widowhood

'Islam is meant to be practiced by human beings who are flawed and in pain, who struggle to succeed but sometimes fail, and who return to God after those failures.'

These words were birthed from pain, on a journey of healing and understanding, words spoken by today’s special guest, Asmaa Hussein.

Lately, my duas have been accompanied by a tear soaked prayer mat. Moments of reflection where I unload every burden weighing heavy on my heart. Nights where I allow my heart to speak on my behalf and mornings where I wake up feeling a bit more lighter knowing that my Creator is the only Being that understands the wishes that lie beneath my tongue and the wounds my tears may still carry. 

In this timely episode, I had a very personal and intimate conversation with Asmaa regarding her most recent post that had gone viral where she had shared her relationship with her hijab. 

Asmaa is an author, blogger and  mother - just to name  a few of her successful endeavors. If you take one look at her writing, from her books to her online  posts, your heart would have no choice but to be enveloped with words that will deeply move you.

I wanted to explore the notion of doing things for the sake of Allah and what that means to Asmaa in regards to her personal choice of wearing the hijab.

We both discuss our experiences with making dua and the beauty that lies behind what Allah has planned for us even if at times we may not understand how or why certain things unfold. Asmaa shares with us the wisdom she has gathered from her experiences dealing with motherhood and widowhood.

This conversation led us to the topic of the Hereafter and how we can navigate this dunya with this on our minds - knowing that one day we will exist in another realm.

And so, Asmaa left me with these words that sent a chill down my spine:

Imagine your voice being known in the heavens.

Enjoy and follow the pod on Instagram:
@unsweetenedandunfiltered

Follow Asmaa Hussein on Instagram:
@ruqayas.bookshelf

Check out Asmaa's bookstore  here:
www.ruqayasbookshelf.com

This conversation has it all! Bridget talks to Angie Wilson, a friend in town who has incredible insight on marriage, dating, widowhood, and mortality. They talk deconstruction, life, purpose, what we deserve and perspective. 

What does it mean to be single? To be an adult? To be true to yourself? To hold weird seasons in tension?
We cover a lot in this episode, because as it seems, widowhood can teach us a lot! 

IG: @soladaritypodcast
Email: soldaritypodcast@gmail.com
Music: @night.weather

Thanks as always to Mike Almeroth for the Intro/Outro music!

Instagram: @soldaritypodcast or @thebridgetgee

Find my book "Single, Just Because" anywhere you find books!

This episode contains strong language and references to sex and drugs. Listener discretion is advised.

In Episode 10 of Laugh at the Odds Podcast with Heidi and Dave, we speak with New York comedian and COVID-19 widower, Rich Kiamco, on grief and humor. We also discuss the circumstances of his partner Sandy's passing, from his COVID positive diagnosis to his quick decline, as well as the unique challenges that widowed members of the LGBTQIA+ community face, such as disenfranchised grief.

ABOUT OUR GUEST:
 
Rich Kiamco has appeared on The Howard Stern Show, The Wendy Williams Show and he's opened for Gilbert Gottfried and Louie Anderson in Las Vegas. He received standing ovations at FACT: Filipino Americans Coming Together, the largest midwest conference of Fil-Am students and at True Colors, the world's largest LGBTQ youth conference. He can be seen on BuzzFeed's Follow This on Netflix and was pictured on the cover of the NYTimes with The ManKind Project, an international nonprofit mens organization promoting healthy masculinity and emotional growth and his WTY (We There Yet?) Podcast is on ITunes.

OUR GUEST'S LINKS:

https://youtu.be/yh9P2KG7Cdw
https://www.instagram.com/richkiamco/
https://www.RichKiamco.com
info@RichKiamco.com

ABOUT LAUGH AT THE ODDS:

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/LaughAtTheOddsPodcastWithHeidiDave
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BUY AS A COFFEE: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/laughattheodds

In Episode 8 of Laugh at the Odds Podcast with Heidi and Dave, we speak with Kristin Meekhof about her work as a therapist, wellness coach, and her writing. We will delve into the research she did for her work and what she learned about resilience and storytelling from speaking with widows around the world.

