Samina Bari is a corporate leader, 2x best-selling author, and advocate whose life and work explores how we navigate loss with courage and grace. A trusted advisor to CEOs and boards with over $40 billion in M&A transactions to her credit, she brings the same clarity and strength that defines her corporate career to her deeply personal mission of helping others rebuild after loss.

After losing her husband suddenly in 2023, she began speaking and writing openly about the life-altering impact of spousal loss and the process of rebuilding after it. Her second book, Don’t Call Me Widow, offers a first-hand guide for supporting those who’ve lost a spouse, and her podcast After Life continues that mission, helping others show up with compassion in life’s hardest moments. This follows her first book, I Can, I Will, & I Did: Lessons on Life, Love, and Leadership, which shares her insights on perseverance and renewal.

Through both her professional and personal journeys, Samina brings rare depth to conversations about grief, growth, and human resilience.

https://saminabari.com/

Contact Kendra Rinaldi https://www.griefgratitudeandthegrayinbetween.com/

Episode themes:

• The Power of a Curated Community: Samina discusses the importance of having a reliable support system after the sudden loss of her husband, Doug, and how her friends naturally coordinated tasks—from writing the obituary to helping in the kitchen—so she could simply grieve.
• Practical Grief Support: Samina shares the inspiration behind her book, Don't Call Me a Widow, which serves as a firsthand guide for people who want to support grieving loved ones but don't know what to say or do. She advises against vague offers like "Is there anything I can do for you?" and suggests specific, thoughtful gestures like bringing tea, checking the mail, or just sitting in silence.
• The Problem with the Word "Widow": Samina explains her visceral reaction to being called a widow, noting the word's ancient origins implying someone who is useless or lacks purpose. She shares how she reframes her identity, emphasizing that she is still a wife and her husband is still her husband, he just died.
• Solo Parenting vs. Single Parenting: Samina clarifies the crucial distinction between single parenting (which is often by choice or circumstance, such as divorce) and solo parenting, where a surviving spouse bears 100% of the emotional burden and decision-making for their children without a sounding board.
• Children Are Not "Resilient" to Trauma: Samina debunks the common societal myth that grieving children are naturally resilient, highlighting that children lack the emotional maturity to process such massive loss and often manifest grief through anger, nightmares, or behavioral changes. She also shares a heartbreaking example of "parentification," where her seven-year-old daughter tried to suppress her own grief to take care of the household.
• Why Year Two is Harder: Samina notes that while support is heavy in the first year as you navigate administrative tasks and the initial shock, the second year can often feel more difficult because the reality sets in that the loss is forever.