In this episode, it’s just me.

I recorded this on Christmas Eve to mark the end of season three and to say thank you. There’s no script and no guest. Just a chance to talk honestly about the year that’s been.

I reflect on winning Gold at the podcast awards and why it still feels surreal. I talk about my marriage ending, going back to solo parenting, and supporting my neurodivergent daughter through school burnout and anxiety. I share how close I came to burning out myself, and what it’s really like trying to hold everything together as the only parent.

I also talk about the Soul Sisters retreat I hosted at my home and how unexpectedly joyful and healing it was. There’s an update on the book, losing a publisher, starting again, and why launching it on the anniversary of Ben’s death feels right.

There’s some laughter, some honesty, and a bit about Christmas and the pressure we put on ourselves to get it right.

If you’ve listened this season, shared an episode, or sent a message, thank you. This podcast exists because of you.

Season four starts in January.

#widowedparent #neurodivergentkids #griefcommunity #healingafterloss #homeschoolinglife #selfpublishingjourney #christmasgrief #podcastawardwinner #griefandresilience #widowedaf

In this episode, Rosie Moss speaks with teacher and young widow Amy Brunt, whose life changed overnight when her husband Max died suddenly from meningococcal septicemia in December 2023. Amy shares their story with candour and affection, beginning with the playful first date where they unknowingly arrived in matching outfits, through marriage, motherhood, and the everyday quirks that made Max unforgettable.

She recounts the joy of their life together, home renovation chaos, and a sunrise proposal, before guiding us through the unbearable shock of Max’s rapid illness. Amy describes navigating emergency care while holding their newborn son, the guilt, the fear, and the moment she held Max’s hand through his final hours. She takes us into the early days of grief with a baby in her arms and a toddler beside her, naming the numbness, the survival, and the night time ritual she still keeps for Lane: “Mommy loves you, Daddy loves you. Daddy is always watching.”

This is an episode about sudden loss, but also about endurance, ritual and community. Amy reflects on solo parenting, loneliness, the unlikely friendships that have buoyed her, and the brutal tension of Christmas after bereavement. It sits with the pain while honouring the love that remains.

• Meeting Max after giving up on online dating

• Their first date, matching outfits and immediate connection

• Eccentric quirks and everyday love

• A wedding, pregnancy and a dream trip to Australia

• Max’s sudden illness and rapid decline

• Amy’s caregiving experience and his final hours

• Parenting young children through loss

• Rituals that keep Max close

• New friendships, support and surviving Christmas

#youngwidow #suddenloss #meningococcalsepticemia #soloparenting #widowedmothers #AmyBrunt #MaxBrunt #bereavement #lifeafterloss #WidowedAF #RosieMoss #griefandmotherhood #healingthroughcommunity #Christmasgrief #widowsupport #griefrituals

In this episode, Rosie Moss speaks with Derek Tweedie about the kind of love that spans continents and decades, and the kind of loss that reshapes what it means to live well.

Derek shares the story of meeting his wife Judy in Edinburgh by chance, falling in love across cassette tapes and long distance phone calls, and building a full life between Scotland and Australia. Their partnership carried them through parenthood, careers and intimate quiet moments before a sudden glioblastoma diagnosis changed everything.

Derek speaks with quiet honesty about Judy’s decline, the eighteen weeks he cared for her at home, and why he sees those days as his greatest achievement. He recalls the community effort that completed Judy’s PhD in her name while she was still able to hear the news, and the beauty threaded through unbearable days.

This is not an episode that offers answers, but presence. Derek reflects on loneliness, the shock of grief, the tentative world of dating again, signs and symbolism, and how literature and landscape help him keep Judy close. Together, he and Rosie explore what it means to give someone a good death, and then to try to live fully afterwards.

