In this episode, it’s just me.

I recorded this on Christmas Eve to mark the end of season three and to say thank you. There’s no script and no guest. Just a chance to talk honestly about the year that’s been.

I reflect on winning Gold at the podcast awards and why it still feels surreal. I talk about my marriage ending, going back to solo parenting, and supporting my neurodivergent daughter through school burnout and anxiety. I share how close I came to burning out myself, and what it’s really like trying to hold everything together as the only parent.

I also talk about the Soul Sisters retreat I hosted at my home and how unexpectedly joyful and healing it was. There’s an update on the book, losing a publisher, starting again, and why launching it on the anniversary of Ben’s death feels right.

There’s some laughter, some honesty, and a bit about Christmas and the pressure we put on ourselves to get it right.

If you’ve listened this season, shared an episode, or sent a message, thank you. This podcast exists because of you.

Season four starts in January.

#widowedparent #neurodivergentkids #griefcommunity #healingafterloss #homeschoolinglife #selfpublishingjourney #christmasgrief #podcastawardwinner #griefandresilience #widowedaf

In this episode, Rosie Moss speaks with teacher and young widow Amy Brunt, whose life changed overnight when her husband Max died suddenly from meningococcal septicemia in December 2023. Amy shares their story with candour and affection, beginning with the playful first date where they unknowingly arrived in matching outfits, through marriage, motherhood, and the everyday quirks that made Max unforgettable.

She recounts the joy of their life together, home renovation chaos, and a sunrise proposal, before guiding us through the unbearable shock of Max’s rapid illness. Amy describes navigating emergency care while holding their newborn son, the guilt, the fear, and the moment she held Max’s hand through his final hours. She takes us into the early days of grief with a baby in her arms and a toddler beside her, naming the numbness, the survival, and the night time ritual she still keeps for Lane: “Mommy loves you, Daddy loves you. Daddy is always watching.”

This is an episode about sudden loss, but also about endurance, ritual and community. Amy reflects on solo parenting, loneliness, the unlikely friendships that have buoyed her, and the brutal tension of Christmas after bereavement. It sits with the pain while honouring the love that remains.

• Meeting Max after giving up on online dating

• Their first date, matching outfits and immediate connection

• Eccentric quirks and everyday love

• A wedding, pregnancy and a dream trip to Australia

• Max’s sudden illness and rapid decline

• Amy’s caregiving experience and his final hours

• Parenting young children through loss

• Rituals that keep Max close

• New friendships, support and surviving Christmas

#youngwidow #suddenloss #meningococcalsepticemia #soloparenting #widowedmothers #AmyBrunt #MaxBrunt #bereavement #lifeafterloss #WidowedAF #RosieMoss #griefandmotherhood #healingthroughcommunity #Christmasgrief #widowsupport #griefrituals

In this episode, Rosie Moss speaks with Derek Tweedie about the kind of love that spans continents and decades, and the kind of loss that reshapes what it means to live well.

Derek shares the story of meeting his wife Judy in Edinburgh by chance, falling in love across cassette tapes and long distance phone calls, and building a full life between Scotland and Australia. Their partnership carried them through parenthood, careers and intimate quiet moments before a sudden glioblastoma diagnosis changed everything.

Derek speaks with quiet honesty about Judy’s decline, the eighteen weeks he cared for her at home, and why he sees those days as his greatest achievement. He recalls the community effort that completed Judy’s PhD in her name while she was still able to hear the news, and the beauty threaded through unbearable days.

This is not an episode that offers answers, but presence. Derek reflects on loneliness, the shock of grief, the tentative world of dating again, signs and symbolism, and how literature and landscape help him keep Judy close. Together, he and Rosie explore what it means to give someone a good death, and then to try to live fully afterwards.

Episode Highlights / Show Notes

• A chance meeting in Edinburgh becomes a life partnership

• Long distance love before technology made it easy

• Judy’s abrupt glioblastoma diagnosis and decline

• Derek’s caregiving journey at home

• Community effort to complete Judy’s PhD

• Parenting adult grief and navigating holidays

• Dating again and seeking connection

• Quiet reflections on death, memory and meaning

#widowhood #caregiving #glioblastoma #griefjourney #bereavementpodcast #widowedpartner #lovestory #endoflifecare #gooddeath #parentingthroughloss #lifeaftercaregiving #DerekTweedie #JudyTweedie #RosieMoss #WidowedAF #healingstories #meaningafterloss #findingconnectionagain