Widow We Do Now?

This week, Anita and Mel talk with Sandra Neperud - fellow widow and the creator of The Grief App, a resource designed to help people navigate the messy, unpredictable reality of loss. Sandra joins them from https://thegriefapp.com/om her travel van, bringing her own experience with grief into the conversation.

Sandra shares what inspired her to create The Grief App and how her experience as a widow shaped the idea behind it. T...

This week, Anita and Mel sit down with Michael Reed, who experienced an unimaginable loss when his wife and two daughters died in a fire in Gatlinburg, Tennessee in 2016. His son survived, and Michael was left to navigate a grief no parent should ever have to face.

Michael shares his journey through the million stages of grief and the million stages of healing, the inspiration behind his books, The Million Stages of Grief and The Mi...

What if you had an owner’s manual for yourself? What would it have said before widowhood, and what would it say now?

Mel puts Anita in the hot seat and asks her to imagine her personal owner’s manual — how she operated, what she needed, what people should know about her, and what changed after her husband died.

From there, the questions keep coming. Some are thoughtful, some are ridiculous, and some reveal things yo...

Anita and Mel go back to Episode 13, “Meat Me Where I Ham,” recorded when Mel was two years into widowhood and Anita was one year in.

Now, Mel is almost nine years into widowhood and Anita is coming up on eight. They listen to that early conversation and reflect on what has changed, what hasn’t, and how their perspectives on widowhood have evolved over the years.

They also talk about the concept of the messy middle ...

The Widow Complaint Department is officially open.

In this episode, Anita and Mel read listener submissions about the things that make widowhood harder, weirder, more annoying, and occasionally downright ridiculous. From clueless comments and unsolicited advice to people who just don’t know what to say to a widow, nothing is too petty, too silly, or too absurd for the complaint department. 

Got a widow complaint? Send it i...

Dr. Tina Fornwald knows firsthand how quickly life can change. As a retired US Army officer and breast cancer survivor, her husband Mark died suddenly from a massive heart attack in 2017. 

After his death, Tina had to figure out how to live again. She found support through therapy, faith, family, and connecting with other widows — eventually becoming someone other widows turned to for guidance and support.

Tina talks candi...

What happens to all the stories, photos, memories, and little pieces of a person after they die?

This week, Anita and Mel talk with Alex, the founder and architect of Cumulus, an online memorial platform created to give people a place to remember and celebrate the people they've lost. They talk about what memorializing someone can look like in the digital age, why the traditional obituary doesn't always tell the whole story, and how...

Meet Deborah Westwood, a widow whose life was forever changed by the wrongful death of her husband, Larry, following medical malpractice.

Deborah shares the devastating reality of grieving a loss that never should have happened. She talks about the heartbreak of losing Larry, the anger and unanswered questions that come with preventable tragedy, and what it means to seek accountability while carrying unimaginable grief. 

Anita a...

Anita and Mel are joined by widower Aaron Simmons, who shares the story of losing his wife just six days after what was supposed to be a routine abdominoplasty, when she suffered a fatal pulmonary embolism.

Aaron describes the surreal experience of grief, saying it felt like his entire life had been turned inside out "like a sock." He talks about learning to hold gratitude alongside grief, and how that journey led to an extraordinar...

Well, it hasn't quite been a relaxing summer, but Anita and Mel are back after life smacked both of them upside the head a few times (or knocked one of them right into the hospital). Check out this episode to get the scoop on what has happened - good, bad, and scammy! And speaking of scams, be sure to check out this episode for a quick update on current things to watch out for!

Sponsored by:

BetterHelp.com. Save 10% off the first mon...

Anita and Mel have had some crazy things happen in the last little while, so new episodes will be back up in July! 

Sponsored by:

BetterHelp.com. Save 10% off the first month of online therapy done securely, online with our unique link: https://trybetterhelp.com/wwdn

Mint Mobile: Mobile phone plans with great service and coverage starting at $15/month https://trymintmobile.com/wwdn

Join our Patreon for ad-free epis...

Eileen Bellew joins Anita and Mel to talk about the sudden death of her husband, John, on January 23, 2005 also known as "Black Sunday," one of the deadliest days in FDNY history. Her husband, FDNY firefighter John Bellew, was one of six firefighters trapped in a Bronx apartment fire. The day became known as "Black Sunday" because three FDNY firefighters died in two separate fires that day.

In the years that followed, Eileen found h...

Anita found Jess Anderson completely by accident through a comment on Threads, and what followed was one of those instant connections that feels like it was meant to happen.

Jess shares the story of loving her husband through cystic fibrosis, a double lung transplant, and the years of hope, fear, and resilience that came with chronic illness. After his death, life dealt another heartbreaking blow when her brother — also her be...

When you're a sober alcoholic, a divorcee, and a widow, you might know a thing or two about rebuilding your life. Jennifer Newberg joins Anita and Mel to chat about what all this looks like with honesty, humor, and zero interest in pretending healing is linear.

After the death of her husband, Jennifer eventually created widow wellness retreats through building spaces where widows can reconnect with themselves outside of survival mod...

Christine Fader joins Anita and Mel from Canada to talk about the death of her husband, Michael, and the reality of living through not one but two cancer diagnoses. In 2018, Michael was diagnosed with the “good” kind of throat cancer. In 2020, he was diagnosed with a completely new and far more aggressive lung cancer. By November 2022, he was gone.

Michael’s terminal cancer was both aggressive and underfunded despi...

Dating is already complicated—add grief, trauma, and modern communication norms, and it becomes a whole new landscape. This week, Lauren Salaun helps Anita and Mel dig into what it actually looks like to date after loss: how to approach it as a widow, how trauma can show up in your body (yes, even your immune system), and how to figure out what you really want now.

They talk attraction vs. compatibility, must-haves vs. deal br...

Dorothy Kane is not a grandmother. She is a 36-year-old widow from Toronto who is just four months into life after loss. With a newborn at home and maternity leave underway, Dorothy shares what it’s like navigating fresh grief while caring for a brand-new life. She opens up about losing her husband to lupus, and the disorienting overlap of heartbreak, exhaustion, and responsibility—all while not yet knowing what returni...

Anita and Mel are catching up after spring break—grief, growth, and the weird ways time keeps moving whether you’re ready or not. Anita opens up about a heavy realization about her kids: the stretch of time after their dad’s death didn’t just pass—it quietly closed doors. Some of the kids missed windows where they would’ve been starting activities, playing on sports teams, and building routines&h...

Meet our friend Dennis. Dennis was widowed from his long-time partner Michelle, who died from ampullary adenocarcinoma - a rare, malignant tumor arising from the spot where the bile and pancreatic ducts empty into the small intestine. Dennis discusses with Anita and Mel how he and Michelle were legally set up before her death so he could make decisions in her best interest before AND after her death. Unbeknownst to Anita and Mel, D...