In this episode of The Widow Podcast, I speak to Sam Southern, suicide prevention and bereavement manager at Solace at Empowerment Charity in Blackpool. Sam shares her personal story of losing her husband Glen to suicide in June 2020, during the height of the COVID pandemic. He was 46 years old, and together they had six children, the youngest just two and five at the time.

Sam talks about the shock and trauma of losing a partner to suicide, the complex grief that followed, and the stigma that still surrounds suicide loss. She also explains how blogging her experiences online became an unexpected lifeline, connecting her with others who truly understood. Today, that same community spirit drives her professional work supporting people bereaved by suicide.

In this conversation, we discuss:

• The unique challenges of grieving a partner lost to suicide, including guilt, anger, and unanswered questions

• How stigma and silence around suicide complicate grief and isolate families

• Why asking directly about suicidal thoughts can be a powerful step in prevention

• The importance of peer support and online communities in surviving loss

• How language matters – why saying “died by suicide” helps reduce stigma

• Suicide statistics in the UK, and why more awareness and training are urgently needed

Sam’s openness helps break the silence around suicide bereavement and offers comfort to those facing similar heartbreak. Her story is a reminder that connection and conversation can save lives.

For More Support:

The Widows Membership: karensutton.co.uk/the-widow-membership

Coaching and retreats: karensutton.co.uk

Solace at Empowerment Charity: empowermentcharity.org.uk

Follow Sam on Instagram: @sammysuns

In this episode of The Widow Podcast, I’m joined by Meghan Riordan Jarvis, trauma trained psychotherapist, grief and loss specialist, TEDx speaker, and host of Grief is My Side Hustle. Meghan is also the author of End of the Hour and Can Anyone Tell Me, and creator of the Grief Mentor Method.

Meghan’s story is both professional and deeply personal. After the loss of her father to cancer and the sudden death of her mother just two years later, she found herself plunged into a level of grief that no amount of training had prepared her for. Checking herself into inpatient care, she came face to face with the reality that most of us are never taught what to do with grief, even those who are supposed to help.

In this conversation, we explore:
• Why therapists are often not trained in grief, and what that means for those seeking support
• The difference between “normal” grief and when grief becomes traumatic
• How unresolved grief shapes our lives and sense of connection
• The six core components of the Grief Mentor Method, and why movement, nourishment, and ritual matter
• Learning to tolerate grief as energy in the body rather than something to “fix”
• Why we need cultural change around grief education, support, and bereavement

Meghan’s honesty about her own breakdown and recovery is powerful. She challenges the myths we are told about grief and shows how truth, embodiment, and simple practices can open a way forward.

For More Support:
The Widows Membership: karensutton.co.uk/the-widow-membership
Coaching and retreats: karensutton.co.uk

In this episode of The Widow Podcast, I’m joined by the inspiring Joan, who shares her journey of sudden loss, resilience, and finding new ways to live with purpose.

Joan lost her husband Mike unexpectedly in 2021, when she was 66. Overnight, her world changed, and with it all the plans they had made for their retirement together. Alone and uncertain, Joan found herself navigating widowhood while also adjusting to the realities of ageing, loneliness, and rebuilding life from the ground up.

What’s remarkable is the way Joan has chosen to respond. From joining a Nordic walking group to travelling solo on a sewing retreat in the French Alps, she has steadily built a new life filled with courage, community, and connection. She shows us that it’s never too late to step out of your comfort zone, try something new, and discover joy again.

In this conversation, we talk about:

• Living through the shock of sudden loss and the emptiness it leaves behind

• Facing widowhood in your late 60s and the unique challenges that brings

• Finding support through community, retreats, and friendship

• The role of hobbies, creativity, and travel in healing

• Learning to balance solitude with connection and joy

• Why it’s never about age, but about mindset, openness, and possibility

Joan’s honesty, warmth, and adventurous spirit remind us that grief reshapes us, but it doesn’t have to confine us. Her story is proof that even in the hardest circumstances, new beginnings are possible.

