BW 210:
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Speaker: [00:00:00] If you've ever wrestled with wondering, "God, why did you allow this to happen? How much suffering will I have to endure? How do I come to a place of peace and understanding and acceptance while also wrestling with the hard questions?" Then this episode is for you. Today, I have a special guest, Lucy, and before we dive in, if you're wondering what the latest updates are with live events and some upcoming things that'll be happening over the next few months, stay tuned to the end of the episode and I will cover that for you. Okay, let me introduce you to Lucy, who goes by the pen name LTP Hope.
LTP Hope is the author of When Goodbye Comes Too Early: Learning to Breathe Again Through Love and Loss, and the host of the memoir podcast of the same name. A professional with nine years as a senior auditor and three years as a supervisory auditor, and a dual master's degree [00:01:00] holder in business administration and forensic accounting, she brings both analytical precision and profound emotional depth to everything she creates.
In August of 2024, just two years ago, she lost her husband Tim just four weeks after he was diagnosed with T-cell lymphoma. In those final weeks, she became his most fierce advocate, navigating two major medical centers and refusing to let the system overlook the man she loved. Five months ago, she turned that grief into a podcast.
Today, she shares her raw and honest journey through love, loss, caregiver advocacy, and healing with listeners who may not yet be ready to share their own pain out loud. I know you're gonna enjoy this episode, and I know you're gonna want to follow Lucy and see all the amazing resources that she has to share, so I'm posting all of her links in the show [00:02:00] notes wherever you may be watching or listening to this.
All right, let's dive in. Welcome to episode 210 of The Brave Widow Show.
Speaker 2: Luci, thank you so much for joining me today and, being willing to share your story.
LTP Hope: Thank you so much for having me. I appreciate it. I lost my husband two years ago. Tim was my person. He was the person you can rely on for anything. The small, tiny thing that makes a huge difference in my life. My husband never drank coffee, but he will make, wake up every morning and make coffee for me- Oh
even though he didn't drink. I will try to bribe him. I was like, "Babe, taste it. It's good," and he won't. But we met back in 2016. We got married in 2019, and he passed away on August 13th,
Speaker 2: 2024.
LTP Hope: It was, for me, it was all of a sudden because we find out that he had cancer, T-cell lymphoma, on July 2nd.
We didn't know the stage at the time, and that's after being at the [00:03:00] hospital for over 20-something days. I refused to leave the hospital until we had a diagnosis because something was going on, and we could not figure it out. We had already gone there so many times, and the last time I went there, I was like, "Listen, until you guys can figure out what's going on, I will not leave this place."
Speaker 2: Mm.
LTP Hope: So on the 20th day later, we find out it was cancer.
Speaker 2: Oh. Um, 10
LTP Hope: days later, we find out it was stage four T-cell lymphoma
Speaker 2: How do you even begin to wrap your mind around that and what that means and, if there's any chance for hope or believing in a miracle? Do you remember what it was like just trying to let all that sink in?
I
LTP Hope: was, I was trying to wrap my brain a- around it. My husband was such a sweetheart. Even though he was going through all that, he's listening to all of these, um, conversation doctors were having around him, he will call me, "No, no, let my bodyguard handle that." I ask all the question and he's take notes and he'll just listen.
[00:04:00] But s- I'm trying to be strong for him because I know he's not gonna ask the has- hard question, so I'm asking question, but yet I'm also tearing up inside because I know what that meant. But at the same time, I was willing to go to the end of Earth to make sure that my husband was around. So finding out that it was stage four, asking a ton of questions.
"Okay, where do we go? Where do... What's the chance? How do we reverse that? How do we... Now we know what it is, how do we go about fixing this?"
I remember the oncologist told me, "Well, at this point, there isn't much we can do." I was like, "No, I don't take that for a response." I ended up going to Memorial Sloan, Kettering Memorial Sloan in New York.
We were there for, we were there for 10 days, and that's where he started his chemo. Then we came back to Virginia A short time later, we were at the hospital. He passed on a week later- Mm ... at the hospital. I had my issue with God. I questioned God
Speaker 2: Yeah, and I know for some people it's [00:05:00] like, "Did I not pray enough?
Did God not want him here?" That can create this weird dynamic with faith and God and what that looks like. How did you wrestle with that and deal with those questions?
LTP Hope: It was really hard because I said, even when he was in the hospital, I stayed there with him the whole time
I prayed. Even when I was being strong in front of him, I would go in the restroom, the room, the bathroom, pray and cry out, "God, help him." It didn't work
Speaker 2: It
LTP Hope: was like four weeks later he was gone
Why? You could have given her more time. I'll never understand, but
Speaker 2: What during those next few weeks, what did you find that was helpful for you? Or did you just feel like there wasn't anything helpful, it was just this nightmare that you're living in?
