Healing Process

Catherine Fornwald: A Daughter’s Perspective On Grief And Loss

Widowhood Real Talk with Tina | Catherine Fornwald | Daughter's Perspective

  Even though children are expected to be the ones to take care of their parents later in life, losing them is still a challenging phase to get through. In this episode, we get a daughter’s perspective on grief and loss as I sit down with my own daughter, Catherine Fornwald. Together, we look back on the day we lost my husband and her father, as well as how we dealt with the grieving process that followed. We also provide a unique glimpse into the different ways grief can manifest and the importance of open communication and support within a family. Prepare to be moved by their candid reflections and gain a deeper understanding of the long-lasting effects of grief. I am sharing my experience of loving the same man for 32 years, a mother to two adult children, a retired military officer, a breast cancer survivor, and my connections with others. Anyone experiencing suicidal thoughts should reach out to a suicide hotline or local emergency number in their country: Psychology Today’s Suicide Prevention Hotlines & Resources. — Watch the episode here   Listen to the podcast here   Catherine Fornwald: A Daughter’s Perspective On Grief And Loss Introduction Catherine, welcome to the Widowhood. Mother, thanks for having me here on the Widowhood. This is great. This is my daughter Catherine, and we are wrapping up 2024 with a conversation with my daughter, raw as possible. I asked for questions ahead of time. She gave my people nothing. I told you, I don’t do questions. We are eating ice cream and having a conversation to make this as less awkward as possible. Don’t let your mother have social media.     Reflections On Tina’s Social Media And Nonprofit Journey There’s truth in that. What do you think about your mom having social media? People have asked me before the podcast or the social media accounts, specifically the TikTok and everything. The answer bounces around and how I get there, but at the end, it is hilarious to see you have a social media account because you treat it like a business. That’s fair. You treat it like a business. There’s internal review for yourself, quarterly review. There’s, “How many followers did I have last time? Is this funny to put out for the next video? Am I allowed to make jokes, or should it all be serious and to the podcast?” I remember when you had somewhere between the 500 and the 1,000 followers, and it was very much like, “Should I quit?” You didn’t, obviously, we’re still here, and I don’t know what the number is now, but it’s definitely over 10,000, if not very close to 13. What about social media platforms? TikTok, I think, is doing the best out of all of them. See, that’s interesting. I think it depends on what you judge best to be. Followers and views. It is hard to get followers on YouTube, but on Facebook, we have the private Facebook account. On Instagram, there’s a lot of messaging going on in the background in private. TikTok, there’s a lot of personal engagement. It’s upfront, you can see that. With the podcast, people email me on the back end. The most public success, or the most public interaction, looks like TikTok. It just depends on how you define it. Everything else, that’s like Wizard of Oz behind the curtains.   I just look at measuring them differently because in the private Facebook group, and then we have the Discord. I would have never thought to actually have a Discord, but some people that I met on TikTok were talking about a Discord and how you’re able to bring all your community together. The Discord allows people on all social media platforms to come together in one space. There is a question of the week. People are sharing their parenting. From my understanding, it’s supposed to be basically just like a public Zoom, whether you do it over chat or video. To answer your question about what it’s like having a parent who has social media, it’s funny watching you treat it like a business because it very much is to you. Every video is, “This is a 501c3. This is a non-profit.” It’s just like, “Mother, that doesn’t need to be at the end of the video.” I don’t do it all the time anymore. There’s definitely this thing where it’s like you treating it like a business and you wanting it to do well, obviously, and it’s just funny because I’m behind the scenes on the board and everything. On the board of the followers. Very much like the legal aspect of it, the personal aspect to it, so it’s just funny where you’re like, “My numbers aren’t high enough,” but then somebody else is like, “I got a brand deal and my numbers are great.” Do you even look at all the content sometimes? I do. I may not obviously tell you about it, but I check in, I repost, I go to it. You do a lot of that on X. X, Twitter, there’s like the jokes. There’s, “What, I got three retweets? Send in the money.” Like you said, how do you judge the fact that you’re doing well on LinkedIn? LinkedIn has been good for connecting with other people to be guests on their podcasts or for me to be a guest on theirs. That’s why I say, “That would be amazing to do a TED Talk.” That’s a dream. The ranking system for what quantifies being good at social media, getting the jokes to stand, getting three retweets on Twitter, like “money,” and then Instagram is like, “Cool.” Facebook, depending on what you’re using it for, very much is family-friendly, but then since we’re using it as another form of the business aspect of the social media, having five hearts is like, “People saw my stuff.” TikTok and everything, your views-to-ratio can definitely be off,

