353. First Year as a Widow: What You Weren't Told
The Widowed Mom Podcast
Krista St-Germain
4.9 • 695 Ratings
🗓️ 2 March 2026
⏱️ 16 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
I used to think grief was something you “get through,” but what I’ve learned, and what I share in this episode, is that the first year isn’t about hitting milestones. It’s about your nervous system adjusting to a new reality you never chose.
In this episode, I break down what many widows aren’t told ahead of time: grief is deeply physical; your body reacts; decision-making gets harder; confidence feels shaky; and relationships shift in all directions.
Join me this week to hear why time alone doesn’t heal, why comparing your grief to a timeline sets you up for self-judgment, and questions to ask yourself to figure out what will actually support you during the first year.
Get full show notes, transcript, and more information here: https://www.coachingwithkrista.com/353
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Mentioned in this episode:
Celebrate Turning 50 With Me!
As part of my 50 Widows Forward celebration, you can currently receive 10% off Grief Essentials or Mom Goes On. This offer ends June 20… or when 50 widows join. Get the discount code and more information by going to: https://the-widowed-mom-podcast.captivate.fm/50widowsforward
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Before we jump into today's episode, I want to share something that might help if you're in the |
| 0:05.0 | early days of grief. Grief Essentials is an eight-week course with live support designed to make |
| 0:11.3 | grief feel more manageable. Get the tools, clarity, and compassionate support you need to find your |
| 0:17.9 | footing again. Visit Coaching with Krista.com forward slash grief essentials for all the |
| 0:25.0 | details. Welcome to the widowed mom podcast, episode 353, first year as a widow, what you weren't told. |
| 0:38.9 | Welcome to the widowed Mom podcast, the only podcast that offers a proven process to help |
| 0:45.3 | you work through your grief to grow, evolve, and create a future you can truly look |
| 0:51.5 | forward to. |
| 0:52.9 | Here's your host, Master Certified Life Coach, grief expert, |
| 0:57.2 | widow and mom, Krista St. Germain. Hey there, welcome to another episode of the podcast. Today I want to |
| 1:05.7 | talk about the first year as a widow and some things that often surprise people about the first year as a widow. |
| 1:12.2 | And I want to say this before we dive in. What I am going to share today are patterns that I see. |
| 1:17.6 | They are not rules. They are not expectations. They are not formulas. They are common experiences. |
| 1:23.6 | Reference points. Grief does not move on a schedule. It is not linear. Readiness, whether it is |
| 1:29.5 | emotional or cognitive or neurological, varies a lot. So as you listen, I invite you to notice what |
| 1:37.1 | resonates and just let the rest go. Many widows come into the first year with an expectation |
| 1:43.0 | that it's going to look a certain way, |
| 1:45.1 | that it's going to be about getting through the firsts and surviving the emotions and adjusting, |
| 1:50.0 | and eventually it's going to result in some sort of stabilization. |
| 1:54.0 | We come into it with the idea that we just need to survive the first year because the first year is the worst, |
| 1:59.2 | and then if we can just get through the first year, the worst will be over. And while that can be true for some of the first year because the first year is the worst and then if we can just get through the first |
| 2:01.0 | year, the worst will be over. And while that can be true for some widows, it is not always true. |
... |
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