July 26, 2025 • 39 mins
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:
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
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
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