What started out as an average winter morning ended up being one that would change everything in Melissa Pierce's life. She went to wake up her husband Dave for their son's basketball game and found him unresponsive. Dave had died during the night and the cause of death was never determined. Melissa jumped into figuring out logistics - planning a memorial, getting her sons to school, moving their family, working a full-time job - but eventually she had to figure out herself. It meant focusing on what she was thinking, feeling, and needing in her grief. That shift to prioritizing self-care ended up changing everything, again.
We discuss
How Melissa and Dave met and fell in love
The process of adopting their two sons
How the shock of Dave’s sudden death led to what Melissa calls “Zombie mode”
Being the person who found Dave when he died and how that impacted her grief
Grieving when the cause of death is undetermined
The financial, logistical, and emotional reality of being a solo parent
Having to tell her sons that their dad died
When Melissa started to feel her feelings in grief
The physical toll of grief
Where Melissa turned for support
How prioritizing self-care changed everything
The origin story of the Widow Squad community
Melissa is the author of Filled With Gold: A Widow’s Story, co-founder of The Widow Squad community, and co-host of The Widow Squad podcast.
Listen to The Widow Squad podcast Episode 41- Holidays and Grief: Strategies to Get Through the Holidays After Your Spouse Dies.
Conscious Grieving - Claire Bidwell Smith, LCPC
Caring For Young Widows In Nigeria - Diane Kalu
It's A Loss That's Hard To Talk About - Grieving A Friend
Creating A Home For Grief - Laura Green
“I Felt Like Half A Person” – On Becoming A Widow
Putting Grief On Hold - Channing Frye
The Dangers Of Pathologizing Grief - Dr. Donna Schuurman, EdD, FT
Can They Even Understand? - Preschoolers & Grief
Becoming Grief-Informed- Dr. Donna Schuurman & Dr. Monique Mitchell
The Realities of Black Grief – Doneila McIntosh, M.Div., M.A.
"So Sorry For Your Loss" - Dina Gachman
How To Talk About What Happened - Adam Sawyer
It's Okay That It's Not The Same - Grief At The Holidays
Tending To Trauma In Grief - Meghan Riordan Jarvis
I've Missed Him At Every Milestone - Bridget
It Was Such A Shock - John
I Think He'd Be Proud Of Me - Sonja
When Your Spouse Dies Of Suicide - Alexandra Wyman
Love Isn't Finite - Grieving A Partner
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