Episode Highlights / Show Notes

• A chance meeting in Edinburgh becomes a life partnership

• Long distance love before technology made it easy

• Judy’s abrupt glioblastoma diagnosis and decline

• Derek’s caregiving journey at home

• Community effort to complete Judy’s PhD

• Parenting adult grief and navigating holidays

• Dating again and seeking connection

• Quiet reflections on death, memory and meaning

#widowhood #caregiving #glioblastoma #griefjourney #bereavementpodcast #widowedpartner #lovestory #endoflifecare #gooddeath #parentingthroughloss #lifeaftercaregiving #DerekTweedie #JudyTweedie #RosieMoss #WidowedAF #healingstories #meaningafterloss #findingconnectionagain

In this special episode, Rosie Moss sits down with entrepreneur, widow and community builder Nicky Wake to explore the power of widow led spaces. Nicky is best known for founding Chapter Two Dating and Widows Fire, two platforms that reshape how widows re enter intimacy and connection. Her newest venture, The Widow Collective, goes even deeper, creating a free, grassroots home for widowed people to meet, talk and feel understood.

Together, Rosie and Nicky unpack why widowhood needs its own spaces, how unmet needs sparked these projects, and what happens when grief meets humour, friendship and real world support. Nicky talks candidly about her own loss, parenting and recovery, and why she believes solidarity is life saving.

This episode is an invitation to join the conversation and a glimpse into what The Widow Collective is building next.

Episode Highlights / Talking Points

• Why Nicky created Chapter Two Dating and Widows Fire

• The launch of The Widow Collective and how it already serves thousands

• Peer led support through Zoom chats, forums and local meetups

• Tackling taboo topics openly

• Why grief literacy matters for society

• Nicky’s personal journey, motherhood and recovery

#widowhood #griefsupport #bereavementcommunity #widoweddating #ChapterTwoDating #WidowsFire #TheWidowCollective #RosieMoss #NickyWake #WidowedAF #peersupport #lifeafterloss #griefliteracy #widowsintheUK #healingincommunity

In this deeply honest episode, Rosie Moss sits down with author, coach and mental health advocate Tabby Kerwin to talk about the kind of love that shifts you, the kind of loss that breaks you, and the slow, unexpected freedom that can grow from grief.

Tabby takes us inside her story with Simon, her late husband. First they were musicians side by side, then partners wrapped in intimacy, humour and shared purpose. They weathered an untypical cancer journey together, marked by delayed diagnosis, brutal treatment, remission, and a devastating infection that cut their time short.

This is a conversation about love, but it is equally about survival. Tabby opens up about parenting through bereavement, allowing her son Ollie autonomy in his grief, and the hidden pain of carrying the truth alone until she finally let family in before goodbye.

We talk about mental health, inherited expectations, and the teenage grief that shaped her early adulthood. Tabby reflects on the moment widowhood became permission rather than punishment, letting her live truthfully, speak publicly, and refuse shame.

She shares the solace she found in tiny rituals, prawn dumplings, Grey’s Anatomy, community, and fierce honesty. And she names the bittersweet peace of being content in her own company post loss, no longer running but coming home to herself.

If you have ever loved deeply, lost painfully, or rebuilt quietly, this episode will meet you where you are.

Episode Highlights / Show Notes

• Love and connection through music

• A complex cancer journey and sudden loss

• Parenting and autonomy in grief

• Mental health, teenage bereavement and identity

• Choosing authenticity and advocacy over silence

• Widowhood as a turning point into selfhood

• Finding peace in singleness, community and purpose

#widowhood #griefsupport #bereavementpodcast #widowedparents #griefjourney #mentalhealth #cancerloss #lifeafterloss #singleparenting #identityaftergrief #TabbyKerwin #SimonKerwin #lovestory #resilience #healingafterloss #womensstories #RosieMoss #WidowedAF #griefcommunity

In this episode, Rosie Moss speaks with Becky Shepherd, a mother of two and the widow of Paul, her husband of more than twenty years. What begins as a warm and funny look back at their early romance in Birmingham unfolds into a raw, deeply human account of sudden loss and the impossible steps that follow.

Becky talks about meeting Paul in her early twenties and the ease of falling in love with someone who felt like home from the start. Together they built a loud, music-filled family life where their sons, Jake and Archie, grew up knowing a present and devoted dad. “We were his hobby,” Becky says, remembering nights spent dancing in the kitchen and the ordinary joy of being together.

