BW 186: Stuck in Fear About Your Future After Loss? 3 Steps To Take Control
Feb 17, 2026Take the free 4 Seasons of Grief Quiz here: https://bravewidow.com/quiz
If you’ve ever laid awake at night terrified you won’t have enough money to keep your home or lifestyle, this episode is for you. Emily shares a listener’s question about fear, explains what fear really is (and isn’t), and walks you through three practical steps to work with fear instead of letting it run your life – all through a gentle, faith-based lens.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- Why intense fear after losing your spouse is a normal response, not a moral failure
- The difference between helpful fear (“I need a plan”) and unhelpful fear (“I’m doomed”)
- How to pull fear “out of the dark” and name exactly what you’re afraid of
- How to gather facts about your finances and future so you can make informed decisions
- How to create a simple “fear plan” so your brain has a job to do
- A real story of a widow who went from frozen in fear about her home to selling it in one week once she had clarity and support
- How faith, prayer, and small actions work together as you face the unknown
Next steps:
- 🎯 Find your season of grief (free quiz): https://bravewidow.com/quiz
- 📅 Join the live “4 Seasons of Grief” webinar (Feb 17): https://bravewidow.com/live
- 🤍 Explore Brave Widow Academy and coaching: https://bravewidow.com/academy
If you feel like “a shell of yourself,” lonely, or stuck walking in place, you’re not broken and you’re not alone. There is a gentle, faith-based path forward, one small step at a time.
Chapters / Timestamps:
0:00 – When fear keeps you up at night: the listener’s question
1:00 – Life “before and after” loss and why your nervous system feels unsafe
3:00 – What fear actually is: a signal, not a sentence
5:30 – The car analogy: letting fear ride in the backseat, not drive your life
7:30 – Helpful fear vs unhelpful fear with money and lifestyle worries
9:00 – Step 1: Bringing fear out of the dark and naming what you’re afraid of
11:00 – Step 2: Gathering facts and checking your financial reality
15:30 – Applying the same process to big decisions like moving or selling a house
18:00 – Step 3: Creating a “fear plan” and giving your brain a job
22:00 – Client story: from months of fear about housing to selling in one week
26:30 – Fear can ride in the car, but it doesn’t get the steering wheel
28:00 – Invitation to Brave Widow Academy: you don’t have to do this alone
🌱 READY FOR DEEPER SUPPORT?
If you’re tired of feeling lost, lonely, and second‑guessing every decision, Brave Widow Academy is a 6‑month, faith‑based coaching program to help you rebuild a life you can love again.
Learn more:
https://bravewidow.com/academy
Book a free no‑pressure consult:
https://bravewidow.com/call
💬 If this episode helped you, please:
- Hit Subscribe
- Leave a quick rating & review – it helps more widows find this support
- Share this with a friend who’s facing grief or the holidays without their person
If you’re new here, my name is Emily Tanner. I’m the founder of Brave Widow and Brave Widow Academy.
I help widows move from barely surviving their loss… to rebuilding a life they can actually love again without feeling like they’re betraying their person.
By day (and for 20+ years), I’ve led large teams and complex operations in the corporate world.
After my husband Nathan died in 2021, just shy of our 20-year anniversary, I took everything I knew about leadership, systems, and change — and started applying it to grief.
Since then, I’ve:
Shared my story publicly to make widows feel less alone.
Launched the Brave Widow podcast, now with 180+ episodes and listeners around the world.
Coached hundreds of widows 1:1 and in groups, and talked with thousands more through the podcast, communities, and events.
Built Brave Widow Academy, a 6-month coaching program with a clear framework for moving from deep grief to rebuilding a life you can love again.
I don’t teach “just think positive” grief tips.
I teach widows how to:
Heal their heart.
Stop waiting on “time” to fix everything.
Take small, brave steps toward a life that feels meaningful again.
How I Got Here…
2021: My husband Nathan dies unexpectedly. I’m 4 kids in, overwhelmed, and drowning in paperwork, decisions, and pain. Therapy helps, but I still feel stuck with no roadmap.
2021–2022: I start devouring books, interviewing widows, trying grief groups, and studying coaching — desperate to find something that actually helps me feel different.
2022: I start the Brave Widow podcast, recording episodes while terrified and crying between takes — but determined that no widow should feel as alone as I did.
Year 1: I begin coaching widows 1:1. Word spreads quietly. The same patterns and problems keep showing up, so I start building frameworks instead of one-off advice.
Year 2: I launch Brave Widow Academy — a structured, 6-month coaching program with a step-by-step path: from deep grief, to stability, to rebuilding.
Year 3: Brave Widow has listeners around the world. I’ve personally coached hundreds of widows and spoken with thousands more through consults, lives, emails, and DMs.
Today: My work is simple:
Help widows stop white-knuckling their way through each day… and start rebuilding a life that makes them genuinely glad to be alive again.