ABOUT OUR GUESTS:

Kristin Meekhof is a licensed master's level social worker, co- author of the best-selling book, "A Widow's Guide to Healing" (Sourcebooks, 2015), a life coach and a resilience and wellness expert. She helps people share their message and expand their reach with integrity and authenticity. Kristin has advised some of the most influential people in the media and politics.

https://www.kristinmeekhof.com/

WHERE TO PURCHASE "A WIDOW'S GUIDE TO HEALING"

Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Books a Million
Indie Bound

ABOUT LAUGH AT THE ODDS:

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Subscriber-only episode

Are you blending families and wondering what on earth you 'signed up' for? Are you craving an ordinary family life?  Perhaps you find yourself  Chasing Ordinary. Listen in as Prissy brightens our space, shining light on triumphs and challenges we all experience in our families. Prissy shares about the power of pushing through limiting beliefs, practicing forgiveness, and how persistence pays off when studying your craft. (When's the last time you thought of blended family parenting as a craft?!)

Our children are on the blended journey with us, as we shake the illusions of perfection and embrace the imperfect goodness we are offered each day.  Many days are hard in a stepfamily, I know, especially for the children. I dedicate this episode to Prissy's daughters, Garrett and Sara Britton. I feel like I know so much about you while in truth, I know very little. For those beautiful pieces your momma shared in her memoirs, I am grateful. Her love for you is undeniable!

You can find Prissy Elrod's books, blog, and other goodies on her website.

Ready to INVEST in your RELATIONSHIP?  Sign up for Blended Bootcamp! May 14-May 15.  Get on the list at stepfamilypodcast.com!

Looking for Part 1 of this wonderful interview?  You can find it here.

Take Your Power Back & Reclaim Your Joy, FAST! www.stepfamilypodcast.com/WorkWithJen
📞Get Featured on the show! Ask Jen Anything
Next steps:
Step 1: Join the Empowered Community bit.ly/joyfulwithjen
Step 2: BUILD BETTER BOUNDARIES! Powerful Free Handbook + Bonuses!
Step 3: De-Stress Planning - Celebrations Guide! bit.ly/CelebrateWithJen
Step 4: Top 10 tips to Regain Your Power & Prevent Burnout Free Download!
Step 5: Peaceful Co-Parenting Strategies that Work-Mini Workshop $97

Be strong, and let your heart be courageous, all you who put your hope in the Lord.
Psalm 31:24

Subscriber-only episode

Jen: "Complete this sentence: Your life is fine on a Tuesday when you're folding laundry, and then..."

Prissy: "Nothing's ordinary again. The earth shifted and my balance, once solidly grounded, was pretty much lost."

Does this sound like what happened to you when you blended your families together? Is your blended life, Far Outside The Ordinary? Listen in as Prissy shares a bit of her journey as she lives out the message God has given her.  As Prissy says, "The mess is the message and if you want to be grateful, you've got to go through the mess."

I dedicate this episode to the memory of Prissy's dear family friend and caregiver, Cornelius Duhart. It is often through the care of others that we learn the most about what we truly need.

You can find Prissy Elrod's books, blog, and other goodies on her website.

Ready to INVEST in your RELATIONSHIP?  Sign up for Blended Bootcamp! May 14-May 15.  Get on the list at stepfamilypodcast.com!

P.S. Here's the homework (And make no mistake about it! Blending is work....it's work at home!).
1.      How committed are you to moving forward in your blended family right now?
2.     What one action could you take in the next 24 hours, that would demonstrate your commitment to your family and aligns with your values?

Wanting Part 2?  Listen in here!

