Support System Archives - Widowhood Real Talk with Dr. Tina

Reigniting The Relationship Spark Through Poetry With Sedric Curvin

Podcast / May 13, 2026

Widowhood Real Talk with Tina | Sedric Curvin | Poetry

Words have the unique power of healing, restoration, and encouragement that you cannot find anywhere else. This is exactly what content creator Sedric Curvin is harnessing through his empowering poetry on TikTok. Tina Fornwald sits down with a non-widower guest who shares how he uses his creative talents to write poems and guide people on how to love, rediscover love, and reignite their purpose to love. He also discusses the role of forgiveness, empathy, and hope in continually improving and deepening his craft, enabling him to provide grieving people with the strength and inspiration they need. 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 Suicide Hotlines and Prevention Resources Around the World. — Watch the episode here Listen to the podcast here Reigniting The Relationship Spark Through Poetry With Sedric Curvin Every conversation in the Widowhood is not just with widows. Our conversation with Sed is going to provide some encouragement, a different perspective on grief, and something that will warm your heart. Let’s get into this discussion now. Sedric, welcome to the Widowhood. Thank you, Dr. Tina. Thank you. I know you are not a widower, but when you hear that, what comes to mind for you? What comes to mind for me is the loss of a husband or wife to their spouse. That’s what comes to me. I have some family members who have experienced it in the last couple of years. I know what that looks like from just being a part of the family. I also know what it looks like from having friends who have lost their loved ones as well. Understanding Encouragement And Forgiveness That’s fair. For the audience, the reason why I wanted you to be part of this conversation is that you have an amazing talent. One of the things I see often that people grieving need is for someone to give them encouragement. Encouragement comes in a lot of different ways. When you hear encouragement, what does that look like for you? It’s something I do very well for people. It’s to give someone a hope that there’s always hope ahead down the road. No matter what you go through in life, there’s always something looking towards you in the future. You don’t have to see where you’re at. You have to get back up and keep pushing. It’s knowing that there’s something in you that needs to come out that you just haven’t tapped into yet. That can be easier or more difficult depending on the situation, but the premise does remain the same. When you think of your life, what have been some difficult moments that you didn’t think or struggle to get back up from yourself? One thing that I struggled with, even when I was married, Dr. Tina, was learning how to forgive. I had to get up from that. It was something I had to learn to get over and overcome. It wasn’t easy. There are people whose loved ones have passed and struggled with forgiveness. What was that like for you in the struggle of that? Not just a lofty overview, but the real, gritty process of that. The unforgiveness affected me not just with where the unforgiveness was with the individual. It also affected my marriage. It affected my whole family. It took a grip. It had a grip on me like a vice. When unforgiveness has a grip on you, you don’t know it at the moment how it controls you, how it allows you to hold on to resentment, how it allows you to hold on to envy, and how it holds you hostage. Pretty much, you’re holding yourself hostage. You don’t know that at the time that you are holding on to it. The only thing you know is, “I don’t want to forgive this person or I don’t want to forgive this or I don’t want to forgive that.” That’s all you know. It’s not until you learn to forgive and let God come into your heart and show you why you need to forgive and release. What did you find in your experience in life? Why did you need to forgive and release? It was holding me hostage, and the person was living their life. I was the only one sitting here complaining about what I wasn’t getting. The way that came was writing the letter to the person, sending it to them, and putting it all out there in a five-page letter. Thank you for sharing that. There is something about releasing how we feel. For the people that are tuning in, their loved ones may not be here to read that letter, but there is power in writing it. There is the power of freeing yourself from what’s going on mentally in the struggle. It’s interesting you would use the word being held hostage. We can’t move, and that person is living their life. We are stuck in that place of not moving. How did it feel after writing that letter? I felt the release of a burden. I can relax. I can give it full control to God and trust Him. That He’s going to take care of it for me, rather than me trying to take care of it myself. Once you wrote the letter, did it matter if they responded or not to you? At the moment, it didn’t because it was about me letting go of something that was defeating me. It was keeping me from having the joy, peace, and happiness that I needed because I had to come to the conclusion that they don’t know how I feel. They are not the ones who are holding themselves hostage. I am. They

