I had such a great discussion with Jeanette Koncikowski for this episode. We first talked five years ago, when Jeanette was my guest way back in episode 10. I invited her back now because she’s out with a brand-new book, Shipwrecked: A Memoir of Widowed Parenting and Life After Loss. It’s a “teaching memoir,” in which Jeanette both shares her family’s journey and explores themes, issues, and questions common to newly widowed parents.

And like our last episode, this is a story where my guest had a complicated situation when their spouse died. Jeanette and her husband Mark had been separated for over a year; when he died, they were dating again and in couples counseling. One of the reasons Jeanette wrote this book and speaks at Camp Widow and other places is that she wants people to understand that not everyone had a perfect marriage when they were widowed.

Plus: Jeanette gives us a gift toward the end of the book, where she interviews her now-teenaged children about their experiences losing their dad and reflecting on the decade since his death.

Links & show notes

The Widowed Parent Institute guides the journey of solo parenting after loss. Get free resources for widowed parents and for supporting grieving friends.

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Thank you sponsors & partners:

Help Texts - Grief support text messaging service. Tips and support delivered all year long, personalized based on your loss. Listeners get $10 off: https://helptexts.com/jennylisk

BetterHelp - Talk with a licensed, professional therapist online. Get 10% off your first month: betterhelp.com/widowedparent

Support the show - Buy Me a Coffee

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I had such a great discussion with Jessica Waite for this episode. I’ve had a number of listeners recently asking for more discussions with widowed parents who have complicated situations. Or, as one listener put it, “the end-of-life stories that are really ugly.”

One of the gifts Jessica is giving us with her new book is that she’s writing about stuff that not everyone is willing to write about. When her husband died suddenly, she discovered that he was living a secret life. She found too many secrets – all at once – and asked herself: If he lied about all that, what else did he lie about?

In the end, though, The Widows Guide to Dead Bastards is a love story, and it’s about getting to a place of healing and reconciliation when facing the unthinkable.

Links & show notes

The Widowed Parent Institute guides the journey of solo parenting after loss. Get free resources for widowed parents and for supporting grieving friends.

-=-=-=-=-

Thank you sponsors & partners:

Help Texts - Grief support text messaging service. Tips and support delivered all year long, personalized based on your loss. Listeners get $10 off: https://helptexts.com/jennylisk

BetterHelp - Talk with a licensed, professional therapist online. Get 10% off your first month: betterhelp.com/widowedparent

Support the show - Buy Me a Coffee

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I had such a great discussion with Sara Wingerath-Schlanger for this episode.

Sara is from Tuesday’s Children, which was founded in the wake of 9/11 to serve families affected by that tragedy in 2001, including the 3,051 kids who lost a parent that day. Sara tells us they are one of only three nonprofits started because of 9/11 that are still operating today, and she fills us in on who they serve today and how.

I think you’ll be especially interested in the book Tuesday’s Children put out in 2011, for the 10-year anniversary. The book is called The Legacy Letters: Messages of Life and Hope from 9/11 Family Members, and in it, there are letters from relatives of 100 of the individuals who died that day, including from teens and young adults who were kids when their parents died. It’s a powerful way to hear directly from our young people (and others) about how the loss of their loved ones on September 11 has affected them over that first decade post-loss.

I hope you enjoy my discussion with Sara Wingerath-Schlanger.

Links & show notes

The Widowed Parent Institute guides the journey of solo parenting after loss. Get free resources for widowed parents and for supporting grieving friends.

-=-=-=-=-

Thank you sponsors & partners:

Help Texts - Grief support text messaging service. Tips and support delivered all year long, personalized based on your loss. Listeners get $10 off: https://helptexts.com/jennylisk

BetterHelp - Talk with a licensed, professional therapist online. Get 10% off your first month: betterhelp.com/widowedparent

Support the show - Buy Me a Coffee

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