Welcome to
Widowed Parent Project
We are a community resource for widowed parents, providing education and support to help you cope with the loss of your partner and co-parent. Our mission is to help widowed parents navigate their loss, care for their grieving children, and find hope for the future.
Why Widowed Parent Project?
You are not alone.
The loss of your person is devastating. Helping your children make sense of their grief is an enormous task. How do you possibly go forward and get your kids safely to shore when your own ocean of grief threatens to swallow you whole.?
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Each one of us has been there. We are sorry you are here but know we are here for you. Two of the most important things you can do for yourself after being widowed are to find community and when you are ready, to find your purpose in the "after."
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Explore the stories of widowed parents below to learn how others have coped, join our supportive discussion group on Facebook to connect with our widowed parent community, follow us on Twitter for daily grief resources, or consider coaching services with our founder, Jeanette, when you are ready to move from surviving to thriving.
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Jeanette
Widowed at age 36 with two young children
David
Widowed at age 38 with one young son and a teenage stepdaughter
Lauren
Widowed at age 32 with a baby on the way and a toddler
Arash
Widowed at age 40 with two young children
Access Free Resources and Learn About Grief
A decade ago, few resources existed for widowed parents. There was little information on how to talk to your children about the death of their other parent, let alone how you could parent them through it. Today, there are research centers studying widowed parent-led families, international conferences to support the widowed, virtual villages, podcasts, books, and so much more. In 2016, two years after being widowed, our founder, Jeanette started Widowed Parent Project to find the resources she needed and now helps other parents do the same. Explore the resources and services below to learn more or click on the Map to More tab to find other trusted resources to support you and your family on your journey.
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Widowed Parent Project first got its start as a moderated Facebook group and we still exist today as a community for widowed parents with children under 21 at home.
Throughout the week, we share free resources, events, microlearning, and more with our #GriefTwitter community.
Join along @widowedpp.
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Our Instagram content focuses on grief education for bereaved families. Follow us to learn everyday tips to help you cope, help your children make sense of what is happening, and pick up some self-care tips along the way.
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Sign Up for Our Quarterly Workshops
Our "Message in a Bottle" workshops on grief in families are offered quarterly. Review the schedule and sign up for one today. Donation -based and open to all, we'll explore topics common to widowed parents and grieving children.
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Need more than we offer here?
From podcasts to research on widowed parenting to a virtual village of support, there is a lot more to explore and we've collected the most helpful resources all in one place.
Shipwrecked: A Memoir of Widowed Parenting and Life After Loss
BY JEANETTE KONCIKOWSKI
When you are widowed with young children, you quickly find yourself the survivors of a familial shipwreck. Tossed into the dark waters, snatched away from the life you had planned, you surface and grab a hold onto whatever is floating by. While the enormous questions of What Now? and What Next? swirl all around, you find moments of connection to pull you from one wave to the next until you eventually reach shore. Bereft and heartbroken, you must rebuild your life using only what you find and eventually, you are faced with the choice of hunkering down on the shore or setting sail again.
SHIPWRECKED offers widowed parents a life preserver. Presented as a teaching memoir, it weaves personal stories from one family's experience with practical tips and strategies for surviving and then thriving. It is a book on how to parent your children through the loss of their other parent and how to care for yourself as you do so. The book explores common decisions facing widowed parents,including how to talk with children about the loss of their parent, how to involve children in memorials and meaning-making, getting closure in your marriage, coping with secondary losses and milestones, grappling with the impact of solo parenting on body, mind, and spirit, dealing with children’s grief over time and across their development, how to build a life you love and honor your beloved's legacy.
Services
Our primary purpose at Widowed Parent Project is to create community and expand access to grief education for widowed parents. Our founder, Jeanette, also offers the following affiliated services at low-cost for widowed parents or community organizations interested in grief education.
Compass Coaching
Our low-fee coaching service offers widows and widowers one-to-one support. If you are ready to navigate to what's next, we can help guide you to a future where you and your family thrive.
Public Speaking &
Author Events
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Consultation &
Training
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