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Honoring My Late Husband Everyday With Sarah Johnston

Podcast / May 8, 2025

Widowhood Real Talk with Tina | Sarah Johnston | Late Husband

When someone loses a partner to suicide, their grief journey is vastly different from other people. Sarah Johnston’s life changed forever in 2016 when her spouse took her own life, and now she wears purple every day to honor her late husband’s memory. In our conversation, Sarah looks back on how she discovered the right support group to guide her through the grieving journey, which is unfortunately riddled with stigma and blame when it comes to suicide loss. She also opens up on how she deals with people who put her under scrutiny for her husband’s death, showing them compassion instead of hatred. 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 Suicide Hotlines and Prevention Resources Around the World. — Watch the episode here Listen to the podcast here Honoring My Late Husband Everyday With Sarah Johnston My guest, Sarah Johnston, has some nuggets for you. We are going to discuss shame and blame for people who have lost their spouse to suicide, how people in the clergy can better show up to support the grieving, and so much more. Let’s get into this conversation now. Sarah, welcome to the show. I’m so glad to be here. Are you really glad to be here in the widowhood conversation? I’m not glad to be in the widowhood, but I’m glad to be in the conversation. When you hear that, welcome to widowhood, what comes to mind for you? This is not my hood. I was not meant to be here. Like, “Why am I here? I was supposed to have purple hair by the time I ended up here.” Let’s talk about that. In a reality in a world that everyone dies, how are you not supposed to be here in your mind? I was thirteen years younger than my husband. In just daily living, it just made sense that he would go first, but we would be old. I was prepared for us because we were empty nesters for like two years before he died. We would sit in the backyard and discuss what our retirement in a few more years was going to look like. We were like, we’re going to sit at the farm and rocking chairs on the porches and he’s going to drive the tractors and I’m going to bring him a beer. We were going to die old and gray out here on the farm. Not like this. When you say not like this, what does that mean for your situation? He died too young. He was 54. I, at the time, was 41. Your husband’s name, if you would share that with us? Jeff. How did you and Jeff meet? Funny story. My sisters are both quite a lot older than me. I was a whoops. My oldest sister’s husband at the time, I married his childhood best friend. Jeff, was that? My brother-in-law’s childhood best friend. That made for fun times with family get-togethers and doing things. We did all the things together. We were just a super tight family unit. Many memories. What memory came across your mind? What did it look like? Just all the family gatherings that we had together. We’d always do it in crawfish boils and turkey fries and things like that. Everything together as a big family, all the cousins together. We don’t have that anymore. Do they still have them, or they do not exist at all? They really don’t exist at all. Did that happen when Jeff passed, or was it something before that? I would say so much when Jeff passed. Now that I think about it, you’re making me reflect on new things. I feel like I need to get my notepad out. Go get it. I need to journal this. Hang on. You bring up a good point. Why do you journal? I have always journaled. All of my life, I have written things down. Even if it’s just a quick note, a side note in a book, or whatever I’m writing, like seriously, when I pass, my kids are going to have so many notebooks and random things to clean out. There are hundreds of them. It just came naturally to me. It’s always been something I’ve done. With the grief, I found that it was absolutely my greatest tool and instrument. If you connected with someone that was a new widow and she was like, all that journaling is trash, it doesn’t do any good. What would you share with her? My journaling can look as basic as that. My journaling can look as basic as these quick things. That’s journaling. The fact that I wrote down, I’m just super angry, and I cannot work it out. That’s journaling. Writing down, “I’m super happy, and I want to have this moment that I can look back on and remember every detail.” I’m going to write it down. I also do. I go back and look at those. That was especially important to me during my mom’s dementia journey when I earnestly started using it as a tool. I wasn’t aware that that’s what I was doing until I started working on healing and people were talking about, “It’s part of the process.” I realized it is because when I would go back and look at those, I would then write again from a different perspective. It’s interesting to read those and the number of times the perspective of how it changes over time each time. I’ve never thought of that. I’m in the eighth year of my late husband’s passing. Every week, I’m sharing journal entries. Have you seen some of those? I have. I weirdly stalk you. Not like stalk

