In this episode, host Rosie Moss sits down with writer and solo parent Emma Charlesworth, whose husband Charlie died of COVID-19 during the first UK lockdown. Emma’s memoir, Daddy Going to Be Okay?, grew from voice notes and late night blog posts into a powerful account of grief, parenting through trauma, and finding connection in the darkest days.

Emma shares the story of Charlie’s final days in hospital, the painful reality of ICU restrictions, and the moment she had to answer her daughter’s impossible question about whether Daddy would come home. Together, Rosie and Emma talk about the invisible work of widowhood, the small moments that keep you going, and the way grief shifts and reshapes your life long after the world expects you to be fine.

This is a raw and hopeful conversation about love, honesty, resilience, and the courage it takes to tell your story.

Key themes from the episode include:

• Emma’s account of losing her husband Charlie during the earliest days of COVID-19 and the emotional toll of ICU restrictions and isolation.

• Parenting her daughter Rebekah through grief and choosing honesty over false reassurance when asked, “Is Daddy going to be okay?”

• How social media became a lifeline that humanised the statistics dominating the headlines.

• Writing as survival, beginning with private notes and blog posts that grew into an award-winning blog and eventually a book.

• The invisible labour of widowhood, from solo parenting and finances to the fear that appearing “fine” will make your pain invisible.

• The way grief shows up years later in unexpected moments and the role of symbols, like tattoos and travel, in marking resilience.

• Emma’s belief that grief never ends, but it does change. “Grief is a book on the shelf. It is still there, but surrounded by other stories now.”

The episode closes with a conversation about the meaning behind her book’s title and the small joys, like a bouncing Tigger, that sit beside heartbreak in the story of love, loss, and carrying on.

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