Everything changed on a family holiday in Turkey when Paul, a healthy forty six year old, suffered a cardiac arrest in the hotel gym. Becky describes the desperate search for a defibrillator that did not exist, the kindness of strangers who stepped in to help her boys, and the moment in the hospital when her world shattered.

In the days that followed, she navigated repatriation, post-mortem paperwork, and the unbearable task of telling her sons that their dad had died. She also shares glimmers of light: the boys choosing Paul’s sunglasses and drumsticks for his coffin, music from their family life echoing through the funeral, and the quiet gratitude that life insurance allowed them to keep their home.

With honesty, humour, and a remarkable steadiness, Becky reflects on grief, anger, love, and rebuilding. Together, she and Rosie explore how widowhood reshapes a life and why remembering the good years matters just as much as surviving the hard ones.

#widowhood#grief #suddenloss #soloparenting #bereavement #cardiacarrest #familyholidaytragedy #rebuildingafterloss#widowedparents #griefpodcast #WidowedAF #loveandloss #parentingthroughgrief #youngwidowhood #survivingtheunimaginable

In this deeply human and beautifully raw episode, Rosie Moss sits down with Aimie Strachan, a widow and mother of two whose husband John died suddenly from an undiagnosed aortic dissection. What unfolds is a conversation full of love, shock, courage, and the fierce tenderness of solo parenting after loss.

Aimie traces their story from meeting as young teachers in Dubai to the ease and joy of their marriage, and then to the night everything changed. With heartbreaking clarity she describes the medical crisis that unfolded, the impossible decisions she faced, and the moment she had to tell her children that their dad had died.

Rosie and Aimie explore the messy truth of grief. The anger. The bitterness. The lonely practicalities. The way it lands differently on children. And the exhaustion of trying to access the right support. Amid the devastation there is also movement. Aimie talks about how community, creativity, the outdoors, and connection with other widows helped her find her footing again. She has since launched a Whitley Bay brand in John’s honour and is determined to live with more urgency and intention. Life is so short. Just do the thing.

This conversation offers space for heartbreak, softness, rage, growth, and the small quiet moments of hope that show up when you least expect them.

Show Notes

In this episode Rosie and Aimie talk about

• How Aimie met her husband John in Dubai and how quickly and naturally their relationship grew

• Building a life together, marrying, and welcoming their two children

• The sudden onset of John’s symptoms and the unfolding of a rare aortic dissection

• The confusion, urgency and helplessness of those final hours in hospital

• The emotional and practical reality of end of life decisions

• The moment Aimie told her children their dad had died and the ongoing impact on them

• How grief shows up in children in unexpected ways and why childhood bereavement needs more awareness and support

• The anger, bitterness and sheer exhaustion of grieving inside a broken mental health system

• Finding comfort in nature, forest school sessions and small grounding routines

• The power of community and widowed friendship in the early stages of loss

• Launching a heartfelt Whitley Bay brand in John’s honour and rediscovering purpose

• Why Aimie now leans into life’s brevity and pushes herself to do the things she once hesitated over

• Navigating difficult seasons like Christmas with honesty and gentleness

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.

#widowhood #grief #soloparenting #covidgrief #bereavement #parentingafterloss #widowedmum #memoir #loss #resilience #mentalhealth #trauma #storytelling #widowcommunity #griefsupport #WidowedAF #RosieMoss #EmmaCharlesworth

In this episode the host Rosie Moss speaks with Karen Sutton. Karen is the UK’s first widow coach and a leading voice in the grief community, known for her deeply personal approach to navigating widowhood, parenting after loss, and reclaiming life after tragedy.