Take Your Power Back & Reclaim Your Joy, FAST! www.stepfamilypodcast.com/WorkWithJen
📞Get Featured on the show! Ask Jen Anything
Next steps:
Step 1: Join the Empowered Community bit.ly/joyfulwithjen
Step 2: BUILD BETTER BOUNDARIES! Powerful Free Handbook + Bonuses!
Step 3: De-Stress Planning - Celebrations Guide! bit.ly/CelebrateWithJen
Step 4: Top 10 tips to Regain Your Power & Prevent Burnout Free Download!
Step 5: Peaceful Co-Parenting Strategies that Work-Mini Workshop $97

Be strong, and let your heart be courageous, all you who put your hope in the Lord.
Psalm 31:24

In Episode 7 of Laugh at the Odds Podcast with Heidi and Dave, we speak with Desiree’ Tulsidai Kinney and learn about her passions and how devoting her time and energy to them has impacted her grief and healing.

ABOUT OUR GUESTS:

Desiree’ Tulsidai Kinney is the CEO and Founder of The Business Matchmaker. She serves in Wealth Management at a Fortune 500 in New York City, and is an Empowerment Speaker, Career Coach, and Media/TV Personality. As seen on CBS2 News, NY1 News, News 12, Fox Business, InvestmentNews, ZeeTV, and TVAsia, she has also spoken at the likes of Fortune 500 Firms across the Financial industry. Her specialty speaking topics are: She Means Business, Are You Linked In or Linked Out?, Personal Branding for Business Owners or Executives, and the Art of Networking. She is a panelist for Brooklyn Savvy TV and the former Co-Host of the Discover a New Future Show. She is also currently a Host of the Work Your Money podcast and her segment is entitled "Women and Men In Business Who Rock".

https://www.thebusinessmatchmaker.org/

ABOUT LAUGH AT THE ODDS:

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/LaughAtTheOddsPodcastWithHeidiDave
INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/laughattheoddspodcast
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BUY AS A COFFEE: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/laughattheodds

In Episode 6 of Laugh at the Odds Podcast with Heidi and Dave, we start our mini-series on grief and race, and how the latter impacts various ethnic and racial groups differently. This week, we focus on how Asians and Asian Americans grieve, seek help, and heal from their losses.

We also talk about the model minority myth, and how this notion and the expectations thrust upon us Asians are detrimental to not just our healing and recovery from grief as widows, but also in our everyday lives, particularly in how we seek help and report crimes in light of the increased violence that’s now finally being reported at a national and even international scale

Search for Laugh at the Odds Podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcast, or your favorite podcast player.

ABOUT OUR GUESTS:

Allie Espanto-Mock, 51, was widowed in 2007 when her husband Stan was killed in a motorcycle accident. Rooted in Oakland, California and is the solo parent of her 2 daughters 18 and 21. Having worked in the Social Services field for over 25 years, she is ready to be an empty nester, travel and enjoy life with no regrets.

Lynn Nguyen was widowed from her late husband Can in 2015. She currently works as a project manager in IT Finance and recently relocated from Texas to beautiful Clearwater, Florida, where she raises her two boys now aged 5 and 10 and catches sunsets whenever they can.

Heidi Gutierrez joined this club that nobody wants to join, back in 2014, when her husband Arnel passed from a pulmonary embolism while cycling near their home in Scotch Plains, NJ. Today, she is surrounded by many friends in and outside the widowed community, including her new family consisting of Dave, Benji, and her two fur babies, Ziggy and Xena.

ABOUT LAUGH AT THE ODDS:

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/LaughAtTheOddsPodcastWithHeidiDave
INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/laughattheoddspodcast
LINKTREE: https://linktr.ee/LaughAtTheOddsPodcast
BUY AS A COFFEE: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/laughattheodds

In Episode 5 of Laugh at the Odds Podcast with Heidi and Dave, we speak with Kelley Lynn - actor, comedian, TED Talk speaker, author and a recently remarried widow - about her iconic 2017 TED Talk about grief, which garnered 1 and a half million views, and nearly 6000 comments on YouTube. We also talk about the importance of language and how it shapes our perspectives, which in turn shape our world. And we also discuss her book, her wedding in the time of COVID, and how she pays it forward to honor her late husband, Don.

