The Widow Diaries

What if grief began long before the goodbye?

Lisa Corduff is a speaker, coach, writer, and solo mum, but her journey through grief began years before her husband Nick passed away.

As she puts it, “addiction widowed me” and in this deeply honest conversation, Lisa opens up about loving someone through addiction, navigating solo parenting, and the complex grief of losing someone you’d already started to let go of.

We explore what Nick’s death taught her about life, identity, and rebuilding from the inside out and how she continues to show up for othe...

What if the key to healing after loss… started with your body?

When Paula Hindle lost her husband Chris to suicide in 2013, she was suddenly a solo mother to two small children, with grief in one hand and survival in the other.

But what followed wasn’t just a journey through pain, it was a deep, powerful return to the body, to self-worth, and to the kind of healing that reconnects you to life.

Since then, Paula has dedicated herself to healing – emotionally, physically, and spiritually – and now supports other women in reclaiming their strength...

What happens when the happiest day of your life becomes one of the hardest to face?

For Jodi Carpenter, New Year’s Eve was the day she met her husband Chris, the day they got engaged, and eventually the day they married. But after losing Chris to brain cancer that once-joyful date – like so many others – took on a whole new meaning.

In this tender and wise conversation, Jodi – a second-generation widow, mum of two, and newly minted grandma – reflects on the complicated beauty of anniversaries, the impact of generational grief, and how we carry our people for...

What happens when the life you imagined shatters, but you choose to keep dreaming anyway?

Lauren Leslie Carr became a widow at just 26 when her husband James died only a year into their marriage.

Grieving young and rebuilding her life wasn’t easy, but in the years to come Lauren would find her own way forward, ultimately making the bold and beautiful choice to become a solo mum by choice.

Lauren shares her story with honesty, grace and humour - from navigating early grief and rediscovering herself, to raising her son Max while holding Ja...

What does it mean to truly live after loss?

In this moving and energising episode, we meet Josh Clayton - a shearer, trainer, mindset coach and solo dad from regional NSW who lost his partner Haley to Motor Neurone Disease, when their daughter Stella was just two and a half. 

Since then, Josh has channelled his heartbreak into a mission of health, healing and hope - not only for himself and his daughter, but for the wider community. 

From breaking a world shearing record to becoming a master trainer in Positive Psychology, Josh’s stor...

What do you do when your world shatters, but your children still need bedtime stories and packed lunches?

Megan Daley is an award-winning teacher librarian, author, podcaster, and mother who shares the layered grief of losing her brother, her aunt, and then her husband Dan.

She takes us inside those early days of parenting through heartbreak, how stories helped her daughters process loss, and why she believes books hold a unique power in navigating the unimaginable.

This is an episode about blending families after loss, and what it means to hold space for grief...

What if you could laugh and cry in the same breath while talking about death, grief, and finding love again?

That’s exactly what happens in this heartwarming and honest episode with Claire Scoles – a nurse, mum, and self-proclaimed “collector of husbands” who shares her journey through loss, blended family life, and remarriage after the death of her husband, Chris.

With warmth, wit and insight, Claire reflects on what it means to support a partner through terminal illness, the lessons of palliative care, and the messy, beautiful act of carrying grief and joy together.

This is...

What happens when your whole world is turned upside down just six weeks after saying “I do”?

In this powerful and deeply moving episode, Rebecca Adams shares her story of losing her husband unexpectedly, just days into their marriage and how that profound grief planted the seed for something bigger.

From navigating the weight of widowhood to co-founding First Light Widowed Support, Rebecca talks openly about the healing power of connection, the importance of community, and how she’s helping other young Australian widows feel seen and supported.

This is an episode about transformation, leaders...

The Widow Diaries is a podcast that holds space for the often-unspoken stories of grief, love, and life after loss, as a young widow.

Join journalist and widow Caroline Winter each episode and hear from others who’ve walked the winding path of widowhood in their own way.

The Widow Diaries for First Light Widowed Support is there to support you or someone you know and provides information, resources and connection for young, widowed people throughout Australia.

The Widow Diaries: Where no story is the same – and every story matters. 

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