LTP Hope: On the day, the morning of his passing, I was in the room with him, and I heard him [00:06:00] talking, because it was just the two of us in the room.
And I was laying in the chair, then I heard him say there was someone at the door. And I got up and I went to his side of the bed, I pull his sheet over and I was like, "Babe, there's nobody here. It's just you and me." We were in the ICU, so I look at the glass door that was closed and I was like, "Baby, it's just you and me.
Go back to sleep. You know I got you." I never realized that was going to be our last conversation that day, that morning.
And at first I didn't I knew, I, I remember what he said, but then when I talk... I was telling my sister later on about that. I was like, "You know, he told me there was somebody at the door."
My sister says, "You don't realize what he says?" And I was like, "What are you talking about?" She said, "That mean the angel of God was there for him. He could see it. You couldn't see it because it wasn't for you to see, but he could see that there was someone there." I said, "Oh." You heard about that all the time.
People tell you about those stories, but until it happened to you-
Speaker 2: Yeah ...
LTP Hope: then it makes sense. I was like, [00:07:00] "Oh, okay. I know he's going," but it still didn't make it any easier. How do you deal with that? He's gone a lot of support from families and friends that were there. You need those around you even when you think you don't, just to sit with you, cry through it, talk about it, or don't even cry at all.
Just someone to be there. That meant a lot for me
Speaker 2: Did you feel like your family and friends consistently showed up for you? Or maybe over time that kind of things went quiet and you, Did you struggle at all with feeling like you were alone or that people forgot about you?
LTP Hope: For sure. That, at the beginning when your loved one is gone, you'll have people coming back in and out and things like that.
But after a while, you end up having to deal with that, wrestle with everything else. You coming home to an empty home when you used to have somebody waiting on you at the door. That was one of my biggest issue because the minute I work from home, when I come from work, he'll be [00:08:00] at the door, "Hey, babe, how was your day?"
So now I'm coming home, there's nobody to say, "Hi, babe. How was your day?" Or having something ready for me, or just a basic conversation. You're sitting in an empty house, a quiet house. The noise, I know I stayed busy a lot because I didn't wanna think about it. I didn't wanna think about Tim. Tim was my husband, Timothy Patterson.
I tried to block everything because the more I sit and think about it, then I was crying. It's like, okay, if I stay busy, then that's good. But at some point you have to rest. It's gonna come up. So I have learned to go deal with coun- different therapy sessions, talking to my therapist, and just write You're gonna be by yourself.
You're not gonna have people with you all the time. You have to know when to call on them, the one that you can relied on, because you also lose friends too during this time. Mm. Some people don't know how to deal with it or what to tell you, or they say, "Well, you should be m- you should move on by now.
You know, [00:09:00] you would not want to be that way." Everybody deal with grief differently. It's easy for you to say that 'cause you're not there yet, unfortunately.
Speaker 2: Right.
LTP Hope: It sounds good, but it's not reality. The reality is that you dealing with this every day when you come home. Everything happened outside, but when you come home, that's when it all gets smashed down on you.
All the weight is down. You're at work, pretending to work so hard and forget everything else, but the minute you got into the driveway, you're coming into that door, then it hits you.
Speaker 2: Mm.
LTP Hope: Those you can't deal, you can't do anything about.
Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah, and I actually had someone who wrote me earlier today and was saying that someone from, people in their family were saying, you know, "Oh, it's been, you know, a f- a few years.
You should be over it by now. You should be back to normal, back to your old self," and people just- Yes ... don't understand about grief.
LTP Hope: No. I, I think it's such a hard thing to say to people. That's how you feel, but it's not necess- necessarily how that person feel 'cause you don't [00:10:00] know all the jits of that person life.
Yeah, they might be functioning, but it doesn't mean they're okay, and I think- Mm ... that's one of the biggest thing people don't realize. I thank God that I'm still able to speak to my therapist and kind of every week I'll meet with her, we'll talk, to go over a basic thing. You don't think it mean, it makes a difference, but it does because sitting here thinking about all the stuff he used to do or didn't do, you need someone to vent with, and sometime that's not going to be a family member 'cause they don't understand.
So you need a neutral party that can sit there, listen to you vent about everything 'cause it makes a difference.
Speaker 2: I love how you said, just because you're functioning doesn't mean you're okay. Exactly. It doesn't mean that everything's perfect, so. Yes,
Speaker 4: yes.
Speaker 2: Okay, so you lost your husband.
You have initially some good support. You're starting to write some. It's been two years now. You shared with me, August 13th. Mm. That was right at the [00:11:00] two-year mark, so-
Speaker 4: Yes ...
Speaker 2: very recent. Our audience doesn't know yet what all you're doing, but how would you describe, like, the journey from where you were to where you are now two years later, and how would you describe that journey?