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The Power Of Friendship In Times Of Grief With Geraldine Newson

WRT 10 | Power Of Friendship

  The power of friendship is truly mind-boggling. It serves as crutches when you can’t walk. It is your most reliable support system during desperate times. In this episode, Geraldine Newson shares the value of having friends you can rely on when you are grieving the loss of a loved one. She explains the importance of keeping people you can trust by your side during the long process of grieving. Geraldine also opens up on the significant role of friends in achieving inner healing. — Thank you for viewing this post. I am not a licensed therapist or professional life coach. I am sharing my experience of loving the same man for 32 years, a mother to two adult children, a retired military officer, a breast cancer survivor, and my connections with others. Anyone experiencing suicidal thoughts should reach out to a suicide hotline or local emergency number in their country https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/suicide/suicide-prevention-hotlines-resources-worldwide — Watch the episode here   Listen to the podcast here   The Power Of Friendship In Times Of Grief With Geraldine Newson The OGs My guest is Miss Geraldine Newson. You will remember her from our first episode because she interviewed me and now it is Jerri’s turn to sit in that seat and tell her journey and share her experience. My girl has got some pearls of wisdom to give to you. We should have got the tissues early. I need to do better about that. Let’s have this conversation.     My guest is Miss Geraldine Newson. She did my initial interview. Now the eye is on Jerri. We are going to get to know a little bit about Jerri and I get to interview her. Jerri, tell us a little bit about yourself. Tina, I was born and raised in Pittsburgh. I’m the youngest of five. I had 2 brothers and 3 sisters. Now there were three of us. I moved here in 1987 with my then fiancé, and we later got married. I have been here since. I have been working. I have 3 wonderful adult children, 4 grandchildren, and 5 great-grandchildren. All of them are my heart, every single one of them. I have come to love living here and the relationships I have built. A lot of that started with our relationship together because I believe this is the longest relationship friendship I have had since I moved here. I never told you that. I am not here with my tissue. I am not here for this. It was hard to find friendships. Why is that? The mothers of my children’s friends were a little bit standoffish. The first church that I attended was predominantly White, and I had female relationships with the women. It was a little tough to keep those to be lasting relationships. It is a come-and-go type thing for a season, but our season is still going because it is a lifetime. You said working. What type of jobs have you had over the years since being here in Virginia? When I first came here, I was working for an attorney. In what capacity? I was the transcriber. I transcribed all of his recorded documents. It was a lot of typing all the time. I was there for several months. He merged with another company and he couldn’t take the whole staff. I started working with commercial and residential real estate. That was one of the things I thought I wanted to get into because I loved real estate management. I did learn the tricks, trades, and some of the things about it. However, the agents that worked there weren’t working. This was a hobby for them. There wasn’t a real grind going on. After three years, I knew I had to start looking for another job. There was no growth potential. None at all. I was the office manager. You name it, I did it. The owner of the company had her own thing going on. Even the owner had a side gig. She had a side life. I’m going to leave that with the tea. I’m going to leave that right there. I’m going to drink my tea on there. I finally started looking for another job. I saw a job that I had vacated when I left Pittsburgh. I worked for Duquesne University. I was working in the Admissions Department. At that time, they had newspapers. The daily press was out. I was looking through the newspaper, and I saw this job. I looked at my husband and said, “My job is in the paper.” The first thing he thought was I was getting fired from my job. I said, “No, the job I left in Pittsburgh is here in this paper, and I applied for it. It was Christopher Newport College, and it was in the Admissions Department. I was excited. Back then, there were paper applications, and it was long. It was a legal-size paper. It was a lot to do, but I couldn’t wait to get it filled out and turned in. When they called for the interview, I went for the interview. They called and made me an offer. I was excited and stayed in that capacity with Christopher Newport for many years. I had hit the ceiling in that office, but I couldn’t find myself working in another department. I applied for another job. I applied, at that time, to Thomas Nelson Community College, which is now Virginia Peninsula Community College. I stayed there for many years. I have been in this field for almost 36 years in 2023 because my time in Pittsburgh was six years doing that. You also worked at the University of Pittsburgh. You said you stayed there for eighteen years. What happened after eighteen years? I retired on January 1st, 2023. It took a while to get into the mode of being retired because I have been working since I was in high school. No one counted low-key babysitting at other subways. The