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Fred Colby On How A Widower Handles His Grieving Process

Podcast / April 25, 2024

Widowhood Real Talk with Tina | Fred Colby | Widower

There are almost four million widowers in the United States alone. Unfortunately, there are very limited resources and services available that could help them with their grieving process. Fred Colby, a widower himself, is on a mission to make a real difference in this alarming matter. In this conversation, he shares how he raises awareness about the utmost need for widowers to access proper support systems, saving them from adopting unhealthy practices or starting an addiction. Fred also explains how widowers can reinvent themselves after losing their partners, the benefits of in-house care, and why they must never make huge decisions (or get into a new relationship) in the first year of the grieving journey. 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 Fred Colby On How A Widower Handles His Grieving Process Our conversation is with Mr. Fred Colby. He is the author of Widower to Widower, the conversation regarding his wife, Theresa, his journey, learning how to live again, and being able to provide a voice for the widowers who are often underrepresented in this conversation of grief. This conversation will be helpful, and I would recommend picking up his book, whether it’s for yourself trying to understand a widower or if you are a widower looking for guidance on how to manage your grief journey. Let’s get into this conversation now. Fred Colby, welcome to the show. Tina, how are you doing? I am doing good. I am so looking forward to this conversation. I found your information on YouTube and I was talking about different things as far as when you’re prepared to date. What drew me to you were the things that you spoke about to allow someone to consider these items. The idea about envisioning walking on the beach with someone and seeing a future with them was very telling to me from your perspective. To be able to have your book Widower to Widower and have this discussion with you, I know will be very helpful to our community. I’m looking forward to it. I always enjoy reaching new audiences, so I take every opportunity I can get because I’m a man on a mission to reach the other widowers out there and help them get through this. That’s very good because you and I both know that. When you look at the word widowhood, the men are the smaller percentage that are accounted for. They don’t always have a voice in the conversation. To be able to have a conversation with someone who has written literature has been a widower and bring that voice is very important. Thank you again. Thank you. Looking Back Where are you at right now? I’m in Fort Collins, Colorado. I have lived here since 2008. My wife and I moved here to be near our two daughters who decided to move here and start having grand babies, which decided it for us. That is a deciding factor. Where were you before then? San Diego for about all my life. Were you born and raised there? What had you in the area? I was born in Seattle right after World War II and my dad died when I was about 5 or 6. My mom moved in with my grandfather, who had a place in San Diego. We lived with them for a year or two, and then he remarried. He had lost his wife. My mom moved into another place, and then she met my second dad, who remarried a couple of years later. I was very fortunate to have a second gentleman come into my life to be a father as well. Thank you for sharing that. Do you look back on that differently now, being an adult and seeing the things that people in your family experienced in their losing a life partner? Very differently. I think back to my grandfather. My grandmother had gone through a phase of dementia of some type. Back in those days, they didn’t define it very clearly, but he and my second father, my stepfather, met at a church and they had been part of rebuilding the church. After he met his new bride, my grandfather introduced my second father to my mom. Back in the day, people didn’t always look kindly on that. I think we have a different view these days. It’s still something you have to be careful about how you approach it. It brings up a very sore subject for many people and families and can become the cause of divisions and all kinds of things. I was very lucky that this blending worked well because my mom had four kids. Why did he want to take on four kids? God only knows, but he did, and then they had two more. He died when I was around 21, 22. Looking back on what my mom went through, losing her first husband after World War II shortly, and then her second husband when I was around 20 or 21, I look back on that and say, “How did she get through that?” It’s rough enough going through one, but a second one is on top of that. When I lost my wife, Theresa, it’s funny, my mom and I didn’t emotionally connect in a lot of ways, and we did not go over that either, but I could tell that she understood what I was going through and was supportive. She had a German upbringing, so they weren’t real emotive, if you will. Same with her dad. All my brothers

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The Life And Death Of A Father From A Son’s Perspective With Alexander Fornwald