Awakening Hope

I’d love you to join me for Awakening Hope, a free five-day immersive experience for widows and surviving partners, running 22–26 September 2025. Together we’ll explore how to face feelings, cultivate self-compassion, and rediscover who we are after loss.

Find out more and sign up here: https://www.karensutton.co.uk/awakeninghope

For More Support:

The Widows Membership: karensutton.co.uk/the-widow-membership

Coaching and retreats: karensutton.co.uk

In this episode of The Widow Podcast, I’m joined by the wonderful Kerry Baggott as she shares her powerful story of love, loss, and finding herself again.

Kerry met her husband Jeremy as a teenager, and together they built a beautiful life in Dubai with their two daughters. When Jeremy was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in his late forties, everything changed. They returned to the UK, navigated treatment and remission, and cherished precious time together, until Jeremy died peacefully at home, surrounded by love and light.

But Kerry’s journey didn’t end there. Alongside the loss of Jeremy, she also experienced the deaths of her stepdad, her aunt, and her father in quick succession. For a long time, she kept herself busy, raising her daughters, moving house, running marathons, even fronting a national charity campaign. It wasn’t until she hit rock bottom that she realised she hadn’t allowed herself to truly grieve.

In this moving conversation, Kerry and I talk about what it means to reach that breaking point and how it can also be the start of something new. She shares her experience of delayed grief, the impact of multiple losses, and the importance of language, support, and friendship in rediscovering who you are after loss.

We discuss:

• Living with loss after the death of a soulmate to multiple myeloma

• What happens when grief is delayed, and why staying busy can’t keep it away forever

• Coping with the weight of multiple losses and the layers of grief they bring

• How bereavement can shake your sense of self, resilience, and daily life

• Finding strength through friendship, community, and shared support

• Shifting from self-criticism towards kindness and self-compassion

• Moving forward while holding on to love, joy, and hope

If you’ve ever felt like you’ve “lost yourself” after bereavement, Kerry’s honesty and courage will remind you that healing isn’t about reinventing who you are, but rediscovering the person you’ve always been.

Awakening Hope

I’d love you to join me for Awakening Hope, a free five-day immersive experience for widows and surviving partners, running 22–26 September 2025. Together we’ll explore how to face feelings, cultivate self-compassion, and rediscover who we are after loss.

Find out more and sign up here: https://www.karensutton.co.uk/awakeninghope

For More Support:

The Widows Membership: karensutton.co.uk/the-widow-membership

Coaching and retreats: karensutton.co.uk

In this episode of The Widow Podcast, I talk with author, coach, and six-time bestselling writer Maya Dionne, also known as The Bounce Back Widow.

Maya shares the heartbreaking story of losing her husband suddenly on Easter Sunday, and the devastating impact it had on her and her two young children. She opens up about navigating guilt, trauma, and survival in the aftermath, and how she slowly began to reconnect with herself, symbolised by the hot pink shoes she wore to his funeral.

We discuss:

• Maya’s journey into widowhood at just 27 years old

• Facing grief while raising two young children alone

• The pressure of societal and family expectations around funerals and grieving

• How small acts of colour and courage helped her reclaim a sense of self

• The role of intuition, self-trust, and personal truth in healing

• Writing her bestselling book Bounce Back Better and empowering other widows

• Why she calls herself “The Bounce Back Widow” and what that really means

Maya’s energy, honesty, and wisdom are both inspiring and grounding. If you’ve ever wondered how to rebuild after devastating loss, or how to rediscover the parts of yourself that grief can bury, this episode offers strength, hope, and vibrant encouragement.

Awakening Hope

I’d love you to join me for Awakening Hope, a free five-day immersive experience for widows and surviving partners, running 22–26 September 2025. Together we’ll explore how to face feelings, cultivate self-compassion, and rediscover who we are after loss.