ABOUT OUR GUEST:

Kelley Lynn is an actor, comedian, TEDx talk speaker, and author of the book "My Husband Is not a Rainbow: the brutally awful, hilarious truth about life, love, grief, and loss.", which is available on Amazon or direct through Kelley’s website at www.akelleylynnlife.com

Kelley was widowed suddenly at age 39 in 2011 when her husband Don went into cardiac arrest at the young age of 46. Since then, Kelley has used her writing, comedic, and speaking talents to help others process through loss. She is a featured presenter at the Soaring Spirits International annual event "Camp Widow", does book signing events at various venues, and will be an upcoming speaker at the SSF-IIIHS (or Spiritual Science Fellowship - International Institute of Integral Human Sciences) International Conference in Montreal, Canada in August 2021.

Kelley recently remarried in a private, COVID-safe, Facebook LIVE wedding ceremony on New Year’s Eve 2020. She currently lives with her husband Nicholas in Fitchburg, Massachusetts.

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/kelleylynn
INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/kelleyiskelley

ABOUT LAUGH AT THE ODDS:

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/LaughAtTheOddsPodcastWithHeidiDave
INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/laughattheoddspodcast
LINKTREE: https://linktr.ee/LaughAtTheOddsPodcast
BUY AS A COFFEE: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/laughattheodds

In Episode 4 of Laugh at the Odds Podcast with Heidi and Dave, we explore what it’s like for three healthcare warriors to work with COVID patients while grieving and healing from their own losses. Through our show, we give them a platform to share their experiences, and hold space for them as they talk about not just the challenges they face as recent widows, but also process how their own experiences with loss have helped them become better nurses and social workers who interface daily with patients nearing end of life, as well as the loved ones who are facing tough decisions and difficult days ahead.


ABOUT OUR GUESTS:

Jillian Bosinius is 43 years old and her journey began when Tony passed suddenly in January 2019. She has been a Social Worker in the field of Long Term Care for 22 years. She has experience working with those persons who have suffered a life changing health event requiring rehabilitation as well as those who are at the end of their life.  Another avenue of her career includes being an EMT since 2000. The experience of these careers coupled together has allowed her to see life and loss from a unique viewpoint. Neither of those could have prepared her for the lessons she would learn navigating this pandemic without the love and support of her significant other by her side.

Karen Leibowitz was married to Eliot for 3 years, and together for six. He passed away 6 months ago in August 2020, after suffering from pancreatic cancer. Karen is a Registered Nurse on a telemetry unit for a Long Island hospital. She works with all types of patients who require continuous cardiac and oxygen monitoring including COVID- positive patients.

Dorothy Michaels was married to Stu Michaels for 15 years and together for 22. Stu passed away of lung cancer in June 2020, after being sick for 9 months. She is an Adult Geriatric Nurse Practitioner with a sub specialty and certification in Wound and Ostomy care. She works in an acute care hospital on Long Island.


ABOUT LAUGH AT THE ODDS:

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/LaughAtTheOddsPodcastWithHeidiDave
INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/laughattheoddspodcast
LINKTREE: https://linktr.ee/LaughAtTheOddsPodcast
BUY AS A COFFEE: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/laughattheodds

In Episode 3 of Laugh at the Odds Podcast with Heidi and Dave, we have the honor of speaking with Michele Neff Hernandez, who founded Soaring Spirits International in 2008, three years after losing her husband in a sudden and unexpected cycling accident. We sit down and talk about how she turned her tragic loss, and her personal need to find other widows, into a mission of connecting people. This consequently created the ripple effect of a worldwide community and a nonprofit that has served over four million widows and widowers, through various programs such as Camp Widow, Widowed Village, Widowed Pen Pals, the Resilience Center, and an upcoming book entitled, "Different After You," just to name a few.


