All Episodes

August 26, 2025 43 mins

Episode 4: Lessons with Fire

After Oslo, Rose does not chase a night. She chases herself. A few winter days by train carry her from snow and silence toward a city that will ask better questions. On the rails she practises a new kind of courage: feeling without rushing, wanting without apologising, naming what is true. In Hamburg, a quiet invitation from Bastian—a silver-templed professor with a talent for listening—helps her separate memory from obligation and begin to trust her living body again.

This chapter sits where grief and desire meet. Rose learns that wanting is not betrayal, it is information. Guilt still rides beside her, but acceptance makes a small opening. Permission, consent, and pace become the lesson. Whether touch comes from another, or from a night spent alone, she begins to choose her aliveness on purpose.

You will hear

  • A winter rail journey that turns movement into reflection

  • The first soft language for widow fire, and how to hold it with agency

  • Bastian’s gentle reframes: you do not owe your grief your body

  • A choice that is not a test of loyalty, but an act of permission

Key lines

  • “Desire is not betrayal.”

  • “You do not owe your grief your body.”

  • “This is not a test of loyalty.”

Interactive choice At the end, you decide where Rose goes next: → Follow Bastian upstairs to be held and seen without expectation → Return to her room alone to find intimacy in memory and solitude

 

Content note Adult themes, grief, sensuality. Listener discretion advised.

Follow along on Instagram at @widowonfirepod for behind-the-scenes and voting reminders.

grief, desire, widow, self-discovery, personal growth, love, loss, intimacy, healing, journey

Mark as Played

Advertise With Us

Popular Podcasts

Dateline NBC

Dateline NBC

Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com

Stuff You Should Know

Stuff You Should Know

If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.

Law & Order: Criminal Justice System - Season 1 & Season 2

Law & Order: Criminal Justice System - Season 1 & Season 2

Season Two Out Now! Law & Order: Criminal Justice System tells the real stories behind the landmark cases that have shaped how the most dangerous and influential criminals in America are prosecuted. In its second season, the series tackles the threat of terrorism in the United States. From the rise of extremist political groups in the 60s to domestic lone wolves in the modern day, we explore how organizations like the FBI and Joint Terrorism Take Force have evolved to fight back against a multitude of terrorist threats.

Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.