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Moving Forward After The Death Of My Husband With Lisa Staples

WRT 7 | Death Of My Husband

  In this episode, I am joined by my good friend Lisa Staples. We talk about the death of my husband Mark and the organic details of the day he passed away on March 11, 2017. Together, we delve into the beauty of a broken friendship being restored. Listen on as Lisa shares insights on how she felt being able to share and the healing she received from being a part of this inspiring discussion. — Watch the episode here   Listen to the podcast here   Moving Forward After The Death Of My Husband With Lisa Staples Friends Who Were There We are about to jump into a conversation with my friend, Lisa Staples. She was there the night my husband passed. She recants my emotional state where I was in things over the years. I hope this encourages you. I hope this lets you know that you are not alone and this transparency brings you hope.     In this episode, part of my hood is my girlfriend, Lisa Staples. I am excited because this girl is busy. She is a whole professional. She has given us her Saturday to be here to have this conversation. We are here with our tea. We are all snuggled up in our sweaters and sweatshirts because we are home. She knows how important it is to have this conversation and to be able to share. I want to say I am sorry for your loss. I am sorry for the person that you love that is no longer here, that has driven you to be part of this conversation. I want you to know you are not alone. There are other people here that you are now part of my hood and part of this conversation. Welcome. We have been talking to Jackson, but I have not seen you. Lisa, share a little bit about who Lisa is in your life. I’m West Indies born. I was born in Jamaica. I came to the US when I was sixteen years old. I have been here a little bit. I got married young and have two children. I have a son, who is Sean, and Chantel, my daughter, and her husband. They had their second baby. I’m a grandmother of two. I pride myself on the family. Near and dear to my heart is my mother. I married, and it is my second marriage to the love of my life, Erin Staple. People describe me as someone who is a friend, a sister, to the core of my heart, being a mom, and a wife. I pride myself on being me, being at the wedding, and you were there, Tina. Thank you for being a bridesmaid. Maya Angelou said it best. She said, “People forget what you said. People will forget what you have done, but they will never forget how you make them feel.” I always have that in the back of my mind, “How do people feel when they meet me?” I try to be a real authentic person with no pretense. I try not to pretend, even when it is to my detriment. That is why a lot of people, even in my professional space, are drawn to me because I will tell them the truth and keep it as real as possible. That is me. My girl had makeup for us. She had her hair fixed for us. I was like, “Is it her wedding?” After the wedding was done, which was fabulous. We had these high heels, and you guys walked in your comfortable shoes. You are all looking at us women like, “Why did you pick to wear that? We got to bring all our cute.” We walked into the wedding reception, and there was an announcement made that there were slippers. I’m like, “Did you say slippers? I don’t have to take off my high heel shoes and hold them in my head and act like I don’t see everybody with their gorgeous dress while barefooted.” It’s not just slippers. She had some good slippers. She had different sizes. The little bitty feet people didn’t have to be in the big people with the slipping up. I was like, “They cared.” They had shuttle bus service back and forth because you got a little party on at the wedding and trying to have no accidents. Did I say she got married in a castle? When I got the invitation, I was showing it to people. I was like, “This is my friend Lisa’s wedding. I thought music was going to come out on that thing.” I am glad to celebrate with you. Let me ask you something. How do we meet, and how do we become friends? What does that journey look like to you? We met at church. It is interesting because I remember when we walked in, we were new. We walked in for the first time. You are in leadership. You were sitting at the front of the church. We came in the normal, “Are you here for the first time?” We stood up. You came to us and said, “I’m Tina.” It was authentic and welcoming. The journey began there. We hit it off. I always saw you at first as being attributed that for you being in the service, but nonsense. What you see with you is what you get. I can appreciate that. As our relationship evolved throughout the years, I can say that is what I love the most. One of the things I love the most about you is what you see with you is what you get. You are genuinely authentic. If we were to look it up in the dictionary, your face would be like, “Hi, girl.” You were genuine from beginning to end. We are being real here. We had a hiccup in our relationship at one point. We were talking due to some transmission. Let me clarify that. We fell out. I

