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.
Cultural Bereavement - Tida Beattie
Navigating Grief At Work
When Every Item Is Precious - The Grief Gallery
Signs & Messages - Psychic Mediumship
Are We Going To Be Okay? - Grief, Collected & The Mash-Up Americans
"I Needed To See People Who Looked Like Me" - Luna Peak Foundation
One In A Million
The (Not) Most Wonderful Time Of The Year - Holidays & Grief Mini-Episode
Grief Doesn't Fit In A Box, But You Can Make A List - What's Your Grief
"These Relationships Matter" - Grieving The Death Of A Pet
Celebrating Día de Los Muertos
"They Were Part Of My Firefighter Family" - Grieving A Coworker
Caring For A Parent At The End Of Life - Mark Chesnut & Prepare for Departure
The Awkwardness Around Grief Is International
"We Did Everything We Could Not To Be Here"
Embracing Grief In Community - Adam Stevens, RDT
It's Complicated
Things Others Never Even Have To Think About - Grief & Identity
Born For This Work - Supporting Grief & Death (Valenca Valenzuela, MSW)
We Have No New Memories - Amanda Drews & Buzzy's Bees
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