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.
"Am I Even Safe In My Home?" Collective Grief In Communities With Marginalized Identities - Dr. Amber Nelson PsyD
"I Can't Even Imagine" - Grieving Both Parents
Widowish - Melissa Gould
The Indigenous Death Doula Mentorship Program - Chrystal Wàban Toop
Love Stories - A Griefy Valentine's Special
Ep. 182: Healing Trauma, Attending To Grief - Native Wellness Institute & Jillene Joseph
Ep. 181: "She's Always With Me" - Finding Peace In The Permanence Of Grief
Ep. 180: More Than Just A Number - Grieving When Someone Dies Of COVID-19
Ep. 179: Sons Of Suicide - 50 Years Of Friendship & Grief
Ep. 178: Survivor's Guilt - Julia Mallory
Ep. 177: The Relentless Nature Of Grief - Carmel Breathnach
Ep. 176: Grief In Your Twenties - Amber Jeffrey/The Grief Gang
Ep. 175: Grieving A Mother While Becoming A Mother - Dara Kurtz
Ep. 174: Holidays & Grief + A Pandemic
Ep. 173: Grateful In Grief? Never, Ever Give Up – Allison Hite
Ep. 172: Living After Your Child's Life Ends - Margo Fowkes
Ep. 171: Reckoning With Grief At The End Of Life - BJ Miller
Ep. 170: Grief & Identity - Alica Forneret
Ep. 169: When It Comes To Grief, What Counts? - Shelby Forsythia
Ep. 168: Giving Forward - Grief & The Foster Care System (Derrick Kirk)
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Your Sleep Guru Podcast
Anxiety Slayer™ with Shann and Ananga
Men Do Talk Podcast
The Dr. John Delony Show
On Purpose with Jay Shetty