What do you say when “How are you?” feels impossible to answer?

This week I’m joined by Erin Clark, whose husband Greg died suddenly from a heart attack in 2021 after more than 30 years of marriage. One moment they were enjoying a simple family dinner with their children, and the next Erin found herself performing CPR on the man she’d loved since she was 19.

In this deeply moving conversation, Erin shares the reality of losing her person overnight, the guilt she carried after falling asleep in a different room for the first time in three decades, and the crushing loneliness of learning to navigate a world that no longer made sense.

We talk about the strange business of grief, the impossible task of telling your children their father has died, and why the second year can sometimes feel even harder than the first.

Erin also shares the story behind How’s the Weather?, a simple but powerful question she created when she realised she no longer knew how to answer “How are you?”. Together we explore the idea that grief, like the weather, is constantly changing. Storms give way to sunshine, only for clouds to roll back in again.

This is a conversation about enduring love, surviving the unsurvivable, and finding your way back to life one tiny step at a time.

If you’re currently in the thick of grief, consider this your reminder that surviving today is enough.

🎧 Trigger warning: This episode contains discussion of sudden death, CPR, grief, trauma and bereavement.

In this 'chatty' episode I’m joined once again by the wonderful Julie Farrin, who first appeared on Widowed AF to share the story of losing her husband Andy to glioblastoma just months after they were married.

A year on from her first appearance, we’re talking about what happens after the immediate chaos of grief. After the funeral, after the paperwork, after everyone else has gone back to their lives. What does rebuilding actually look like?

Julie opens up about losing not only her husband, but also the future they had planned together. We discuss the children they hoped to have, the difficult decisions that followed Andy’s diagnosis, and the complicated grief that comes with losing a life you thought was still ahead of you.

We also talk about widowhood without children, redundancy, identity, therapy, dating apps, panic attacks, endometriosis, hysterectomy grief, body confidence, boudoir photoshoots, yoga, friendship and learning to put yourself first after years of caring for someone else.

Along the way, we explore why so many widowed people struggle to find purpose after loss, the pressure society places on us to “move on”, and how rebuilding your life often starts with something much smaller: learning that you are worth getting out of bed for.

It’s an honest, funny and deeply moving conversation about love, loss, womanhood, friendship and discovering that life isn’t over just because everything changed.

Whether you’re newly bereaved, years down the line, or supporting someone through grief, I think you’ll find something in Julie’s story that resonates.

As always, if this episode speaks to you, I’d love to hear from you.

You can find me on Instagram at @widowed_af or visit the website at www.widowedaf.com.

When Charlotte’s husband Josh died suddenly from SADS (Sudden Adult Death Syndrome), she was just 32 years old.

One ordinary Monday morning, Josh went for a run, came home, started work and then, without warning, collapsed and died. Hours later, Charlotte found him at home while their two-year-old daughter waited downstairs.

In this deeply moving episode, Charlotte shares the reality of navigating life just nine months after losing the love of her life. We talk about the trauma of finding Josh, the crushing guilt that followed, and the endless questions that come when someone young and healthy dies without explanation.

Charlotte speaks candidly about raising a toddler who is beginning to ask questions about her dad, the fear of living with uncertainty after a sudden death, and the challenge of rebuilding a life that no longer resembles the one she planned.

We also discuss EMDR, grief therapy, widowhood in your thirties, learning to parent alone, and why connecting with other widowed people can make all the difference.

This is a conversation about devastating loss, but also about love, resilience and finding hope when life has been turned completely upside down.

If you’ve ever wondered how someone survives the unimaginable, this episode is for you.