Widowed Far From Home | Nathalie Bruneau

What happens when the worst day of your life unfolds thousands of miles from home?

This week I'm joined by Nathalie Bruneau, who moved from France to China for what was meant to be a short adventure. Instead, she fell in love with Leo, built a life in Shanghai, and together they had two young sons.

Nathalie shares the extraordinary story of navigating marriage across cultures, the challenges alcohol brought to their relationship, and the difficult decision to separate while continuing to co-parent.

Then, one Sunday morning, everything changed.

After a phone call in a language she barely understood, Nathalie was taken to a police station and then a hospital, where she discovered she was there to identify Leo's body. Alone, in a foreign country, she suddenly found herself having to navigate grief, language barriers, unfamiliar traditions and the unimaginable task of telling her two little boys that their dad had died.

We also explore Chinese mourning rituals, life after sudden loss, parenting through trauma, and how, somehow, we find the strength to keep going when we think we can't.

This is a remarkable conversation about love, culture, addiction, resilience and the universal language of grief.

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