The Widow's Handbook
@widowshandbook.bsky.social
http://thewidowshandbook.com - a guide to being widowed from someone who's been there
This is not the life I planned but it's the one I have and I'm living it the best I can
Helen Bailey blog award winner 2022
#widow #youngwidow #grief #support #LGBTQ
This is not the life I planned but it's the one I have and I'm living it the best I can
Helen Bailey blog award winner 2022
#widow #youngwidow #grief #support #LGBTQ
I have found that #grief really isn't linear - it's more like a pinball machine
www.thewidowshandbook.com/home/models-...
#widow
www.thewidowshandbook.com/home/models-...
#widow
September 9, 2025 at 8:42 AM
I have found that #grief really isn't linear - it's more like a pinball machine
www.thewidowshandbook.com/home/models-...
#widow
www.thewidowshandbook.com/home/models-...
#widow
was in an odd mood last night. Scritchy. Irritable. I’ve been aware of Tim’s anniversary all month. The ‘this time that year’. It all builds into the run up to the 24th. Somehow, last night, I’d forgotten. But it seems my body hadn’t.
#widow #grief
www.thewidowshandbook.com/home/seven-y...
#widow #grief
www.thewidowshandbook.com/home/seven-y...
February 24, 2025 at 11:11 AM
was in an odd mood last night. Scritchy. Irritable. I’ve been aware of Tim’s anniversary all month. The ‘this time that year’. It all builds into the run up to the 24th. Somehow, last night, I’d forgotten. But it seems my body hadn’t.
#widow #grief
www.thewidowshandbook.com/home/seven-y...
#widow #grief
www.thewidowshandbook.com/home/seven-y...
#ValentinesDay is approaching & it can be tough when you are missing the person you used to celebrate it with. While you may not be able to completely get away from it, here's some ways you can make it easier.
www.thewidowshandbook.com/home/valenti...
#widow #grief
www.thewidowshandbook.com/home/valenti...
#widow #grief
February 4, 2025 at 1:21 PM
#ValentinesDay is approaching & it can be tough when you are missing the person you used to celebrate it with. While you may not be able to completely get away from it, here's some ways you can make it easier.
www.thewidowshandbook.com/home/valenti...
#widow #grief
www.thewidowshandbook.com/home/valenti...
#widow #grief
Seven Deadly Sins of #Widowhood: Greed part 2 (aka I would give it up in a heartbeat)
There are people who believe that #widows live giddily on cashed-in life insurance. But we would rather have our person than all the cash in the world.
www.thewidowshandbook.com/home/seven-d...
#widow #Grief
There are people who believe that #widows live giddily on cashed-in life insurance. But we would rather have our person than all the cash in the world.
www.thewidowshandbook.com/home/seven-d...
#widow #Grief
January 17, 2025 at 10:17 AM
Seven Deadly Sins of #Widowhood: Greed part 2 (aka I would give it up in a heartbeat)
There are people who believe that #widows live giddily on cashed-in life insurance. But we would rather have our person than all the cash in the world.
www.thewidowshandbook.com/home/seven-d...
#widow #Grief
There are people who believe that #widows live giddily on cashed-in life insurance. But we would rather have our person than all the cash in the world.
www.thewidowshandbook.com/home/seven-d...
#widow #Grief
Seven Deadly Sins of Widowhood: Greed part 1 (aka no, I don't want to steal your husband)
There's a myth that a #widow steals husbands. We don't. But sadly I know #widows who lost friends because of women withdrawing to 'protect' partners.
www.thewidowshandbook.com/home/categor...
#grief
There's a myth that a #widow steals husbands. We don't. But sadly I know #widows who lost friends because of women withdrawing to 'protect' partners.
www.thewidowshandbook.com/home/categor...
#grief
January 13, 2025 at 2:50 PM
Seven Deadly Sins of Widowhood: Greed part 1 (aka no, I don't want to steal your husband)
There's a myth that a #widow steals husbands. We don't. But sadly I know #widows who lost friends because of women withdrawing to 'protect' partners.
www.thewidowshandbook.com/home/categor...
#grief
There's a myth that a #widow steals husbands. We don't. But sadly I know #widows who lost friends because of women withdrawing to 'protect' partners.
www.thewidowshandbook.com/home/categor...
#grief
Seven Deadly Sins of Widowhood: Wrath (aka I am so bloody angry)
I wasn't brought up to be angry. I was brought up not to raise my voice. But when my husband died, I was angry, in a way that I hadn't ever been angry before.
www.thewidowshandbook.com/home/seven-d...
#widow #grief
I wasn't brought up to be angry. I was brought up not to raise my voice. But when my husband died, I was angry, in a way that I hadn't ever been angry before.
www.thewidowshandbook.com/home/seven-d...
#widow #grief
January 12, 2025 at 3:26 PM
Seven Deadly Sins of Widowhood: Wrath (aka I am so bloody angry)
I wasn't brought up to be angry. I was brought up not to raise my voice. But when my husband died, I was angry, in a way that I hadn't ever been angry before.
www.thewidowshandbook.com/home/seven-d...
#widow #grief
I wasn't brought up to be angry. I was brought up not to raise my voice. But when my husband died, I was angry, in a way that I hadn't ever been angry before.
www.thewidowshandbook.com/home/seven-d...
#widow #grief
Seven Deadly Sins of #Widowhood: Envy (aka I want to be happy for you, but...)
We love our friends and we want the best for them. But it can be really hard to see them have the things we wanted or planned before we were widowed.
www.thewidowshandbook.com/home/i-want-...
