Watching TV can be a minefield for widows. I noticed this soon after I lost my husband; we were in the last season of The Sopranos. I could never make myself finish it after his death. But, I kept thinking ...
The first widow I reached out to after my husband died had lost her husband about 3 years prior. She was so honest and open on social media with where she was at during her whole journey. I remember ...
Dave would have turned 57 this week and it's hard to believe that he's been gone over 10 years. In my mind he'll never age - he'll always be 46. I’m grateful and thankful that my body and face will ...
Remembering the first year after Todd died revives all of its raw, nearly physical pain. That year was a waking nightmare. Sometimes, another widow’s post or comment reminds me of the early weeks and months, and I hurt for her ...
I thought today would be a difficult one to handle because it was Valentine's Day - the day for lovers - and mine is gone. It's my fourth year without Rick here, and after all this time, I'm used to ...
Here we are, in some of the darkest days of the year. I know the days have begun to get incrementally longer since the solstice, but that change seems imperceptible. Cold weather keeps us inside, out of whatever meager, cloud-filtered ...
I was sitting alone in my car near a lake in the park when I heard some powerful words about grief and healing. Every afternoon when I get off work, I leave my home office and drive to this semi-secluded ...
We all know that feeling of a broken heart - wow, do we ever. After Dave died my heart literally felt physically broken. It was doing flip-flops in my chest and skipping beats like crazy. I’d been diagnosed with a ...
Since my husband died, I’ve learned that the word “widow” can be a label, as if being a widow is a static condition. It’s deceptively simple and cloaks the fact that each widow is unique and that widowhood and grief ...
“Melissa, you’re brilliant!” I thought to myself. I had this great idea to spend our first holiday after Dave’s death in Disneyland. What a perfect distraction, right? I walked downstairs where the boys were playing video games - they were ...