What if grief began long before the goodbye?

Lisa Corduff is a speaker, coach, writer, and solo mum, but her journey through grief began years before her husband Nick passed away.

As she puts it, “addiction widowed me” and in this deeply honest conversation, Lisa opens up about loving someone through addiction, navigating solo parenting, and the complex grief of losing someone you’d already started to let go of.

We explore what Nick’s death taught her about life, identity, and rebuilding from the inside out and how she continues to show up for others with vulnerability, humour and radical compassion.  

Together, Caroline and Lisa chat about:

• How addiction shaped her marriage, motherhood and eventual grief
• The tension of claiming widowhood after separation
• What she’s learned about life, love, and letting go
• Her honest take on solo parenting, identity and strength
• Getting unstuck and giving yourself permission to be creative
• How to fill your own cup amid the storm

Quotes that resonate with Lisa “No one is waiting at the end of this with a medal for you getting through this the hard way” and “life is a creative act”

About The Widow Diaries
A podcast that holds space for the often-unspoken stories of grief, love, and life after loss - especially for those widowed young. Hosted by journalist and widow Caroline Winter and brought to you by First Light Widowed Support.

This is The Widow Diaries: Where no story is the same – and every story matters.

Links

• Learn more about First Light Widowed Support
• Follow First Light on Instagram
• Like First Light on Facebook
• Connect with First Light on LinkedIn
• Connect with Caroline Winter on LinkedIn
• Learn more about Lisa Corduff
• Listen to Lisa’s podcast This moment in time

What if the key to healing after loss… started with your body?

When Paula Hindle lost her husband Chris to suicide in 2013, she was suddenly a solo mother to two small children, with grief in one hand and survival in the other.

But what followed wasn’t just a journey through pain, it was a deep, powerful return to the body, to self-worth, and to the kind of healing that reconnects you to life.

Since then, Paula has dedicated herself to healing – emotionally, physically, and spiritually – and now supports other women in reclaiming their strength, sensuality, and self-worth.

Together, Caroline and Paula chat about:

• The early days of widowhood and mothering through trauma
• How grief can disconnect you from your body and how to come home again
• Navigating identity as a widow and a woman, longing for connection and confidence
• Reclaiming your body, confidence, and intimacy after loss
• Finding your inner power to move from surviving to thriving  

Quote that resonates with Paula “We are not human beings having a spiritual experience, we’re spiritual beings having a human experience”  

About The Widow Diaries
A podcast that holds space for the often-unspoken stories of grief, love, and life after loss - especially for those widowed young. Hosted by journalist and widow Caroline Winter and brought to you by First Light Widowed Support. 

This is The Widow Diaries: Where no story is the same – and every story matters.

Links

• Learn more about First Light Widowed Support
• Follow First Light on Instagram
• Like First Light on Facebook
• Connect with First Light on LinkedIn
• Connect with Caroline Winter on LinkedIn
• Learn more about Paula Unlocking Her Potential

What happens when the happiest day of your life becomes one of the hardest to face?

For Jodi Carpenter, New Year’s Eve was the day she met her husband Chris, the day they got engaged, and eventually the day they married. But after losing Chris to brain cancer that once-joyful date – like so many others – took on a whole new meaning.

In this tender and wise conversation, Jodi – a second-generation widow, mum of two, and newly minted grandma – reflects on the complicated beauty of anniversaries, the impact of generational grief, and how we carry our people forward with us.

With raw honesty and deep compassion, Jodi shares how her losses have fuelled her passion to help the wider population be more educated around grief.

Together, Caroline and Jodi chat about:

• How milestone dates like anniversaries and New Year’s shift in widowhood
• Parenting through grief after having lost a parent young
• What to say and not say, to support someone facing painful dates
• The legacy of love that lives on in her children and future grandchild
• How grief changes over time, but never disappears  

Quotes that resonate with Jodi “She was not powerful because she wasn’t scared, but because she went on so strongly despite the fear” and “I can be changed by what happens to me, but I refuse to be reduced by it”  

About The Widow Diaries
A podcast that holds space for the often-unspoken stories of grief, love, and life after loss - especially for those widowed young. Hosted by journalist and widow Caroline Winter and brought to you by First Light Widowed Support.