ABOUT OUR GUEST:

Michele Neff Hernandez is the founder, and CEO of Soaring Spirits International. Michele founded the Soaring Spirits Resilience Center at Schreiner University in Kerrville Texas and serves as the center’s Director. She is a speaker, writer, and community activist and has received local, state, and national recognition for her work in founding Soaring Spirits. She is also the author of the upcoming book Different After You which will be published by New World Library in February of  2022. Michele resides in Simi Valley, California with her three amazing kids, one great son-in-law and one very Australian husband.

ABOUT LAUGH AT THE ODDS:

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/LaughAtTheOddsPodcastWithHeidiDave
INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/laughattheoddspodcast
LINKTREE: https://linktr.ee/LaughAtTheOddsPodcast
BUY AS A COFFEE: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/laughattheodds

In Episode 2 of Laugh at the Odds Podcast with Heidi and Dave, we sit down with a small, tightknit group of widows and one widower who found each other and formed deep bonds and likely lifelong friendships. We explore how they crossed paths and gained a sense of community and helped each other heal.

ABOUT OUR GUESTS:

1) Lynn Nguyen was widowed from her late husband Can in 2015. She currently works as a project manager in IT Finance and recently relocated from Texas to beautiful Clearwater, Florida, where she raises her two boys now aged 5 and 10 and catches sunsets whenever they can.

2) Ariana Hilario is 40 years old, from New York City. She lost her fiancé, Felix, in 2011 after a 3-year battle with Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Today, Ariana is a loving meow-my to Cleo the Calico, and has been in a loving relationship for a year and a half.

3) Daniel is a 37-year-old widower closing in on the 4-year mark, who still struggles with the loss of his wife, Lauren. However, he is leaps and bounds better than he was when he started out. He is a fur dad to a maltipoo named Buffy the puppy slayer and also the world’s best hugger.

4) Jaclyn Martinez is a 33-year-old solo mother to an 11-year-old son. Her journey began in 2016, when she lost the love of her life, David, to gun violence in Long Island. She enjoys moon gazing, carrying crystals in her bra, and all things spiritual.

5) Mayra Parra is 36 years old from New Jersey. Her journey began in 2017, when she suddenly lost her beloved boyfriend Joe. In hopes of a fresh start, she moved to Chicago in 2019, where she continued her HR career, but is in the process of relocating to New York. Recently engaged to her fiancé Armando she is looking forward to being back closer to her wid tribe, her friends, and family.

6) Mimi Rodeiro, originally from New Jersey, transplanted to Florida in 1982 with family. The love of her life, Felix, happened to have moved there just prior. Long story short, they broke up, and 30 years passed. They reconnected in 2011, but tragically in 2013, Felix suddenly and unexpectedly passed from Pulmonary Thrombosis. After years of trying to heal, but meeting broken men in the process, Mimi finally met her next chapter in December of 2018. She is now happily in love again, with a successful career, and a new life. She took a chance at starting her next chapter, and in November 2019, moved from Tampa to Near Miami to start her life with her new partner in crime, Henry.

7) Heidi Gutierrez joined this club that nobody wants to join, back in 2014, when her husband Arnel passed from a pulmonary embolism while cycling near their home in Scotch Plains, NJ. Today, she is surrounded by many friends in and outside the widowed community, including her family consisting of me, Dave, our boy Benji, and our two fur babies, Ziggy and Xena.

ABOUT LAUGH AT THE ODDS:

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/LaughAtTheOddsPodcastWithHeidiDave
INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/laughattheoddspodcast
LINKTREE: https://linktr.ee/LaughAtTheOddsPodcast
BUY AS A COFFEE: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/laughattheodds

In Episode 000: Who, What, and Why - Getting to Know your Hosts, Dave and I talk about who we are, what our podcast is about, why we decided to create this podcast, and why we are launching on Valentine's Day. Also, we received so many questions from you, our listeners, and we will do our best to answer them truthfully in this episode.
 