#widow #grief
We love our friends and we want the best for them. But it can be really hard to see them have the things we wanted or planned before we were widowed.
www.thewidowshandbook.com/home/i-want-...
#widow #grief
January 11, 2025 at 1:43 PM
Seven Deadly Sins of #Widowhood: Envy (aka I want to be happy for you, but...)
We love our friends and we want the best for them. But it can be really hard to see them have the things we wanted or planned before we were widowed.
www.thewidowshandbook.com/home/i-want-...
#widow #grief
We love our friends and we want the best for them. But it can be really hard to see them have the things we wanted or planned before we were widowed.
www.thewidowshandbook.com/home/i-want-...
#widow #grief
Thank you to WAY Widowed & Young for sharing The Widow's Handbook tips for winter
www.widowedandyoung.org.uk/news/tips-fo...
#widow #grief
www.widowedandyoung.org.uk/news/tips-fo...
#widow #grief
January 10, 2025 at 2:32 PM
Thank you to WAY Widowed & Young for sharing The Widow's Handbook tips for winter
www.widowedandyoung.org.uk/news/tips-fo...
#widow #grief
www.widowedandyoung.org.uk/news/tips-fo...
#widow #grief
Last year I wrote a sequence called The Seven Deadly Sins of #Widowhood - here's Lust (aka #WidowsFire
www.thewidowshandbook.com/home/widows-...
#widow #grief
www.thewidowshandbook.com/home/widows-...
#widow #grief
January 10, 2025 at 1:32 PM
Last year I wrote a sequence called The Seven Deadly Sins of #Widowhood - here's Lust (aka #WidowsFire
www.thewidowshandbook.com/home/widows-...
#widow #grief
www.thewidowshandbook.com/home/widows-...
#widow #grief
The house can seem dark and quiet after the tree and the decorations come down - these are some of the things I've done to make the winter seem less dark
#widow #winter
www.thewidowshandbook.com/home/in-the-...
#widow #winter
www.thewidowshandbook.com/home/in-the-...
January 6, 2025 at 11:55 AM
The house can seem dark and quiet after the tree and the decorations come down - these are some of the things I've done to make the winter seem less dark
#widow #winter
www.thewidowshandbook.com/home/in-the-...
#widow #winter
www.thewidowshandbook.com/home/in-the-...
December 27, 2024 at 10:31 AM
Every December there are posts talking about the new year. For new widows this means moving from 'they died this year' to 'they died last year'. For those widowed longer, it can feel like their person is moving further into the past.
www.thewidowshandbook.com/home/a-new-y...
#widow #grief
www.thewidowshandbook.com/home/a-new-y...
#widow #grief
December 10, 2024 at 9:51 AM
Every December there are posts talking about the new year. For new widows this means moving from 'they died this year' to 'they died last year'. For those widowed longer, it can feel like their person is moving further into the past.
www.thewidowshandbook.com/home/a-new-y...
#widow #grief
www.thewidowshandbook.com/home/a-new-y...
#widow #grief
My #healthanxiety spiked after Tim's sudden death, but not for me, for others. It has been bad over the last couple of weeks as someone very close to me has had a health scare. It's hard not to catastrophise when you have lost someone close. #grief #widow
www.thewidowshandbook.com/home/health-...
www.thewidowshandbook.com/home/health-...
December 9, 2024 at 11:10 AM
My #healthanxiety spiked after Tim's sudden death, but not for me, for others. It has been bad over the last couple of weeks as someone very close to me has had a health scare. It's hard not to catastrophise when you have lost someone close. #grief #widow
www.thewidowshandbook.com/home/health-...
www.thewidowshandbook.com/home/health-...
When Tim died so suddenly, I had flashbacks & thoughts spinning uncontrollably. Sometimes just saying 'I am Suzanne, and I am here in my living room' helped. Sometimes I needed more, and these grounding techniques helped.
www.thewidowshandbook.com/home/groundi...
www.thewidowshandbook.com/home/groundi...
December 9, 2024 at 10:45 AM
When Tim died so suddenly, I had flashbacks & thoughts spinning uncontrollably. Sometimes just saying 'I am Suzanne, and I am here in my living room' helped. Sometimes I needed more, and these grounding techniques helped.
www.thewidowshandbook.com/home/groundi...
www.thewidowshandbook.com/home/groundi...
Happy birthday Tim. Remember you for always.
December 1, 2024 at 11:26 AM
Happy birthday Tim. Remember you for always.
#Christmas can be a challenge when you are #widowed. Here's a great infographic from Refuge in Grief and a piece I wrote with hints and tips for getting through
www.thewidowshandbook.com/home/survivi...
#widow #grief
www.thewidowshandbook.com/home/survivi...
#widow #grief
November 21, 2024 at 9:44 AM
#Christmas can be a challenge when you are #widowed. Here's a great infographic from Refuge in Grief and a piece I wrote with hints and tips for getting through
www.thewidowshandbook.com/home/survivi...
#widow #grief
www.thewidowshandbook.com/home/survivi...
#widow #grief
The stages of #grief were created for dying people, not for those left behind.
www.thewidowshandbook.com/home/models-...
Grief is more like this
www.thewidowshandbook.com/home/models-...
Grief is more like this
November 14, 2024 at 1:49 PM
The stages of #grief were created for dying people, not for those left behind.
www.thewidowshandbook.com/home/models-...
Grief is more like this
www.thewidowshandbook.com/home/models-...
Grief is more like this