Widow 180 The Podcast with Jen Zwinck

Karen Sutton, widow coach, mom, and podcast host is my guest this week on the podcast! Karen's husband passed away suddenly from a heart attack at the age of 43, leaving Karen to raise their 2 young daughters. Her mistakes and lessons learned through widowhood led her to become a life coach. In this episode, Karen and I chat about some common widow struggles. She helps give some clarity as to...

I just passed a really big milestone date this last weekend. It's been 10 years since Brent was killed. I've been a widow for 10 years. It's so surreal. This episode is me sharing some of my thoughts on widowhood. JOIN OUR FACEBOOK group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/312036956454927 Follow on IG: @widow_180 Please share the podcast with someone who needs to hear these stories and...

Thinking about dating again but have no idea where to start? I get it! Today's episode is a replay of Day 1 of the FIND LOVE AGAIN Challenge. What this challenge does and what my new course does, it opens up your mind more and prepares your heart more for what to expect when you start dating again. At the end of Day 1, your homework assignment is to RANK YOUR ROADBLOCKS. Here are some of the...

Michelle Georges lost her husband Bob to cancer. In today's interview we talk about her life after the loss. Michelle and I chat about: ~ Coping with grief by living in the present moment. ~ How organ donation is so important and can save people's lives ~ How to "pretend to be alive until you feel alive!" ~ How it's so easy to fall into the trap of poor health decisions an...

Another short but sweet story of love after loss from my wonderful podcast guest, Kathryn Monaco-Douglas.   This clip is from Episode 35, where Kathryn talks about meeting her now husband Scott. Kathryn has such great perspective on grief and life and love after loss! Be sure to listen to the full episode to hear her whole story! Also, TODAY is the LAST day to sign up for our Widow 180 FIND LOVE A...

Heather Quisel joins us on the podcast today to talk to us about the loss of her husband Larry and how her life has changed in the last 3 years since his death. Heather and I chat about: ~ How she tried to "mindset" her way around grief and essentially cheat her way through grief (which didn't work!) ~ How the real struggle for widowed moms is to grieve and do what you need to do to...

Here's another short but sweet story of love after loss from my previous podcast guest, Autumn Toelle-Jackson. This is a clip from podcast Episode 20, where she talks about getting remarried after losing her husband Joe. You're gonna love this story about her wedding ring! Be sure to go back and listen to that full interview on episode 20! Also, we only have 1 WEEK LEFT until the FIND LO...

This week I had the privilege of talking to One Happy Widow, Leo Donnell. Leo's husband Dewey passed away from Stage 4 Bile Duct cancer in 2017, leaving her a solo parent to their 4 kids.  Leo and I chat about: ~ how she started grieving from the day he was diagnosed. ~ how she knew right away that she didn't want to spend the rest of her life alone. ~ how focusing on health and exercise...

We can get so distracted by grief, by ALL OF THE THINGS we HAVE to do, by all of the balls we are juggling, that we don't leave time for ourselves. Anxiety and fear can get the best of us and unfortunately we don't always know how to "correct" it, how to come back to ourselves. This episode talks about a mindfulness trick to check in with ourselves on a daily basis. Because WE...

Welcome to a Monday Mini Dose Episode!  I'm starting this week by sharing some short but sweet stories of love after loss from some previous podcast guests. The first story comes from Amanda Capps who I interviewed in Episode 53 of the podcast. Be sure to go back and listen to that full episode! Next, we'll hear from Melissa Pierce who I interviewed in Episode 45 of the podcast. She had...

We are continuing with this LOVE theme on Widow 180: The Podcast with this week's episode featuring my special guest, my husband Doug. He joins me this week to share our story of how we met, fell for each other, and got married! I had a lot of fun with this episode! Stories of how couples meet always inspired me and gave me hope as a widow that someday I, too, would be lucky in love again! If...

If anyone is questioning whether or not to date a widow, the short answer is YES you should! Here are 11 reasons why it's better to date a widow!   If dating again is something that you're struggling with, I want to help!  Sign up for our FREE 3 Day Mini Challenge called the FIND LOVE AGAIN Challenge! It starts Tuesday October 5th and runs through Thursday October 7th 2021! SIGN UP HERE:...