Podcast / December 28, 2023

For this year’s final episode, let’s hear from a son’s perspective of his father’s life and death. Alexander Fornwald recounts his memory with his father, Mark Fornwald, and his experience after he passed. Tina explains how helpful it is to have trusting relatives and friends to help you through the grief process, and Alexander shares his perspective about asking friends to be at the funeral. He describes how his father was a man of the community and a man’s man. Let’s join Tina and Alexander in this beautiful mother-and-son conversation. 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 Life And Death Of A Father From A Son’s Perspective With Alexander Fornwald This is our last episode for 2023. Whether this is your first episode of watching the show or you have been with me for this entire 2023, thank you. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of your life, and thank you for taking value in what it is that we have to share. The conversation is with my son, Alexander Fornwald, talking about his grief journey, his experiences with his dad, and where life is for him now. Let’s get into the conversation. Alex, thank you for doing this with me. This is my son, Alexander, and this is our last episode for 2023. I thought it was a good opportunity because, in 2024, I want to have more conversations with children whose parents have passed. I appreciate Alexander’s willingness to do this. I’m going to go to the day that your dad passed. Was I the first person to talk to you or did you receive a message from USO or somebody? Ms. Bloom was the first one to call me. I remember I was out with my friends or I was going to go out with my friends. You had said that he had a heart attack or somebody. It was a text message at first. It was between you, me, and Katherine. It was like, “Your dad had a heart attack,” or something. I might’ve called you and I was like, “I was going to go out with my friends. Should I still go out?” Somehow, I got on the phone with Ms. Bloom. I feel like she was the first one I contacted. I don’t know. I can’t remember exactly who I was talking to at the time, but I think it was Ms. Bloom. What were you doing in your life at that point in time? I was in the Navy. At the time, I was in a school, which is the school that you go to before you get your actual job where they teach you how to do your real job. Where were you stationed? I was in Pensacola, Florida. That day, I and my friends had planned to go out to see a movie and then go to this Brazilian steakhouse. That’s something your dad would like, a Brazilian steakhouse. That’s where I was when I got the call. Do you remember the day before when I was sending you pictures that your dad wasn’t feeling well and he was having gas? I sent you and your sister a picture. In one picture, we were in a restaurant eating. Do you remember that picture? Yes, I remember that picture. I sent you a picture of your dad sleeping and sitting up in a chair because he was saying that he had gas. He wouldn’t lay down in the bed. Do you remember that picture? Not specifically. The Chinese food, you remember? I do. Do you recall the conversation with Ms. Bloom? I remember I was in my dorm room and I was contemplating if I still wanted to go out or not because you guys had told me that he had a heart attack and that he was in the hospital. Things were still happening and everyone was like, “It should be fine. He’ll be okay. Don’t worry about it. Go out and have fun with your friends.” I was like, “I’ll go have fun with my friends.” That’s what we were talking about. It was like, “He’ll be okay. Go ahead and go out,” so I did. That was the conversation with Ms. Bloom. Who is Ms. Bloom to you? Ms. Bloom is the first lady of our pastor’s wife of the church that we went to growing up. It’s the church that I went to for my entire life that I can remember growing up until I left high school. She’s a pastor’s wife. My mom was a part of the leadership at the church so we had a very close relationship. She was also a disciplinarian at the school that I went to as well until fifth grade. She’s sweet to you. She may have been a disciplinarian. She wasn’t much of a disciplinarian to me. For you. Let’s be clear about that part. That’s why. You had the conversation with Ms. Bloom about going out and that your dad’s going to be fine. Do you recall the next conversation after that you had with anybody? As far as I can remember, I’m pretty sure it was you who called me. We were at the steakhouse. I was sitting there eating dinner with my friends, and then I got the call that he had passed away and it was final. I was eating dinner with my friends at the steakhouse. What happened after that call? I went outside and started crying. I sat on the sidewalk and started losing

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The Resilient Grief Journey: Embracing New Beginnings As A Widow With Heather Heying Hunt

Podcast / August 10, 2023

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

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The Long Grief Journey: Finding Support And Healing After Loss With Dr. Pamela D. Blair

