Today is International Widows’ Day, and in this deeply personal episode of The Grief Lounge, I am sharing the real truth about widowhood, grief and life after losing your husband.

What is it really like to become a widow?

What does grief feel like after losing your life partner?

How do you keep going when your whole world has changed?

In this episode I share my lived experience of losing my husband, from holding his hand as he took his final breath, telling our children their dad had died, planning a funeral in shock, navigating relentless death admin, solo parenting grieving children, financial pressure, loneliness, and the reality of carrying grief every single day.

I also speak openly about friendship loss, how people disappear after bereavement, why people stop saying their name, and what widows need most from the people around them.

This episode is for widows, widowers, grieving partners and anyone supporting somebody through the loss of a spouse.

Inside this episode we explore:

• widowhood and grief
• losing your husband
• life after losing a partner
• how to support a widow
• parenting grieving children
• death admin after loss
• loneliness after bereavement
• friendship loss in grief
• financial struggles after losing a spouse
• keeping memories alive after death
• how grief changes you forever

Widowhood is not just losing your person. It is losing your future, your witness, your safety and the life you thought you would live.

If you are grieving the loss of your husband, wife or partner, or supporting somebody who is, this conversation will help you feel less alone and better understood.

If you would like to join The Grief Lounge Community here is the link ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/groups/thegrieflounge/⁠⁠⁠

Find me over on instagram @the_grief_coach_uk

Website:- www.thegriefcoachuk.com

In this episode of The Grief Lounge, I’m joined by author Sacha Hughes for a conversation about mother loss, grief, healing and the ways bereavement can shape our lives long after someone dies.

Sacha lost her mum to cancer when she was just 24 years old and in this conversation she speaks so openly about what happened afterwards. The grief, the self-sabotage, the drinking, the partying, searching for love, trying to outrun the pain and eventually finding herself again.

We speak about grief after losing a parent, the impact bereavement has on your mental health, identity loss, relationships, motherhood, spirituality and learning how to live alongside grief rather than fighting against it.

Sacha also shares the story behind her novel Love, Grief and More Sex Than Pinot, inspired by her own experiences of grief, healing and self-discovery.

Although the book has humour, chaos and funny moments running through it, underneath it I could really feel the loneliness of grief and the ways we sometimes try to distract ourselves from pain we don’t yet know how to carry.

For me, the character feels lost in so many ways. Trying to outrun grief, trying to fill the emptiness, trying to find herself again in a world that no longer feels the same.

Because grief is messy. It changes you. It cracks you open and leaves you trying to rebuild around the missing pieces.

This episode will resonate if you have experienced:

• mother loss
• grief after losing a parent
• cancer bereavement
• emotional trauma after loss
• self-sabotage and grief
• grief and alcohol
• loneliness after loss
• healing after bereavement
• identity loss after grief
• complicated grief
• mental health struggles after loss

As always on The Grief Lounge, this is an honest conversation about grief, love, loss and the reality of trying to rebuild your life after losing someone you love.

Guest: Sacha Hughes
Book: Love, Grief and More Sex Than Pinot

If you would like to connect with Sacha you can find her website here:- www.sachahughes.com

instagram https://www.instagram.com/sachahughes/

facebook page https://www.facebook.com/SachaHughesAuthor?locale=en_GB

link to purchase Love, Grief and More Sex Than Pinot https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=love+grief+and+more+sex+than+pinot&crid=32NTM2G31DTL4&sprefix=love+grief+%2Caps%2C128&ref=nb_sb_ss_mvt-t11-ranker_1_11

You can find me - Sadie over on my website www.thegriefcoachuk.com

or connect via instagram @the_grief_coach_uk

If you would like to join The Grief Lounge Community over on facebook click the link here https://www.facebook.com/groups/thegrieflounge/⁠⁠⁠

In this episode of The Grief Lounge, I am joined by Sara Rian, a grief poet, self published author, licensed therapist, mother, wife and griever.

Sara began writing grief poetry after the death of her mum in 2018. Her mum died by suicide, and in this conversation Sara shares so openly about that loss, the trauma around it, and the deep love and connection she had with her mum.

I first came across Sara’s words on Instagram, and they were one of those accounts that just stopped me. The kind of words that feel so deeply relatable they almost feel like home.

We talk about mother loss, suicide grief, attachment, trauma, and what it means to grieve someone you loved deeply, and the kind of love that holds both the beauty and the hard parts.

Sara shares how writing became a way for her to put words to something that felt impossible to hold. Her poems have reached so many people in the grief community because they say the things many of us feel but cannot always explain.

We also talk about the grief community online, why it can feel easier to be understood by strangers, and how creativity can give grief somewhere to land.

Sara also shares the work she is doing around grief poetry workshops, creating spaces where people can write, share and feel seen in their grief.

This conversation is raw, warm and honest. It is about grief, but also about love, connection, community and the words that help us feel less alone.

If you have experienced mother loss, suicide loss, complicated grief, or have ever found comfort in poetry after loss, this episode is for you.

If you would like to read the poem that Sara read in the episode click the link here:-

https://www.instagram.com/p/DVROaG6jvX-/?igsh=dW93aXg3ZG44YmRs

You can find Sara via her website www.sararianbooks.com on her facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/sararianbooks/) over on Substack https://sararianbooks.substack.com/ or on Instagram @sara_rian_books

You can join the waitlist for the next Poetry workshops here:-https://thememorycircle.com/#waitlist

If you would like to join The Grief Lounge community page please join here https://www.facebook.com/groups/thegrieflounge/

If you would like to make contact with me you can do so through my website www.thegriefcoachuk.com or via Instragram @the_grief_coach_uk