Liz lost her husband Bryan suddenly from an unknown heart condition when he was only 36 years old. Liz was left to raise their two young daughters.  In this episode, Liz and I discuss: ~ The aftermath of emotions from PTSD. ~ Finding the right therapist! ~ EMDR - Does it really work?? ~Crazy dreams we have about our late spouse ~ Finding love again when you think it's IMPOSSIBLE ~ Not caring...

When we're grieving we have a feeling of a total loss of control, right? Everything we know to be true and familiar is gone. We are thrown off.  What if you had 2 powerful, game-changing phrases to set you back on track? It's a mindset shifting tool that's there when you need it! These 2 phrases can be used to: RECOGNIZE AND THEN RALLY! Join us for a deeper discussion in our Faceboo...

Dr. Linda Shanti joins me on today's podcast to talk about the loss of her husband Jonathan and how her life has changed since. In today's episode we chat about: ~ Not judging our feelings, just allowing them to happen! ~ How we can use art as an outlet to healing through grief! ~ Her new book comes out this month! Check out "After Your Person Dies: Affirmations For Grief, Making Me...

I had an amazing conversation this week with guest Cindy Brown, who lost her husband D'Andre to cancer May 19, 2021.  Despite her very recent widow status, Cindy is looking for positivity, focusing on happiness, and determined to not stay stuck in grief. Cindy and I chat about: ~ How our faith can take a hit after loss ~ The incredible resilience of our kiddos! ~ Drawing strength from her lat...

I did a little research on this breathing exercise called the Wim Hof Method after my podcast guest Beth Wacome Keck mentioned it last week!   I wanted to pass this info on to you guys because I know how sleep can be a major struggle for widows. It definitely was for me! I don't think I slept for 3 years!  This is a breathing method that has many benefits: reduces stress, helps focus, helps g...

Eric Keck, former US Ski Team Downhiller, husband, father, key member of the community, passed away suddenly at the family's home in July 2020.  In today's interview, his wife, Beth Wacome Keck talks to me about how many people he's influenced in his lifetime. She talks to me about: ~Grieving as an intuitive process ~plans she has to continue Eric's dream for their property! ~d...

Happy Birthday to Widow 180: The Podcast! Widow 180: The Podcast turns 1 today! It's unbelievable! We've done 60 episodes! We have over 21,000 downloads. We've reached countries across the world! My mission for this podcast was to put out inspiring stories of growth and transformation from other widows, all ages, all backgrounds, all across the world, some of them moms, some not. I...

When Victoria's husband Marcus told her that he was having thoughts of suicide, they immediately sought help together.  Despite medication and emotional therapy, Marcus took his own life on May 23, 2019.  In this episode, Victoria and I talk about: ~How our mental health system is lacking! ~How close family members can let you down when you need them the most ~Weird signs that we get from lov...

"We only get one life to live. Why would you waste it? You're in charge. You're the boss. You get whatever life you want, but you have to work for it. There's season to grieve and a season to move forward."  ~AnneLena Mattison   I cannot say enough wonderful things about this week's podcast guest! There's so much strength and resilience and spirit in her words!  ...

AnneLena Mattison is my guest this week on the podcast and she is THE PERFECT person to feature this Independence Day weekend. Why? Because I see in her all of the qualities that we all need to strive for. Being bold, being confident, taking charge of your life, taking responsibility for your own happiness, and embracing new independence!  She lost her husband Curtis in 2015 after a long battle wi...

Relief is not a common feeling when we're talking about grieving the loss of a loved one. But when you lose your spouse to substance abuse and addiction, you have potentially spent years witnessing firsthand their demise.  The surviving widow is left feeling a mix of emotions and feeling guilty over feeling relief. In this episode we get a better understanding of what relief guilt is. This ep...

Carole lost her husband Steven in 2019 after years of battling alcoholism. Carole talks to me about their incredible love story that spanned several decades, but ultimately their love wasn't as strong as the pull to drink and it wasn't enough to save him. Carole talks about the Relief Guilt that she had after he finally was diagnosed with liver failure and put on hospice. She felt like f...

Is it just me or does anybody else hate the word "acceptance" when we're talking about the loss of our spouse? I mean, I TRULY despise this word. Acceptance. In this episode, we talk about a concept called Radical Acceptance, which basically means that we understand that bad things do indeed happen to good people - and all the time! Radical Acceptance shows us ways we can practice t...