Podcast / July 20, 2023

Grief does not follow a timeline and can last throughout a person’s entire life. When grief becomes unresolved in the long term, it can later affect your mental health. In this episode, Dr. Pamela D. Blair, the Author of The Long Grief Journey, talks about her own long grief journey and how she found healing from it. The key: a support group. After losing her ex-husband, she shares how she found the much-needed support from her sister who had gone through a similar loss. Learn more about Dr. Blair’s journey of healing after loss. Plus, hear the story of how she wrote her first book, I Wasn’t Ready to Say Goodbye. 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 Long Grief Journey: Finding Support And Healing After Loss With Dr. Pamela D. Blair I am excited about our guest. Her name is Dr. Pamela Blair. She is a co-author of two books. The first book, I Wasn’t Ready to Say Goodbye, was something that a friend gave me when my late husband Mark passed. It was a lifeline for me trying to manage grief, understand what was before me, and grasp what I could do to help myself in the process. She has co-authored another book called The Long Grief Journey. Both of these books have their place in our life. The I Wasn’t Ready to Say Goodbye is so vital in dealing with the loss of a loved one, especially if they died unexpectedly. Her book has been one of the top sellers. It is a cornerstone in the process of dealing with grief. It was so helpful to guide people that experienced the loss of a loved one during 9/11. After over twenty years of that book, we’re realizing that people still need more because what happens after grief is still impacting us 2, 3, or 20 years later. Society gives us the, “It should have been done in six months. How do we deal with that?” The Long Grief Journey deals with so many parts of that. I want to give you a little bit about who our guest is. Ms. Pamela Blair is an author, motivational speaker, and historically trained psychotherapist. She is holistically trained as a psychotherapist. She’s a life coach and motivational speaker with a PhD from the American Institute of Holistic Theology. Pam has appeared in magazines, hundreds of shows, and radio programs, including ABC World News, CNN Headline News, and Fox & Friends, and filmed for a television special titled Widowsville. She is the author of books for women, The Next Fifty Years: A Guide for Women at Midlife and Beyond and Getting Older Better. Pamela also co-authored the bestselling and award-winning book on sudden loss and grief, I Wasn’t Ready to Say Goodbye: Surviving, Coping and Healing After the Sudden Death of a Loved One. She is currently retired, facilitating a group for women writers, mentoring in the school system, working on a novel, and living in Vermont with her husband and two cats. Pam is an internationally bestselling author whose books have been translated into multiple languages and is looking for the new release of her co-authored book, The Long Grief Journey. You can find The Long Grief Journey on our website under Resources. There’s a link there to purchase it. Let’s get into this conversation now. Welcome, Dr. Pamela Blair, to the Widowhood. It’s nice to be here, Tina. It’s nice to have you here. I am so grateful for your willingness to bring your expertise based on your life experience and your many years of practice in serving other people. I am sorry for the methodology that has brought you to this room, but I am grateful for your willingness to be part of this conversation and to be here for the Widowhood. I’m glad to be here 100%. Let’s get started. For you that may not know, Dr. Pamela Blair is one of the co-authors of I Wasn’t Ready to Say Goodbye. I have mentioned this book several times because someone provided it to me, and it was a lifeline. I know she has authored some other books. We’re going to get into those, but I think this was one of your first books in the grief arena. Would you be willing to tell us a little bit about how this book came to be? This was a year before 9/11. I was writing a newsletter for people who were going through a divorce. My co-author who happened to own a publishing company contacted me and said, “You can write. If you can write about divorce, can you also write about grief?” I said, “It so happened that I had a former husband who died suddenly, and I’ve learned a lot about grief personally. I’d be delighted to co-author a book with you.” Her reason for wanting to write the book was to honor her brother who died of anaphylactic shock from a bee sting. We worked on the book together. There was a lot of remote stuff that you could do like we can today. A lot of it went back and forth over landlines where you had to listen for the sound. That was like the internet or whatever. That book was written in twenty-minute segments because of a brain injury I sustained around the time I signed the contract for it. I was nearly killed in a car accident. I had a brain injury, but I could only write for about twenty minutes at a time, and then

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Chris Wissmann On Drawing Strength From Faith And Friends When Grieving

