The Widow's Collective
The Widow’s Collective is where grief meets hope, healing, and community. Hosted by grief coach and widow, Lauren Lentz, each episode offers tender reflections, real conversations, and practical tools to help you navigate life after loss. Whether you’re in the depths of early grief or learning to reimagine your life in the “after,” you’ll find a gentle space to land here — one that honors your story, your pace, and your humanity.
Episodes
37 episodes
EPISODE 36: "Will My Child Be Ruined By This?" - Parenting Through Grief After Loss with Jessica Correnti
One of the biggest fears many widowed parents carry after the death of a spouse is this:"Will my child be ruined by this?"When your child loses a parent, it's natural to worry about what this loss will mean for them long-te...
Episode 35: Learning To Trust Yourself Again After Loss
After the death of a spouse, many widows don’t just lose the person they love — they also lose their sense of safety, predictability, and trust in themselves.In this episode, we explore the invisible ways grief impacts self-trust and why...
EPISODE 34: “The Pressure To Do Grief ‘Right’"
So many grieving women quietly carry the pressure to do widowhood “correctly.”To cope correctly.To heal correctly.To move forward correctly.To parent correctly.To honor their person correctly.But grief is not a per...
EPISODE 33: “The Parts of You That Existed With Him” (Identity Loss After the Death of a Spouse — Part 3)
In this final episode of the identity loss series, we explore one of the most tender and complicated parts of grief after the death of a partner:The experience of feeling like certain parts of you only existed because they did… ...
BONUS EPISODE: Mother's Day In The After
Mother’s Day after the death of a spouse is not a simple day.It is layered.It is emotional.It is often holding multiple truths at once.In this bonus episode, we talk about what it actually means to move through Mother’s Da...
Episode 32: “There Is No Going Back to Normal” (Identity Loss After the Death of a Spouse — Part 2)
In this episode, we take a deeper look at what it actually means to live inside identity loss after the death of a spouse.Because while grief is often talked about in terms of emotion—what you feel, how you process, how you “move through...
Episode 31: “A Piece of Me Died When He Did” (Identity Loss After the Death of a Spouse — Part 1)
In this first episode of the series, we’re exploring something that many widows quietly recognize but rarely have space to fully unpack:The experience of identity loss after the death of a spouse.Not just grief in the emotional se...
Episode 30: The Quiet Ways Suffering Takes Root in Widowhood
In this episode…I explore why suffering becomes such a common (and often misunderstood) part of widowhood and early grief and how it can quietly take root not just as pain, but as meaning, identity, and even connection.This...
Episode 29: When You May Look Okay… But You’re Not
Episode Description:There’s a moment in grief when the outside world begins to respond to you differently.You’re getting out of bed.You’re showing up for your kids.You’re going to work, answering messages, maybe eve...
Episode 28: If I Could Sit Beside The Version of Me That Was Newly Widowed… This Is What I Would Say
In this deeply personal episode, I slow things down and return to the earliest version of myself: the one who had just lost Kevin, the one who didn’t know how she would survive.After sharing a post that resonated deeply within the widow ...
Episode 27: When Grief Feels Like 10 Steps Forward… and 20 Steps Back
In this episode of The Widow’s Collective Podcast, Lauren explores one of the most confusing and challenging aspects of grief: the feeling of taking steps forward only to be pulled back by unexpected waves of pain.If you’ve ever...
Episode 26: Kevin's Birthday...And The Weight Milestones Still Carry
In this episode of The Widow’s Collective Podcast, I share a personal reflection on Kevin’s birthday — what would have been his 43rd — and explore why certain milestone days in grief never quite lose their weight.Grief doesn’t f...
Episode 25: The Hard Truth About Grief and Life
In today’s episode, we explore the often unspoken reality that both life and grief are not meant to feel effortless — even though we’re often told they should.This conversation gently challenges the idea that healing should feel good, ea...
Episode 24: Secondary Losses — The Death of the Life You Thought You’d Have
When a partner dies, the loss extends far beyond their physical absence.In this episode, Lauren explores secondary losses — the often invisible grief that comes from losing the future you thought you were building together....
Episode 23: “Who Am I Now That He's Gone?"
In today’s episode, we explore a question that often surfaces in widowhood, whether weeks, months, or years after loss:Who am I now that he’s gone?This isn’t a question with a quick answer. It’s not something to solve. It’s...
Episode 22: Wanting To Be Seen, Scared To Be Held
There’s a quiet tension many widows carry:We long to be seen. And we’re scared to be held.In this episode, I explore the vulnerability of being witnessed in grief — why it can feel threatening to let others see the depth ...
Episode 21: Reimagining Love and Life After Loss
Episode 21: Reimagining Love and Life After LossWhen a partner dies, it’s not only the past that breaks open — it’s the future you thought you were living toward.In this episode, Lauren gently explores what it means to reimagine l...
Episode 20: Coming Back Home To Yourself
When we lose a partner, we don’t just lose the person we loved — we lose the orientation we had to life itself.In this episode, I explore what it means to come back home to yourself after loss — not by trying to “find t...
Episode 19: Valentine’s Day in the After
Valentine’s Day can land very differently in widowhood — whether it once meant everything, or barely registered at all.In this episode, I’m sitting with the tenderness of love-centered days after loss. We talk about why days like Valenti...
Episode 18: The Love That Still Lives Here
February can bring up complicated emotions for widows — especially as love is publicly framed through romance, couple-hood, and celebration. In this episode, Lauren offers a spacious, honest conversation about the kind of love that doesn’t disa...
Episode 17: Finding the Right Kind of Support for You
In this little bonus episode of the support series, Lauren explores how to choose grief support that actually meets you where you are—without pressure, comparison, or urgency.If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by your options, unsure...
Episode 16: What Do Love Languages and Support Have in Common?
Episode 16: What Do Love Languages and Support Have in Common?(Or: Why Good Intentions Can Still Miss in Grief)Grief changes the way support is given, received, and understood. In this episode, we explore why even the most ...
Episode 15: When You Don’t Know What You Need (And Why That’s Okay)
In this episode, we’re talking about something that comes up for so many people in grief—especially early on—when others ask, “What do you need?” and your mind goes completely blank.Not knowing how to answer doesn’t mean you’re ...