Widow 180 The Podcast with Jen Zwinck

Mother Theresa has a quote that says, "We can do no great things, only small things done with great love." This week on the podcast we are talking about harnessing your ability to see the beauty in the small gestures.  You have the gift of sight. You can choose to see the good in the small miracles and acts of humanity, even as you world is crumbling under grief.  I encourage you to reme...

Welcome back to Part 2 of my interview with Tracy Quinn! This week I talk to Tracy about: ~ Being resilient and learning what helps you recover from the trauma of loss. ~ How she found a new love in her life with James. ~ Things to consider when dating as a widow! ~ Moving and selling her home. ~ Keeping memories of her life with Carl. ~ Handling milestone days. ~ Giving yourself grace during the...

Welcome to this incredibly inspiring interview with the lovely Tracy Quinn! Tracy lost her husband Carl in 2020 to COVID. Today she is on the podcast sharing her experience with the world, offering golden nuggets of advice that you don't want to miss! Her strength and positivity are an inspiration to all of us. This is Part 1 of a 2 part interview. Tracy and I chat about: ~ How losing her hus...

Today's episode was inspired by a message I received via email from a listener who had recently lost her husband.  She had something that was weighing on her mind and keeping her up at night. She kept thinking... "What if I get sick?" And that thought spiraled into... "Who will take care of me?" "How will I manage?" "How will I be able to keep up with my hou...

Join me this week as we celebrate a HUGE milestone of reaching 200 podcast episodes on Widow 180: The Podcast! I thought I would take this time to share my story with you since we have so many new listeners and members of the Widow 180 community.  This is an interview I did with Emily Thiroux Threatt on her podcast titled "Grief and Happiness" last year.  I share my own widow story, how...

We all know that grief and anxiety can go hand in hand. After losing your spouse, it’s hard to stop the feeling of being out of your body and out of your mind. You’re massively anxious. Your mind races with uncertainty. Fear rushes through you. Your thoughts are running through every horrible scenario and possibility. You expect nothing but the worst of all circumstances to occur. Your breathing i...

Most bereaved people make their way along the grief road, albeit bumpy and full of potholes, that leads to accepting the loss, integrating the reality of that loss into a new life, and reimagining a future with the possibility of joy.  The acute grief, the intensely painful grief that you feel in those first months, starts to lessen. It transforms and becomes integrated into your new life, your ne...

This is Part 2 of my interview with the lovely Leila Salisbury , who opened Kentucky's first center for grief support for families and children. Leila shares her expertise in the field of children's grief and tells us how to communicate more effectively about loss. Today we talk about: ~ How kids use anger as an outlet for grief (we all do! ) ~ How we can help kids process their anger us...

I am so pleased to welcome back Leila Salisbury to the podcast to talk about parenting your grieving child. This is Part 1 of 2 episodes with Leila. Leila was first on the podcast in episode 174 where she talked about losing her husband to suicide, raising her daughter, and opening Kentucky's first and only family grief support center. Be sure to check out that interview! On today's podc...

Megan Kopka joins us this week on the podcast! She lost her husband Keith to the devastating illness ALS. Megan is passionate about helping women, especially- caregivers and widows, find financial security and freedom to live fulfilling lives supported through planning and investing. In today's interview, we chat about: ~where she was able to find support after losing Keith ~her greatest fear...

Capt. David Dorn tragically lost his life in 2020, while responding to a break-in during a protest in St. Louis. His widow, Ann Wood-Dorn, joins me today on the podcast to talk about Dave, how she has coped with his loss, and how she is living out his legacy of generosity and kindness. Ann and I talk about: ~the riots in St. Louis and the events around her husband's death in 2020. ~how she ha...

We all experience guilt in some way after we lose our spouse.  We feel responsible for what happened. We get trapped in this illusion of control, thinking that we could have or should have done something differently and they would still be here.  In this episode, you will hear how guilt shows up for widows, why we continue to blame ourselves, and how we can let go of guilt in grief.  As long as yo...

