Jason opens up about losing his wife Heather unexpectedly, raising a daughter through grief, and the heavy guilt he carried in the years that followed. He shares what helped him heal, including therapy, hard-earned honesty, and learning to put down the things that were numbing the pain instead of helping him face it. The conversation also moves into something many widowed parents wrestle with but don’t always talk about openly: dating again, loving again, and blending a family while still honoring the spouse who died. This is a raw, grounded episode about healing, health, parenting, and what it means to keep living when life did not go the way you planned.

Ready for more than just listening? Explore the CLIMB framework and support options at https://solodad.life/

What happens when grief doesn’t just visit once—when it repeats? In this conversation, Michael Chapman and Matt talk through the kind of loss that changes your nervous system: sitting in a hospital room watching “a repeat of history,” the exhaustion that makes reality blur, and the moment a nurse gives permission to step away—because sometimes that’s when it happens.

They get into the parts people rarely say out loud: the numbness that shows up as a survival skill, the impossible job of telling your kids their mom is gone, and the ongoing tug-of-war between holding it together and actually feeling it. Michael shares how writing became a way to carry the story—how a Facebook “vent” turned into a book, and why finishing it felt like setting down a heavy weight.

Book available here: https://www.amazon.com/Two-Days-Calendar-Life-Lessons/dp/B0DK6DFT5D

Ready for more than just listening? Explore the CLIMB framework and support options at https://solodad.life/podcast/

In Part 1 of this two-part conversation, Michael Chapman—an author and twice-widowed dad—shares what it’s like to love, lose, and keep showing up. From walking through terminal cancer to the shock of the silence after, Michael opens up about grief waves, “two dates on the calendar,” and the moment he realized moving forward isn’t forgetting—it’s surviving.

Book Available here:

https://www.amazon.com/Two-Days-Calendar-Life-Lessons/dp/B0DK6DFT5D

Ready for more than just listening? Explore the CLIMB framework and support options at https://solodad.life/podcast/