LTP Hope: I have been, I, I work full-time. I do have a full-time job. It has kept me busy. When my husband passed away, I literally went to work a week later. It's not because I couldn't take the time to stay home, but I didn't wanna be at the house by myself. There was too much reminder of everything everywhere I turned.
So I work full-time. I was writing at night when I come home and I couldn't fall asleep. A lot of the thing I was doing so I could fall asleep at time was listening to worship music at night, have it on the whole night so I can fall asleep, or I would listen to psalms on YouTube, listening to them, let them play while I just journaled, write [00:12:00] down how I was feeling the first year when I started looking at all the notes I have, I said, "Oh, okay.
Somebody can use this." Then I decided to write, turn that into a memoir about my husband, because I felt a lot of people didn't know my husband, because he was very, very quiet. He was such a humble person. He was a sweetheart. He has two kids. My, my, my husband had two kids Timothy Patterson Jr., and then Amaya Patterson.
They are two grown kids now, 18, 19 now, and 23. So two step- stepchildren. They live with their mom, but it was a beautiful journey. My husband and them had a great relationship I stay busy so I can continue to, to move on, not as it used to be, as the, what I had planned, but as a new person trying to learn how to breathe again.
And that's how I come with that book, When Goodbye Comes Too Early: Learning to Breathe Again [00:13:00] Through Love and Loss. That's the name of my book that I wrote. And as a result, I was listening to another person that said, "Well, why don't you just turn it into a podcast?" I actually turned it into a podcast as well.
Um- Amazing ... my pod- my podcast is every Tuesday, comes out every Tuesday morning at 7:00 on Spotify, Apple Podcast, Amazon. And I then decided to create a YouTube channel in the last five months. I mean, it's amazing the stuff I've done.
Speaker 4: I love that. That's awesome. You never thought you'd be a YouTuber, did you?
LTP Hope: Oh, my Lord, no, not at all, because I didn't even have any account on these things where I even show my face. It's like, oh, my God, look at me now. But yes. So I, the YouTube channel, I do the same thing, you know, talk about what I'm going through, what I've gone through, and what I'm still going through. There are days I'm okay.
There are days, too, I'm just, like, falling apart, and that's the reality of, of widow, living with, dealing with the loss of a loved one. [00:14:00] And there are things you can't replace. It's the tiny stuff. Going to the store, trying to buy something, and you remember their favorite meal or the stuff you used to buy for them.
I went to Macy's to get a dress, and I passed by the cologne department. My husband loved cologne. He have a lot of them. Every time he'd go, we go there, we argued about not buying another one. So I pass by there, and I just fall apart. I wish he was here so we can argue about what not to buy. But he's not here.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
LTP Hope: So that alone just, I just fall apart in the store.
Speaker 2: Mm.
LTP Hope: The tiny stuff. Every Friday, got paid, I would get a nice bouquet of flowers, a bottle of wine, which was my thing. It's the tiny things that you miss the most, and you can't replace those. So I just write. I do that YouTube channel in my spare time, on the weekends, whenever I can, and put it out there for people that may be in the same journey but yet don't wanna share because they don't, they're not there yet.
Because it's not [00:15:00] something you just talk about. It took me a while to get there, because I started doing this five months ago. I didn't think I'll ever be doing that. So it takes time and it takes a lot of courage, and sometimes you just wanna sit behind the scene and just listen to people that have gone through the same thing that you have gone through and see how they made it through.
Because at the end, you will eventually make it through, it's just one step at a time.
Speaker 2: , I actually had someone from my audience who's been on one of my YouTubes ask me today, "How do you get used to seeing your face pop up? Like, that's so weird." So I have to ask you, because it's been a little more recent for you, too, the past five months.
First of all, how did you, what inspired you to push through the fear of doing it? And then is it still weird to see your face on camera?
LTP Hope: Okay, so I'll be, I'll be honest with you, you are my second, second time I'm showing my face on YouTube. The first one was my husband anniversary on August 13. Mm. That was the first time I show, actually [00:16:00] showed my face, because that day I was like, "It's too much of a big day not to do anything."
I have been doing for- voiceless, faceless, voice, voiceover, faceless YouTube with different sceneries and things like that. Yeah. And then I will narrate what I've done. But the 13 was the first time I showed my face, and then today.
Speaker 2: Hey, I am honored to be second. I am so glad you put your fa- you're so beautiful.
Like, I think people just I, that would resonate with a lot of people. But I know it's also weird when you're like, " This is my face, this feels very real now, not just, like, this thing I'm doing." So, yeah.
LTP Hope: I also, I was actually also holding on because of my job. I work for the federal government, so I try to kinda keep it low-key on things that I do until I kinda make other decisions.
Speaker 2: Sure. Yeah. Yeah.
LTP Hope: That's
Speaker 2: it. Makes total sense.