Together, Rosie and Karen delve into the raw terrain of life after the sudden death of a spouse. Karen shares the moment she learned of her husband Simon’s fatal cycling accident, the difficult task of telling her young daughters, and the silent years of muddling through grief while shepherding her family forward. The conversation balances the brutal truth of early widowhood with flashes of humour, love, and resilience, from the chaos of partying and drinking to the quiet breakthrough when her children helped her face herself. Karen illuminates how she moved from survival into purpose, transforming her experience into support for others, and why she now sees herself as a grief sherpa. With candid reflections and gentle insight, this episode explores what it means to parent, thrive, and feel joy again after unimaginable loss. “I did not want this to define my life in a negative way,” Karen says. “I want to find a way to live.”

The moment loss arrived: Karen recounts the trauma of learning about Simon’s sudden death and the instinctive scramble to protect her children from the truth, all before her own grief had time to land.

Parenting through pain: Both daughters responded to grief differently, one silent and one explosive, and Karen shares how she navigated their emotional and academic setbacks with compassion and determination.

Facing the mirror: After spiralling into denial and exhaustion, a quiet nudge from her children catalysed Karen’s transformation from survival to healing, fuelled by self-inquiry and self-kindness.

Living proof of growth: Karen challenges the idea that moving on means forgetting, instead modelling a life where grief and joy can coexist. “It is okay not to be okay, but it is also okay to be okay.”

Grief as choice and agency: Rather than feeling shaped by loss, Karen reclaimed agency, choosing from millions of different directions the one where she lives fully while honouring Simon’s memory.

The grief sherpa approach: Karen discusses the coaching work she now offers, from vibrant retreats to community support, blending grief care with personal development and authentic connection.

Letting go of perfection: The discussion unpacks how modelling self-compassion teaches children resilience. “You are not perfect, but you do not need to be, and you are doing your best.”

https://www.karensutton.co.uk

#widowhood #grief #griefsupport #parentingafterloss #suddenloss #childbereavement #KarenSutton #widowcoach #griefjourney #healingafterloss #widowedmum #resilience #findingpurpose #lifeafterloss #WidowedAFPodcast

When Mat Owen lost his wife Nic to breast cancer in 2023, his world was turned upside down. Left to raise their two young children, he faced the unimaginable: grieving the love of his life while trying to stay present as a father.

In this powerful and deeply human conversation, Rosie and Mat explore what it means to parent through loss, love someone through illness, and rebuild life when the person who anchored you is gone. Mat speaks with raw honesty about emotional shutdown, male grief, and the isolation that often comes with being a widowed dad. He shares the highs and heartbreak of his life with Nic, from meeting in their teens to defying medical odds to become parents, and the quiet strength she showed throughout her cancer journey.

Together, they reflect on the small, everyday moments that carry enormous weight: bedtime routines, school WhatsApp threads, a child’s comment about a photo, and the instant you realise your daughter looks just like her mum. The episode also delves into coping after loss, from alcohol use to dating apps, and the difficult but hopeful path toward self-compassion and sobriety.

This is a conversation about love that refuses to fade, the legacy of a mother’s strength, and the courage it takes to keep showing up. Mat’s story is a reminder that even in the depths of grief, we can find purpose, connection, and hope.

Episode highlights:

• Mat reflects on meeting Nic in his early twenties and how her strength and clarity brought purpose and love into his life.

• They navigate the shock of a cancer diagnosis in 2011, a relationship tested through treatment, and their fierce determination to become parents against medical predictions.

• Mat discusses the return of Nic’s cancer after the birth of their second child, the emotional strain it brought, and Nic’s unwavering resilience through her final years.

• Together, they confront male emotional reticence in grief and the unexpected difficulty of building support networks as a widowed father.

• Mat shares how he and Nic co-created child-friendly bereavement tools, “cancer flashcards,” and how he now carries that legacy forward. https://www.littlecclub.com/shop

• The conversation explores coping mechanisms after loss, from alcohol use to dating apps, and the difficult but hopeful path toward sobriety and reconnection.

• Parenting after loss is shown in touching detail, from school run routines to gently helping children navigate insensitive playground remarks.

• They close on how grief reshapes identity, the quiet pride Mat finds in being “the school mum,” and the presence of Nic in the children she left behind.