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.
An Altered State - Jeff Porter & Planet Claire
Making Grief Less Lonely - Reid Peterson & Grief Refuge
Grief Is Not The Great Equalizer - Supporting Queer, Trans, & Justice Involved Youth With Lamya Broussard, Uplift
Grief & Money: (Re)Building A Life's Purpose - Robert Pardi
Titrating Grief
Grief Wanted My Attention - Nnenna Freelon
End Of Life Care With A Death Doula - Oceana Sawyer
When Your Pillar Parent Dies - Grief As A Young Adult With Monday Mourning
Living Brave In Grief - Shannon Dingle
Interviewing Grief - Caitlin Garvey & The Mourning Report
Grief Doesn't Stop When You Clock In - Supporting Employees In Grief
Anger & Grief
When Grief Goes To Camp - Brie Overton
Widowed By COVID-19
Superhero Grief - Dr. Jill A. Harrington
I Had A Brother Once - Adam Mansbach
Find The Helpers - Fred Guttenberg
Caregiving For A Parent - Priya Soni & The Caregiving Effect
Grieving While Black - Breeshia Wade
Living With Loss Over A Lifetime - Hope Edelman & The AfterGrief
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