This is The Widow Diaries: Where no story is the same – and every story matters.

Links

• Learn more about First Light Widowed Support
• Follow First Light on Instagram
• Like First Light on Facebook
• Connect with First Light on LinkedIn
• Connect with Caroline Winter on LinkedIn

What happens when the life you imagined shatters, but you choose to keep dreaming anyway?

Lauren Leslie Carr became a widow at just 26 when her husband James died only a year into their marriage.

Grieving young and rebuilding her life wasn’t easy, but in the years to come Lauren would find her own way forward, ultimately making the bold and beautiful choice to become a solo mum by choice.

Lauren shares her story with honesty, grace and humour - from navigating early grief and rediscovering herself, to raising her son Max while holding James’s memory close.

If you’ve ever wondered how to live again after loss, or how to write your own version of happily ever after, listen in.

Together, Caroline and Lauren chat about:

• Marriage and loss in almost an instant
• Shifting identity and redefining yourself post-loss
• The decision to become a solo mother
• Max, motherhood, memory and meaning
• Reflections on love, loss, and building new chapters

Quote that resonates with Lauren “There’s a melancholy that lives in me that never goes away. I’m 50% happy and 50% sad at any given moment and I embrace it because that’s what he brought to my life and that’s okay”  

About The Widow Diaries
A podcast that holds space for the often-unspoken stories of grief, love, and life after loss - especially for those widowed young. Hosted by journalist and widow Caroline Winter and brought to you by First Light Widowed Support. 

This is The Widow Diaries: Where no story is the same – and every story matters.

Links

• Learn more about First Light Widowed Support
• Follow First Light on Instagram
• Like First Light on Facebook
• Connect with First Light on LinkedIn
• Connect with Caroline Winter on LinkedIn

What does it mean to truly live after loss?

In this moving and energising episode, we meet Josh Clayton - a shearer, trainer, mindset coach and solo dad from regional NSW who lost his partner Haley to Motor Neurone Disease, when their daughter Stella was just two and a half. 

Since then, Josh has channelled his heartbreak into a mission of health, healing and hope - not only for himself and his daughter, but for the wider community. 

From breaking a world shearing record to becoming a master trainer in Positive Psychology, Josh’s story is one of resilience, vulnerability and relentless positivity.

He shares what it's like to parent through grief, date again as a widowed man, and why Haley’s legacy continues to guide everything he does. 

Together, Caroline and Josh chat about:

• Haley’s diagnosis and the reality of MND
• Raising a toddler while caregiving and grieving
• The role of holistic health, eating well and mindset
• Grief, fatherhood and the power of positivity
• Why feeling your pain is more than okay

Quote that resonates with Josh “Don’t stop when you’re tired, stop when you’re done”  

About The Widow Diaries

A podcast that holds space for the often-unspoken stories of grief, love, and life after loss - especially for those widowed young. Hosted by journalist and widow Caroline Winter and brought to you by First Light Widowed Support. 

This is The Widow Diaries: Where no story is the same – and every story matters.

Links

• Learn more about First Light Widowed Support
• Follow First Light on Instagram
• Like First Light on Facebook
• Connect with First Light on LinkedIn
• Connect with Caroline Winter on LinkedIn

What do you do when your world shatters, but your children still need bedtime stories and packed lunches?

Megan Daley is an award-winning teacher librarian, author, podcaster, and mother who shares the layered grief of losing her brother, her aunt, and then her husband Dan.

She takes us inside those early days of parenting through heartbreak, how stories helped her daughters process loss, and why she believes books hold a unique power in navigating the unimaginable.

This is an episode about blending families after loss, and what it means to hold space for grief while still leaning into joy and rebuilding a joyful life.