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Walk For Love 2025

Support grief awareness and Walk For Love in style. Proceeds help fund free grief support programs. Merchandise is available now, with new batches printing every 15 days — so order early to ensure you receive your items before the August kickoff on August 3,  2025

🛍️ How It Works

- Order anytime — Bonfire prints new merchandise every 15 days

- First shipping window: Orders placed by July 11 ship between July 1–11

- All items ship directly from Bonfire

- Order early to wear your gear for Walk For Love in August!

👕 Apparel – T-Shirts, Sweatshirts & Hoodies

🛒 Order here: https://www.bonfire.com/walk-for-love-2025-1

💲 Price: $23–$42

📏 Sizes: Youth to 3XL

Over 20 different colors

📝 Notebook

🛒 Order here: https://bonfire.com/walk-for-love-2025-notebook-1

💲 Price: $22.99

Great for journaling, writing affirmations, or gift-giving.

☕ Mug

🛒 Order here: https://bonfire.com/walk-for-love-2025-mug

💲 Price: $19.99

Sip your morning coffee with a message of love and remembrance.

🚶‍♀️ Travel Mug

🛒 Order here: https://bonfire.com/walk-for-love-2025-travel-mug-1

💲 Price: $24.99

Keep your drinks hot or cold while walking for love.

💧 Water Bottle

🛒 Order here: https://bonfire.com/walk-for-love-2025-water-bottle-2

💲 Price: $29.99

Hydration meets heart — perfect for walkers everywhere.

📣 Additional Notes

At checkout, encourage shoppers to select your board member's name from the referral dropdown to help us track outreach.

Use and promote hashtags: #WFL2025 and #WRTWT

Perfect for walking during the event or repping all year long.

Mental Health Walkathon to provide encouragement and inspiration for the grieving struggling with depression and isolation.

During the Walkathon, we walk together, united in our mission to support mental health. From August 3 - 9, 2025 we encourage you to walk one mile daily. Share your journey by posting a picture on your favorite social media platform with #WRTWT #WALKFORLOVE, and let’s inspire others to join us.

Funds from the Walkathon will allow Widowhood Real Talk With Tina to conduct an Annual Grief Garden and a Butterfly release ceremony and provide participants journals & pens.

Three ways to participate

Purchase merchandise ~ In Development

Donate: https://app.99pledges.com/fund/walkforlov

Make your pledge, 1-mile daily day August 4 – 10, and post #WRTWT #WALKFORLOVE: https://app.99pledges.com/fund/walkforlov

To Start your pledge team, email widowhoodrealtalk@gmail.com for details.

Register on Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1223004923649?aff=oddtdtcreator