In the depths of grief, resilience emerges as a guiding light, showing us the extraordinary strength we possess to navigate the darkest of times and transform our pain into a catalyst for healing. Join us on this episode as we dive into the courageous and resilient grief journey of Heather Heying Hunt. She is a young widow who shares her raw and authentic experiences of navigating loss, rebuilding her life, and finding hope amidst the darkest moments. In this heart-rending conversation, Heather takes us back to the days leading up to her husband Brian’s passing and the emotional rollercoaster she faced as a caregiver and a new mother. She recounts the difficult decisions she had to make, from moving Brian to hospice care to saying a final goodbye to her beloved dog in the hospital room. Heather opens up about the profound impact of losing her husband on her identity and self-esteem. She reveals the overwhelming sense of loneliness and confusion that engulfed her as she grappled with questions about her purpose and the trajectory of her life. But through therapy, support groups, and connecting with other widows, Heather discovered newfound strength within herself and embarked on a journey of self-discovery and healing. Her words serve as a beacon of hope for anyone facing loss, reminding us that while grief may change us, it doesn’t have to define us. Join us in discovering how to be resilient in times of grief.   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 Resilient Grief Journey: Embracing New Beginnings As A Widow With Heather Heying Hunt Our conversation is with my widow girlfriend Heather. One thing this journey has taught me is if you make yourself available, you will connect with some amazing people going on this process with you together. Let’s get into this conversation with Heather.     In this episode, we have my girlfriend Heather. We will be talking about dating, being a widow, Heather’s journey and how she became a widow. I want to talk about the obvious. We did not play in the dress alike but she did show up and pulled up in the car. I jumped into her vehicle. She was like, “What? Purple shoes?” I could not change into the show’s shoes because when I saw her, we are twinning. The blue jeans, we knew that was going to happen but the shirt too though. Heather, welcome to the show. Thank you. Who is Heather? I am a widow, unfortunately. I lost my husband in 2021 to cancer and it was rough. We had just gotten pregnant with our first child together. Your husband’s name? His name is Brian. How far along were you pregnant when you found out? About four months pregnant. When you found out Brian was sick or when he died? When I found out he was sick. Let’s back up a little bit. How did you and Brian meet? I grew up in Arizona and got a job in Virginia. I came out here and met him at work. Work love. It was complicated. We started dating and got married about two years after. He had a child from a previous marriage so I became an instant mommy. Does the child live with Brian or with Mom? They had split custody. It was a week with mom and a week with dad. Do they live nearby? Yes, the same school district and everything. I met her when she was about five and became part of her life. What was that like? It was a complicated instant mom like, “How do I navigate through this,” but we got through it. Whom did you lean in to find out about that? Honestly, I did what I thought was the best thing to do at the time. My mom was involved in it, a blended family as well. My parents got divorced. She got remarried and there was a blending of families at that time too. A little bit to her and her advice on things that went well and things that didn’t go so well. There were lots of marital counseling as well. I’m glad you mentioned that because people feel like we’re grown and we know what we’re doing. We’re just going to get married but there’s so much. When you have an outside person come into the conversation, they bring things up that you would not bring up yourself. It does make you vulnerable though because sometimes it could be your fault. That’s good. It’s that third party for sure, looking in on things and weighing in on their opinion too. I want to go back a little bit more. Who was Heather before she met Brian though? I lived in Arizona. I worked. I like to run and read books. That’s pretty much it. What type of work did you do? I was an underwriter for an insurance company. I did dental underwriting first. When I moved out here, I took a medical underwriting position. Are you still in medical underwriting? No. I’m more in the benefits and reimbursement part of insurance. I work for the Medicaid type of business and do more work with coverage and stuff like that. What things should people be thinking about then? Based on what you know, if they’re a widow or they’re getting older, are there things they should set up or do? I do think life insurance is pretty huge. Unfortunately, sometimes they won’t let you change it when you do find out you have a