Stolen Goodbyes

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2 Followers 46 Episodes Claim Ownership

What do you do when the daily Covid death toll hits 1,820—the UK’s highest—lives reduced to statistics? When loved ones die alone, within days of a cough, last seen walking into an ambulance. No warning. No family. No funeral. No goodbye.That’s why I created Stolen Goodbyes—an urgent act of journalism to restore humanity to those we lost, and give voice to the extraordinary lives behind the numbers.What began as a podcast in lockdown has become something deeper: a living archive, a public record, a safe space—a memorial to those who died, and a vital platform for the Covid-bereaved, a still-grieving, often invisible community met with silence, disbelief, or denial.Each season explores a different facet of pandemic grief: real-time loss, political neglect, love after loss, and the emotional aftershocks. Guests aren’t celebrities—they are spouses, children, partners, and friends. Ordinary people whose loved ones were extraordinary to them and who died during a global crisis that reshaped our world.We walk through each person’s life—their quirks, jokes, one-liners, habits, triumphs, tragedies, and the legacy they leave behind.Stolen Goodbyes is more than a podcast. It’s a social history archive, a witness statement, and a deeply personal project that continues to evolve.Grief doesn’t fade just because the headlines move on. These voices still matter. Stolen Goodbyes continues to say: You were here. You were loved. You will not be forgotten.To help future generations understand what this moment truly felt like, these testimonies are now preserved in the British Library’s National Life Stories collection, alongside testimonies from Holocaust survivors and other vital witnesses to history.Launched in 2020 and created on my laptop during lockdown while parenting and working as a journalist, the podcast is fully independent. In 2021, it won Gold at the British Podcast Awards.Its impact has been profound: helping guests feel seen, sparking unexpected transatlantic friendships, and offering memorials where none existed. One guest said: “This was the only funeral my husband ever had.”It has been described as: 🟡 “A masterclass in trauma-informed storytelling.” — Dart Centre for Journalism and Trauma 🟡 “A true legacy podcast.” — BBC Radio 4 🟡 “Magnificently produced... a cathartic experience.” — Guest 🟡 “A beautifully crafted set of stories... inspiring and important.” — COVID Remembrance GroupAnd by listeners: 💬 “A delicate subject handled with great sensitivity.” 💬 “A place where I felt seen.” 💬 “Raw, honest, and compassionate—Karen gives a voice to those who had theirs taken away.” 💬 “A testament to our shared humanity.”In a world eager to move on, Stolen Goodbyes chooses to remember.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/stolen-goodbyes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode List

Stuart Charlie Charlesworth

Oct 14th, 2020 8:59 AM

On this episode of Stolen Goodbyes, Karen speaks to Emma Charlesworth who lost her husband Stuart, more commonly known as Charlie, to COVID 19 at the age of just 45. Emma speaks candidly about how Charlie battled and overcame testicular cancer when he was just 26, only to lose his life to Corona virus less than two decades later. Emma speaks movingly of how Charlie walked to an ambulance after suffering an apparent panic attack. Charlie never returned home. A hero dad, he left behind a beloved 10-year-old daughter. 🎧 Listen + Support Stolen Goodbyes 💛 Donate: supporter.acast.com/stolen-goodbyes 🌐 Podcast: shows.acast.com/stolen-goodbyes 📩 Contact: stolengoodbyes@gmail.com 🤝 Partnerships: email to discuss 📘 Facebook: bit.ly/3kGGwnG 📺 YouTube: bit.ly/3Yq0jW5 📸 Instagram: bit.ly/3ITXSFC 🖥️ Info: karen-rice.com/podcast🕊️ In a world eager to move on, Stolen Goodbyes chooses to remember.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/stolen-goodbyes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Martin Addison

Nov 3rd, 2020 7:00 AM

Martin and wife Pamela had seven wonderful years together before he fell ill with Covid 19 while working as a speech and language pathologist in New Jersey in the United States. In this episode of Stolen Goodbyes, Pamela recounts how the couple met online and describes how inspiring Martin was as a husband, father and medical professional. Martin fell ill with a cough before being admitted to hospital where the initial feedback was very positive. However,his condition deteriorated, and the day he was supposed to get off the ventilator, he contracted an infection. He was just 44 when he died in April this year. Pamela relates how a nurse held his hand while Pamela spoke to him over the phone from home. The nurse told her that Martin squeezed her hand when Pamela told him she loved him. Pamela struggles with the sadness she feels about the fact their children, a two-year-old daughter and a five month old son, will never know their father. She also worries about their financial future now that Martin is gone. 🎧 Listen + Support Stolen Goodbyes 💛 Donate: supporter.acast.com/stolen-goodbyes 🌐 Podcast: shows.acast.com/stolen-goodbyes 📩 Contact: stolengoodbyes@gmail.com 🤝 Partnerships: email to discuss 📘 Facebook: bit.ly/3kGGwnG 📺 YouTube: bit.ly/3Yq0jW5 📸 Instagram: bit.ly/3ITXSFC 🖥️ Info: karen-rice.com/podcast🕊️ In a world eager to move on, Stolen Goodbyes chooses to remember.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/stolen-goodbyes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