"I just always knew in my heart that I had to keep living." ~ Emily Curtis Emily Curtis, widow and grief coach, joins us this week on the podcast to talk about how she was able to tap into her own resilience to move through grief after losing her husband Brad suddenly. We chat about: ~ anger being such a HUGE emotion around grief ~ how her friends really became her family during this tim...

My guest this week on the podcast is MaryJo Newell. I've known MaryJo from really close to the beginning of her widowhood story. A few years later, I can see the changes in her, the growth, and her transformation of becoming who she is today. Join us in this conversation as she shares her insights, perspectives, and things she's learned about life and about herself. We chat about: ~losin...

Ryane Moates joins us this week for a candid interview about losing her husband and her journey through losing her confidence, losing her faith, and losing hope.  She shares what she did to welcome God back into heart, what she did to regain that confidence, and what she chose to bring purpose and meaning into her life through her YouTube channel, Ryane To The Rescue! We talk about: ~ how she lost...

This is Part 2 of my interview with Eva Still, widow, author, yoga therapist, and retreat leader. In this episode, Eva walks us through some helpful breathing exercises to calm and regulate our nervous system when we feel anxious. She also mentions several books that she recommends for grief and mindfulness. Here's a list: Finding Meaning: The Sixth Stage of Grief (David Kessler) Writing to H...

Today's podcast guest, Eva Still, has an incredible story to share! Her life has taken her down so many different, unexpected paths and I can't wait for you to hear all about her adventures! This interview is broken up into 2 parts, so you will hear the first half today, where Eva talks about: ~visits from her late husband and the conversations they had! ~Her take on how the universe is...

Feeling isolated and lonely can be one of the most challenging parts of widowhood. But, that's actually putting it lightly, right? I know that loneliness is not just a "challenge". It's all-encompassing. It's life-altering. It's anxiety-inducing and triggering. I also know that a really good quote has the power to to get you through a really bad day. So, today on epis...

You know that awful feeling when you find out after the fact that there was a party or a get-together thrown by a friend or family member? It's the dreadful, gut-wrenching feeling of being left out. It stings. Today, I want to offer you 7 tips on how to deal with feeling left out. These are some things you can do to help soothe the sting of rejection. For more help and guidance with lonelines...

"Stay open to the universe and the void gets filled." These are the wise and brilliant words of advice from this week's guest, Julie Hanrahan. Julie lost her husband Paul suddenly and unexpectedly on October 27, 2021 at only 33 years old. Julie's life went into a tailspin. In today's episode she shares: ~how she was struck with PTSD, panic attacks, and breathing problems f...

Is social media slowing down your grieving process? Find out here! Do you LOVE Facebook? Are you obsessed with Instagram? Social media has changed everything about the way we interact with each other. You may see on Facebook that you have hundreds, maybe even thousands of Facebook "friends". But how many of those people really know you? Do they know the struggles you're going throug...

Maybe you've heard some phrases like "You have to feel in order to heal" or "Feel your feelings, don't try to escape them."  As a person who helps widows figure out this whole "widowhood mess", I know there is so much truth to these statements. But what if those feelings pop up right before a big work presentation?  What if those emotions well up in the midd...

Becky Long joins us on the podcast today for a candid interview about how she is rebuilding her life after losing her husband Don in 2022. My favorite quote from this episode: " This new chapter in my life...I'm gonna play the hell out of it." ~Becky Long Becky shows so much strength and resilience in this raw and honest interview. We talk about: ~ how she started hiking, journaling...

Today on the podcast Tiffany Coleman shares her story of loss, but it's also a story of strength and how she was able to power through and prevail, how she is raising her children, and how she is choosing joy despite the pain of losing her husband. Tiffany and I talk about: ~ how her husband Dwight passed away from a pulmonary embolism in their home on her daughter's birthday. ~ How she...

Kali Sakai's husband Ken was diagnosed with glioblastoma and ultimately passed away in 2021. In this heartfelt, honest interview, Kali shares: ~ Ways to celebrate your loved one (quilts, special ceremonies, etc.) ~ How to talk to your kids about the hard things in life. ~ Forming a "Wellness Team" to keep you sane! ~ Changing friendships and NEW friendships ~ Ways that grief changes...