just lost Kevin, the one who didn’t know how she would survive. After sharing a post that resonated deeply within the widow community, I felt called to expand on those words… not just as reflections, but as lived experiences. This episode is an invitation to sit beside your own grief -...

In this episode of The Widow’s Collective Podcast , Lauren explores one of the most confusing and challenging aspects of grief: the feeling of taking steps forward only to be pulled back by unexpected waves of pain. If you’ve ever thought you were “healing” and then been hit with intense grief out of nowhere, this episode is for you. Lauren guides you through: The Moment It Hits – Recognizing the...

In this episode of The Widow’s Collective Podcast , I share a personal reflection on Kevin’s birthday — what would have been his 43rd — and explore why certain milestone days in grief never quite lose their weight. Grief doesn’t follow a predictable timeline, and milestone days like birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, or even ordinary Sundays can catch you off guard, stirring up emotions you might...

In today’s episode, we explore the often unspoken reality that both life and grief are not meant to feel effortless — even though we’re often told they should. This conversation gently challenges the idea that healing should feel good, easy, or resolved… and instead offers a more honest perspective on what it can actually look like to move with grief over time. Inside this episode, we talk about:...

When a partner dies, the loss extends far beyond their physical absence. In this episode, Lauren explores secondary losses — the often invisible grief that comes from losing the future you thought you were building together. These losses can include the dreams, plans, milestones, and identity that were intertwined with your partnership. They often surface slowly over time and can leave widows feel...

In today’s episode, we explore a question that often surfaces in widowhood, whether weeks, months, or years after loss: Who am I now that he’s gone? This isn’t a question with a quick answer. It’s not something to solve. It’s something to inhabit. Inside this episode, we talk about: The identity shift that happens after losing a partner Why the nervous system feels unanchored in grief The tension...

There’s a quiet tension many widows carry: We long to be seen.  And we’re scared to be held. In this episode, I explore the vulnerability of being witnessed in grief — why it can feel threatening to let others see the depth of what we’re carrying, and how loss reshapes our nervous system’s relationship to attachment and support. We talk about: Why being seen after loss can feel like exposure The p...

Episode 21: Reimagining Love and Life After Loss When a partner dies, it’s not only the past that breaks open — it’s the future you thought you were living toward. In this episode, Lauren gently explores what it means to reimagine love and life after loss — not as a betrayal of what was, but as a slow, internal permission to keep living while still carrying deep love and grief. This is a conversat...

When we lose a partner, we don’t just lose the person we loved —  we lose the orientation we had to life itself. In this episode, I explore what it means to come back home to yourself after loss — not by trying to “find the old you,” but by slowly rediscovering who you are now , in a body and life that have been changed by love and grief. If you’ve ever thought: “I don’t recognize myself anymore,”...

Valentine’s Day can land very differently in widowhood — whether it once meant everything, or barely registered at all. In this episode, I’m sitting with the tenderness of love-centered days after loss. We talk about why days like Valentine’s Day, anniversaries, and weddings can quietly magnify grief, how love continues to live in the body even after death, and why there is no “right” way to move...

February can bring up complicated emotions for widows — especially as love is publicly framed through romance, couple-hood, and celebration. In this episode, Lauren offers a spacious, honest conversation about the kind of love that doesn’t disappear after loss — the love that remains, changes shape, and continues to live in the body, memory, and nervous system. Together, we explore how grief is no...

In this little bonus episode of the support series, Lauren explores how to choose grief support that actually meets you where you are—without pressure, comparison, or urgency. If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by your options, unsure what kind of support you “should” be seeking, or exhausted by the idea of making yet another decision in grief, this episode is for you. Lauren shares her own experienc...

Episode 16: What Do Love Languages and Support Have in Common? (Or: Why Good Intentions Can Still Miss in Grief) Grief changes the way support is given, received, and understood. In this episode, we explore why even the most loving, well-intentioned support can still miss the mark—and how mismatched emotional availability, timing, and “support languages” can leave grievers feeling unseen or overwh...

In this episode, we’re talking about something that comes up for so many people in grief—especially early on—when others ask, “What do you need?” and your mind goes completely blank. Not knowing how to answer doesn’t mean you’re doing grief wrong.  It doesn’t mean you’re ungrateful, closed off, or failing at receiving support.  Often, it means your nervous system is overloaded and focused on one t...

Episode 14 — Living in the Fog Early grief often doesn’t arrive with sharp edges or clear emotions.  Instead, it shows up as fog — disorientation, slowness, numbness, and a sense of moving through life slightly out of reach. In this episode, Lauren explores what it means to live inside the fog of grief — why it happens, how it affects daily life, and how to meet yourself with more understanding an...

Episode 13: The Days That Bring You to Your Knees In this episode, we talk about shock, sudden loss, grief waves, and the ways grief can show up unexpectedly in the body. Gentle note for listeners: Some of what’s shared here may feel activating or tender. You’re invited to listen at your own pace. Pausing, stepping away, skipping sections, or coming back another day is always okay. You don’t need...