Together, Caroline and Megan chat about:

• Parenting through the early days
• Compounding grief and carrying the weight of others
• The role of language, love and story
• The power of children’s books in the grief space
• Meeting someone new and blending families
• Rebuilding a joyful life

Quote that resonates with Megan “Moving on as a concept is for stupid people, because any sensible person knows grief is a long-term project. I refuse to rush. The pain that is thrust upon us, let no man slow or speed or fix”  

Links
Megan’s blog on grief, widowhood and books: megandaley.com.au/grief-widowhood-and-books Megan on Instagram: @childrensbooksdaily
Megan’s books: Raising Readers and Teacher, Teacher

About The Widow Diaries
A podcast that holds space for the often-unspoken stories of grief, love, and life after loss - especially for those widowed young. Hosted by journalist and widow Caroline Winter and brought to you by First Light Widowed Support. 

This is The Widow Diaries: Where no story is the same – and every story matters.

Links

• Learn more about First Light Widowed Support
• Follow First Light on Instagram
• Like First Light on Facebook
• Connect with First Light on LinkedIn
• Connect with Caroline Winter on LinkedIn

What if you could laugh and cry in the same breath while talking about death, grief, and finding love again?

That’s exactly what happens in this heartwarming and honest episode with Claire Scoles – a nurse, mum, and self-proclaimed “collector of husbands” who shares her journey through loss, blended family life, and remarriage after the death of her husband, Chris.

With warmth, wit and insight, Claire reflects on what it means to support a partner through terminal illness, the lessons of palliative care, and the messy, beautiful act of carrying grief and joy together.

This is an episode about finding yourself again after loss, being pragmatic where it counts, and learning how to meld the before and after into the now.

Together, Caroline and Claire chat about:

• Life, love and blended families
• Dealing with diagnosis and what comes next
• Reflections on palliative care and death literacy
• Parenting through grief and staying connected with stepchildren
• Finding yourself again and letting someone new in

Quote that resonates with Claire “You don’t get over it, you grow with it”

About The Widow Diaries
A podcast that holds space for the often-unspoken stories of grief, love, and life after loss - especially for those widowed young. Hosted by journalist and widow Caroline Winter and brought to you by First Light Widowed Support. 

This is The Widow Diaries: Where no story is the same – and every story matters.

Links

• Learn more about First Light Widowed Support
• Follow First Light on Instagram
• Like First Light on Facebook
• Connect with First Light on LinkedIn
• Connect with Caroline Winter on LinkedIn

What happens when your whole world is turned upside down just six weeks after saying “I do”?

In this powerful and deeply moving episode, Rebecca Adams shares her story of losing her husband unexpectedly, just days into their marriage and how that profound grief planted the seed for something bigger.

From navigating the weight of widowhood to co-founding First Light Widowed Support, Rebecca talks openly about the healing power of connection, the importance of community, and how she’s helping other young Australian widows feel seen and supported.

This is an episode about transformation, leadership through loss, and how showing up for others can also be a path to healing and hope.

Together, Caroline and Rebecca discuss:

• Navigating early widowhood and the silence around young grief
• Finding Camp Widow in the US, and how it changed everything
• Building First Light: turning grief into action
• Supporting others while still healing yourself
• What young, widowed people need that the system often misses
• Advice to those early in grief and what gives her hope now

Quote that resonates with Bec
“Don’t let the sadness of your past or the fear of your future, ruin the happiness of your present”

About The Widow Diaries
A podcast that holds space for the often-unspoken stories of grief, love, and life after loss - especially for those widowed young. Hosted by journalist and widow Caroline Winter and brought to you by First Light Widowed Support. 

This is The Widow Diaries: Where no story is the same – and every story matters.

Links

• Learn more about First Light Widowed Support
• Follow First Light on Instagram
• Like First Light on Facebook
• Connect with First Light on LinkedIn
• Connect with Caroline Winter on LinkedIn

The Widow Diaries is a podcast that holds space for the often-unspoken stories of grief, love, and life after loss, as a young widow.

Join journalist and widow Caroline Winter each episode and hear from others who’ve walked the winding path of widowhood in their own way.

The Widow Diaries for First Light Widowed Support is there to support you or someone you know and provides information, resources and connection for young, widowed people throughout Australia.

The Widow Diaries: Where no story is the same – and every story matters. 

Follow or subscribe so you don’t miss an episode.

Links

• Learn more about First Light Widowed Support
• Follow First Light on Instagram
• Like First Light on Facebook
• Connect with First Light on LinkedIn
• Connect with Caroline Winter on LinkedIn