Find out more and sign up here: https://www.karensutton.co.uk/awakeninghope

For More Support:

The Widows Membership: karensutton.co.uk/the-widow-membership

Coaching and retreats: karensutton.co.uk

In this episode of The Widow Podcast, I explore what it really means to show up for yourself in grief.

Grief can turn our world upside down, leaving us feeling lost, disconnected, and unsure of who we are anymore. In this conversation, I share my own experiences and offer gentle, practical ways to begin rebuilding trust, safety, and compassion within yourself.

We discuss:

• Why showing up for yourself in grief is so powerful
• How grief changes our sense of identity and self-worth
• The importance of small, consistent steps rather than perfection
• Practical tools such as habit stacking, breathing, journaling, and pausing
• How nervous system regulation plays a role in healing
• Learning to listen to your body’s wisdom and needs
• Why self-compassion is essential, not optional

If you’re navigating life after loss and wondering how to care for yourself when everything feels overwhelming, this episode offers support, tools, and gentle encouragement to take one small step at a time.

Awakening Hope

I’d love you to join me for Awakening Hope, a free five-day immersive experience for widows and surviving partners, running 22–26 September 2025. Together we’ll explore how to face feelings, cultivate self-compassion, and rediscover who we are after loss.

Find out more and sign up here: https://www.karensutton.co.uk/awakeninghope

For More Support:

The Widows Membership: karensutton.co.uk/the-widow-membership
Coaching and retreats: karensutton.co.uk

In this week’s episode, I’m joined by Mary-Frances O’Connor, neuroscientist, psychologist, and author of The Grieving Brain and The Grieving Body.

Mary-Frances has spent her career researching what happens to our minds and bodies when we lose someone we love. Her work helps us understand why grief feels the way it does, how our brains adapt, and why love and loss are so deeply intertwined.

This conversation is full of insight, science, and compassion. We explore what happens in the brain during grief, why waves of grief come and go, and how we can continue our bond with those who have died. Mary-Frances also shares why resilience is the most common response to loss, and why grief is less about “moving on” and more about learning to live with love in a different way.

In this episode we talk about:

• Why grieving is best understood as a form of learning
• How the brain and body adjust when someone we love dies
• The difference between grief (in the moment) and grieving (the ongoing process)
• Why the second year of grief can sometimes feel harder than the first
• The importance of internal bonds and how they continue after physical loss
• What research shows about resilience, prolonged grief, and healing
• How grief journeys differ with sudden loss compared to after long-term caregiving
• Practical ways we can support ourselves, and each other, through grief

Explore Mary-Frances O’Connor’s books:

The Grieving Brain by Mary-Frances O'Connor | Waterstones

The Grieving Body by Mary-Frances O'Connor | Waterstones

I’d love you to join me for Awakening Hope — a free five-day experience.

Find out more at: https://www.karensutton.co.uk/awakeninghope

For Further Support:

The Widows Membership: karensutton.co.uk/the-widow-membership

Coaching and retreats: karensutton.co.uk

Mary-Frances O’Connor – Photo credit: Eric Godoy

In this episode of The Widow Podcast, I talk with author and campaigner Laurence Carter about his powerful journey through grief after losing his wife, Melitta, to stage 4 cervical cancer in 2015.

Laurence shares their love story, Melitta's diagnosis, and the long goodbye they faced together as a family. He opens up about his year-long walk around the coast of England and Wales, a challenge that raised awareness of cervical cancer, encouraged women to attend smear tests, and helped him navigate life after loss.

We discuss:

• Coping with the death of a spouse after a long illness
• The emotional and physical impact of grief
• How walking, nature, and connection helped Laurence heal
• Stories from strangers he met along the way
• Why listening without trying to fix can be the greatest gift
• Finding love again after bereavement

If you or someone you know has experienced the loss of a partner or wants to better understand grief recovery, this episode offers comfort, hope, and inspiration.

Find out more about Laurence on his site, including where to buy copies of his wonderful book.

https://laurencecarter.com

For More Support:

The Widows Membership: karensutton.co.uk/the-widow-membership

Coaching and retreats: karensutton.co.uk