 ABOUT LAUGH AT THE ODDS:
 
 FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/LaughAtTheOddsPodcastWithHeidiDave
INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/laughattheoddspodcast
LINKTREE: https://linktr.ee/LaughAtTheOddsPodcast
BUY AS A COFFEE: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/laughattheodds

Trailer for our new podcast.

“We are here to laugh at the odds and live our lives so well that Death will tremble to take us.”*

Named after the above Charles Bukowski quote on the meaning of life, Laugh at the Odds is a he said/she said podcast about surviving the loss of a partner or spouse through the lens of a young, interracial widowed couple.

•••••

Heidi and Dave are two halves of a widowed couple, having lost Arnel in 2014 and Bianca in 2017, respectively. In this podcast, we offer our perspectives as two young widows who individually found strength and joy post-loss, and unexpectedly found love with each other after two years of platonic friendship. We speak with other widows and widowers (“wids” for short) who are solo parents, entrepreneurs, writers, counselors, COVID healthcare workers, comedians, dancers, singers, and self-proclaimed “wid-hos.” Dave is Dada to a sardonic and intelligent six-year-old boy, Benji, and Heidi is Momma to two adopted mini schnauzers, Ziggy and Xena. Together they raise and shuttle their family between their two homes in New Jersey.

Follow, like, and subscribe!
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Planet Poet – Words in Space PODCAST!  LISTEN to my WIOX radio conversation with poet and award-winning visual artist Pamela Manché Pearce, Planet Poet’s intrepid Poet-At-Large, on her poignant and powerful debut chapbook Widowland, published by Green Bottle Press, London (2018).  Pamela’s work has appeared in ArsMedica (Toronto); The Brooklyn Review, Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art’s “Between I and Thou” exhibition compilation; Mondo Greco, Samba, The Widows’ Handbook: Poetic Reflections on Grief and Survival and most recently Nowhere Magazine.  

 “The theme of loss and grief, of courage, are hardly new; and even to acknowledge more recognition now than in previous moments seems like a precarious approach. But there is a canon and Pearce arrives in it with her exquisite verse.”

            -- Greg Bem, YELLOW RABBITS REVIEW

 Poet and publicist Brandon Amico also appears on the show, sharing valuable tips on how poets can best publicize their work.

Yours in Radio, Sharon

Sharon Israel hosts Planet Poet - Words In Space, airing monthly on WIOX radio Tuesdays at 1pm EST. 91.3 FM. For streaming on-line click on www.WIOXradio.org. or http://tinyurl.com/wioxcatskills. Best with Chrome or Foxfire.

Visit Sharon's website: https://www.sharonisraelpoet.com/

Rachel Faulkner Brown lost her first husband to an aneurysm and her second husband to an Air Force plane accident, all by the age of 31. Rachel has walked the path of searing loss, but through Jesus has found hope for her today. Now Rachel leads Be Still Ministries, which serves widows in their journey to healing and hope.

http://heatherjjonsson.com/

Elinor Hamilton talks to Katy Maw, whose voice guides shoppers to the latest offers in the supermarket - and elsewhere. She sounds perfectly composed and tantalisingly persuasive... but it hasn't always been this way. Recorded in March 2020. Produced by Karl Svenson at Tadah Media.

Elinor Hamilton talks to Tom Clarke-Hill, the voice of Tony the Tiger, whose catchphrase on the Kellogg's Frosties TV commercials ("they're grrrreat!") delighted a generation of children.  At home, though, his family life was not so easy. Recorded in April 2020. Produced by Karl Svenson at Tadah Media.

Not Afraid of the Fall, written by Kyle James

Kyle James on Instagram

The Wandering Artist

Bun Intended Food Truck -  Asheville, NC

Music:  Guitaristle by AugustWren | AudioJungle

“She’s 16. She should be in school. She should be with her family. Her letters shouldn’t be censored. Sentences shouldn’t be blacked out. Envelopes shouldn’t be stamped with a swastika. But I guess you can get used to anything.”