The Widow's Handbook
@widowshandbook.bsky.social
http://thewidowshandbook.com - a guide to being widowed from someone who's been there This is not the life I planned but it's the one I have and I'm living it the best I can Helen Bailey blog award winner 2022 #widow #youngwidow #grief #support #LGBTQ
On Radio 4 this morning - Matthew Syed's Sideways on complicated grief and forgiveness. The Hands of Forgiveness tells the story of a shooting at an Amish school, the response of the Amish community, and their care for the wife & family of the gunman. www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
Sending love on Mothering Sunday to widows who didn’t get to be mums or who lost a partner who didn’t get to be a mum. Who are being mums, or both mums & dads, alone. Who are dealing with child or parent loss or estrangement as well as losing a partner. www.thewidowshandbook.com/home/motheri...
I've found that the spoon theory works for grief. Early on in grief I was so tired that my bones hurt, which took away physical spoons. I also had widow brain, which took away mental spoons. And my number of spoons changed from day to day. www.thewidowshandbook.com/home/the-spo...
For LGBT+ History Month (#LGBTplusHM), Jo Sedley-Burke & I chatted about the 1980s, the HIV/AIDS crisis, grief, queer widowhood & my book Dancing in Heaven, interspersed by the barks of my born-deaf show cocker spaniel. Hope you enjoy it as much as we did. www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9Xz...
WAY Widowed and Young is celebrating LGBT+ History Month with a quiz celebrating the journey of the LGBTQIA+ community from the past to present day. It's open to all WAY members and supporters and there's a prize! #LGBTplusHM www.surveymonkey.com/r/S7HRDLM
It’s 8 years tomorrow since Tim's death & the anniversary hits differently each year. Year 1 was raw. Year 4 a friend died & it brought it all back. Year 5, grief was a quiet companion rather than a bleeding wound. This year is unexpectedly hard www.thewidowshandbook.com/home/eight-y...
New work - not quite finished but soon. With words by Louisa May Alcott. I love greens, purples and whites together. Roll on bluebells, stitchwort and spring.
It's Valentine's day tomorrow & that can be a tough day for a #widow. It can feel like everyone has a significant other when yours has gone. Even for those with a new partner, it can feel conflicting. Take very good care of yourself today and tomorrow. www.thewidowshandbook.com/home/valenti...
It's Valentine's day tomorrow & that can be a tough day for a #widow. It can feel like everyone has a significant other when yours has gone. Even for those with a new partner, it can feel conflicting. Take very good care of yourself today and tomorrow. www.thewidowshandbook.com/home/valenti...
Sleep can be so hard for a #widow - your head is full of #grief, spinning thoughts and tough memories, and you may have nightmares. Here are some things that helped me www.thewidowshandbook.com/home/hints-a...
WAY Widowed and Young's LGBTQIA+ Diversity Working Group is busy planning activities for LGBT+ History Month 2025. There's an LGBT+ History Quiz with a prize live now, open to WAY members and non-members. www.widowedandyoung.org.uk/get-support/...
Thinking of all of you new widows. The early days are so exhausting. Sleep when you can. Eat what you can, when you can, and drink lots of water. One moment, one breath and one step at a time. #griefthreads
Sending love to all of you who lost partners through cancer, today (and every day) www.thewidowshandbook.com/home/world-c...
As well as writing fiction I also write about grief at The Widow's Handbook (@widowshandbook.bsky.social) and loved Cariad Lloyd's Griefcast
The Author, Séamas O'Reilly@seamas.bsky.social · 9mo agoAs part of National Grief Awareness Week, I'm re-sharing my favourite interview I ever did about grief. It was with Cariad Lloyd for her excellent - and much missed - Griefcast, a show that got closer to the horror, humour and healing of grief than any other. shows.acast.com/griefcast/ep...
One of the things I found after Tim died was how friendship groups shift. I’ve newly come across the concept of firefighters and builders. Sometimes these can be the same people, but often they are different. This idea helped me understand. www.thewidowshandbook.com/home/firefig... #widow #Grief
The best piece of advice I was given after my husband died suddenly was 'one moment, one breath and one step at a time'. Its still valid nearly 8 years on. #grief
CW: child loss This is horrific but utterly vital investigative journalism. So many layers - the brainwashing power of social media; the transition from feminist to tradwife via flat-earthism; the distrust of life-saving medicine - but at the heart of this is avoidable tragedy & unfathomable grief.
Influencers made millions pushing ‘wild’ births – now the Free Birth Society is linked to baby deaths around the world
A year-long investigation reveals how mothers lost children after being radicalised by uplifting podcast tales of births without midwives or doctors
theguardian.com
Preorders are now live reconnectingrainbows.co.uk/book/dih/
Dancing in Heaven – Reconnecting Rainbows Press
reconnectingrainbows.co.uk
The Widow's Handbook@widowshandbook.bsky.social · 11mo agoThis is what I have been working on - Dancing in Heaven - celebrating the strength, #grief, anger, love & loss of the women who were there during the 1980s #HIV/AIDS crisis. See link for launches in London (1 Dec, #WorldAIDSDay) & Scarborough 6 Dec www.thehouseofcorrection.com/dancing-in-h...
I find the darkness of #winter hard to deal with, especially as it's the lead up to #milestones: Tim's birthday, #Christmas, #NewYear and then the anniversary of his death. Here are a few things that I have found helpful: https://www.thewidowshandbook.com/home/in-the-bleak-midwinter #grief #widow
This is what I have been working on - Dancing in Heaven - celebrating the strength, #grief, anger, love & loss of the women who were there during the 1980s #HIV/AIDS crisis. See link for launches in London (1 Dec, #WorldAIDSDay) & Scarborough 6 Dec www.thehouseofcorrection.com/dancing-in-h...
I live with depression & have since my teens. It is well-managed, though sometimes it breaks through. Thinking of those who struggle or can't find help. Thank you to the friends, family and professionals who look after us. #WorldMentalHealthDay #WorldMentalHealthDay2025 #1in4
“I’d rather try being distracted… Grief is handled differently by everyone.”
tempo 🎶@lmn-001.bsky.social · last yr.“I. . . know that.” [Well, sort of. She couldn’t exactly relate. She holds onto Tron’s hand for a few seconds before letting go.] “Would you. . like to talk about her? Or is a distraction preferable. .? I am unsure of how to approach ‘grief.’”
Clearing out after someone dies is hard #widow #grief From The Guardian - Sort as you go and don’t rush: six steps to clearing out a loved one’s home when they die www.theguardian.com/money/2025/s...
Sort as you go and don’t rush: six steps to clearing out a loved one’s home when they die
From telling the insurers to accepting you may need to get the experts in, tips on dealing with the deceased’s property
theguardian.com
"After 3 months, peoples' lives have changed, they've moved on, but your entire world has changed." Dr Bill Webster on #grief #loss #mourning open.spotify.com/episode/66cV...
Episode 67: Dr Bill Webster
open.spotify.com
Writing got me through #grief. While it isn't specifically about #writing for #grief, if you are in North Yorkshire in early November come along to my #monologue workshop and see if writing works for you. #WhitbyLitFest #widow whitbylitfest.org.uk/event/suzann...
Suzanne Elvidge – Writing workshop: Writing Monologues That Speak to an Audience - Whitby Lit Fest
Suzanne will guide you through creating a monologue – a story with a single voice – from the idea to the final draft. Whether you are a beginner or an […]
whitbylitfest.org.uk