John Langford

Nov 10th, 2020 7:00 AM

On this episode of Stolen Goodbyes, Karen speaks to Georgina Forsythe from Warwickshire who lost her fireman father John to Covid 19 on May 7 2020.John caught the virus while on a cruise to South America with his wife Linda where they were celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary. The couple went ahead with the trip at the beginning of March after the Foreign and Commonwealth Office advised that it was safe to do so.A cruel and inhumane set of circumstances ensued which saw Linda forced to leave her sick husband behind in a hospital in Miami while she caught a last flight back to the UK.John later died from the virus more than 4,000 miles from home. He was 63. 🎧 Listen + Support Stolen Goodbyes 💛 Donate: supporter.acast.com/stolen-goodbyes 🌐 Podcast: shows.acast.com/stolen-goodbyes 📩 Contact: stolengoodbyes@gmail.com 🤝 Partnerships: email to discuss 📘 Facebook: bit.ly/3kGGwnG 📺 YouTube: bit.ly/3Yq0jW5 📸 Instagram: bit.ly/3ITXSFC 🖥️ Info: karen-rice.com/podcast🕊️ In a world eager to move on, Stolen Goodbyes chooses to remember.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/stolen-goodbyes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kevin Morgans

Nov 17th, 2020 8:00 AM

In this episode of the Stolen Goodbyes podcast, Karen speaks to Linsey Simmonds in the Rhondda Valley in Wales who lost her father, Kevin Morgans, to COVID-19 on May 3 2020. He was 65.Linsey speaks with a beautiful fondness about her popular father who was due to move into a granddad flat at the back of her home where he looked forward to being woken up by his young grandson every morning.An anguished Linsey describes how the hospital spent a month saying her dad would be coming home with a care plan before suddenly deciding to move him onto a Covid ward because he was having seizures although he had not tested positive for Covid. There was next to no communication from the hospital for a month when Linsey learned her father had signed a Do Not Resuscitate form without her knowledge.Linsey believes her father ticked too many boxes to fight for in the eyes of the hospital.🎧 Listen + Support Stolen Goodbyes 💛 Donate: supporter.acast.com/stolen-goodbyes 🌐 Podcast: shows.acast.com/stolen-goodbyes 📩 Contact: stolengoodbyes@gmail.com 🤝 Partnerships: email to discuss 📘 Facebook: bit.ly/3kGGwnG 📺 YouTube: bit.ly/3Yq0jW5 📸 Instagram: bit.ly/3ITXSFC 🖥️ Info: karen-rice.com/podcast🕊️ In a world eager to move on, Stolen Goodbyes chooses to remember.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/stolen-goodbyes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Roy Weeks

Nov 24th, 2020 7:00 AM

In this episode of Stolen Goodbyes, Karen talks to Shelly Weeks from Somerset, who lost her husband Roy to COVID-19 on April 11 2020. He was 73 years old. She describes the devotion the couple shared through the years despite nae sayers claiming the age gap between them meant the romance was doomed to fail. Shelly is angry and dissatisfied at the standard of care her husband, who suffered from dementia, received in the care home where he was resident. Her pain was compounded by the fact that following Roy's death, the home sent her a report she says was “full of lies”. Shelly also received a bill for chiropody treatment, dated before he arrived at the home.Shelly is determined to get justice for Roy.🎧 Listen + Support Stolen Goodbyes 💛 Donate: supporter.acast.com/stolen-goodbyes 🌐 Podcast: shows.acast.com/stolen-goodbyes 📩 Contact: stolengoodbyes@gmail.com 🤝 Partnerships: email to discuss 📘 Facebook: bit.ly/3kGGwnG 📺 YouTube: bit.ly/3Yq0jW5 📸 Instagram: bit.ly/3ITXSFC 🖥️ Info: karen-rice.com/podcast🕊️ In a world eager to move on, Stolen Goodbyes chooses to remember.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/stolen-goodbyes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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