Podcast / April 13, 2023

Losing your partner siphons everything from you. During such a low point in your life, never forget that you can always turn to your faith and friends to get through with grief. In this discussion, Chris Wissmann talks about drawing strength from God and the people around you when you are grieving. She provides a candid insight into our friendship, the people Chris has lost in her life, and how her faith has been her strength. We also discuss our friendship over the years and our families. Chris provided a safe space and immense interest in my thoughts and grief for Mark. I sincerely appreciate her willingness to honestly want to know every idea, concern, and stressful part of missing my late husband. — 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 Chris Wissmann On Drawing Strength From Faith And Friends When Grieving The OGs My next conversation is with my girlfriend, Chris Wissmann. We have had children and went on a road trip together. She’s going to talk about that. We have lived life together. We are not paid actors, but we are friends that love each other. We are sharing our life and our story in hopes of encouraging someone else along this way. I am sorry for the person that you have lost that has driven you to this conversation, but I’m glad that you found us. I thank you for being now part of our hood and our community. Let’s get into the conversation now. My guest is my girlfriend, Chris. Let’s see what she is going to say. How about you tell me a little bit about yourself? I am a wife and a mother. I enjoy friendships. I need more questions. I like to cook. What about that belly wash? That is grape juice. It’s grape concentrate like the frozen stuff and a package of Kool-Aid. You could get a grape tropical punch and prepare the Kool-Aid like you would normally, but with less sugar. Put the grape juice concentrate in there with the appropriate amount of water and stir it up. It’s a belly wash from Wisconsin. That’s what Mark’s mom and grandmother would fix for the people who were helping them with their harvest and stuff on the farm. It seemed way more complicated than that, and the baking skills that you’re underestimating over here. Thank you. I am not an elaborate baker. I only bake easy things. Which are? Brownies, pies, cakes. We like to eat a whole lot of sweet stuff. How did we meet? You met my husband first. My husband was a non-traditional student at CNU. We moved from farming back to Virginia so he could go to school. CNU is Christopher Newport College. That was before it became a university. I was working and Mark was in school full-time. He was busy meeting all these people and they all had female names. He told me he was going to be meeting Tina to play racquetball with her. What time? On Saturdays is how it came to me. I’m like, “Okay, but who is Tina?” The time became important because it was 6:30 in the morning. Who would get out of bed to play racquetball at 6:30 in the morning besides my husband and especially a female? I didn’t know any girls or women who would get out of bed to do that. Not anybody in their right mind. They were supposed to be married. That’s what he finally told me. I’m like, “Why is she getting up? Why are you playing racquetball with her?” “Because she likes to play racquetball.” “Is she married? What does she do on Saturdays?” “Her husband likes to sleep in as you do.” I’m like, “Ouch.” They played a lot and I didn’t still know who she was. I got up early one morning on Saturday to meet her. This was way before cell phones. I got up early because I had not met her. He hadn’t made any effort for me to meet you. I came home a different day and there was a blonde in my house. He was tutoring her. Now he’s meeting Tina to play racquetball. Who was the blonde? Lori. I had no suspicion that he was being unfaithful, but I also was not comfortable that all his friends at college were girls. I didn’t hear men’s names anywhere. He even got a welcome letter from Christie. I’m like, “This is too many, Lori and Tina. I got to meet her.” Whatever was going on this day, she was making sure Mark was not coming downstairs. I drove to their apartment complex and Mark would normally come down. Before cell phones, I could not honk my horn at 6:00 in the morning because the whole apartment complex would wake up. I’m like, “Where is this dude at? If he did not get up, I’m going to be upset.” I go upstairs and knock on the door. She says, “Hello.” I was like, “Is Mark here?” She’s like, “Who are you?” I was like, “We are about to have a whole situation. I just want to play racquetball.” She starts drilling me and asking me all these questions. I was like, “How do you know if I like playing racquetball with him that much? This could be over.” It might not be worth it. After a while, Chris and I became more friends, and Mark became boring. Her husband’s name is Mark, just like my late husband. Both of our birthdays

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The Power Of Friendship In Times Of Grief With Geraldine Newson

Podcast / April 6, 2023

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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