LTP Hope: And I do, I am actually an auditor. I do federal audits. [00:17:00]
Speaker 2: Okay. So if I get audited, I'm gonna, you know, be like, "Hey, remember me?" No.
That's amazing, but- No, you're welcome.
LTP Hope: Yes. Yeah. Exactly.
Speaker 2: Okay. So what's the name of your YouTube channel for people who want to find it? Is it LTP Hope?
LTP Hope: That's correct. It is simply LTP Hope, which is a pen name under which I published my book LTP Hope Press- Publishing. Yes. So it's on Amazon right now.
It is also on Instagram, in Ingram's Park, Barnes & Noble, Walmart. It's a lot of different places you can get it. It's mostly about the journey that we went through, Tim and I went through during the whole process. We started about our rela- I started about our relationship, how we met. Um, we talk about how I had to fight for him in the hospital to get the care that he needed.
Mm. And some of the stuff I think I said, uh, the kind of... I give a few tips on what you need to do while you're in the hospital, because I will tell people, I have been telling people [00:18:00] anyways, if you have a loved one in the hospital, I don't care what hospital you think they are, how great the hospital is, you need to be there.
When you there, your presence makes a difference. Be there. If you can't go every day, go every other day. The treatment is different. People on their t- step when they see people coming in and out, because they don't, they know somebody's watching.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
LTP Hope: And when my husband was in the hospital, I was there every single day.
I slept in the hospital until he get out. I didn't care. I stay there. I'm not going anywhere. He's not gonna ask the hard question, I am, "So what are we doing about this? Nope, we need to do that test." You have to speak up for, you know, you have to advocate for your loved one. You do. I also have a sister that had this, that have another health issue.
I have to be there for her to make sure that she gets the treatment that she needs. If you're not there when they cannot speak, when they're in pain, they get ignored So you have to step and go out, do your research, ask question. When they come, be ready because [00:19:00] there are questions that the sick person may not be able to ask, but you do follow-up.
They say something, you ask questions. Because had I not been persistent with those people at the hospital, my husband would have died at home and I would have never known that he had cancer. Mm. 'Cause he had a kidney transplant at first, which led to that cancer. So had I... Every time we go there, it's always, "Oh, it's the kidney.
It's the kidney." I was like, "Nope. Something else is going on. We have this symptom. You can't tell me it's kidney. That's no longer kidney." And they run all the tests until they finally come to, "Oh, yeah, you're right. It's cancer."
Speaker 2: Wow.
LTP Hope: Four weeks later, he was gone. Had I not been assisted and staying in the hospital, I would have never known that he had cancer.
Yeah. So.
Speaker 2: Yeah. It's very true. I worked in healthcare for 20 years, and it is true that even though healthcare teams do care about patients, that when someone has a family member advocating, watching over, staying really in tune with what's [00:20:00] happening- ... it creates a better experience for the patient and the healthcare team, right?
Yes. To just kinda have that, that go-between. Yes. Um, and to have someone else that's looking over them. So I... That had to be such a, a gift to your husband.
LTP Hope: Yes. He told me that I was his bodyguards.
Speaker 2: I love it.
LTP Hope: If he didn't mind. It's like no, you talk to her." I looked at the doctors with him. I said, "Oh, no, you talk to my wife.
She'll tell you." I was like, "Yeah, don't ask them any question. What do you wanna know?" 'Cause I have a notebook. It's like, "Oh, yeah, we've done that test already. You can get the result right here in that box."
Speaker 2: I love it. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So what would you say to the person who's earlier on in grief and has lots of questions and is struggling to understand and feels lost and feels hopeless?
What is something that you would say to that person?
LTP Hope: Oh, my goodness. Please take your time. Take your time. Do not make any rushed decisions because there are so many thing that you have to now take over [00:21:00] your own self. There are a ton of stuff you have to do when you have a loved one that pass. For example, the financial statement, the financial stuff are now on you.
You have to deal with that. Where are the bills? Who do I pay? Who do I contact? Who do I need to deal with life insurance, if there's such thing? You have to make sure you contact the credit bureaus to let know that your person passed. You gotta go to the bank. If your name wasn't on there, you're gonna have to go to a court and do estate planning and all that.
Life in- insurance, preparing for the service. You need some good support people that got your back to kinda help you to get to the point where the service is over, then now you can take the time, one day at a time, one thing at a time. 'Cause you cannot do them all. You're gonna be so overwhelmed because now you're making decision that perhaps your, your person used to do.
That's overwhelming. And if you don't... If you rushing through it, you gonna make mistake, and you [00:22:00] wanna take the time. Y- you don't have to rush. Just take your time. Talk to friends people that are available, some people that if you go to church, ta- take, try to talk to your pastor or some person who already gone through that type of loss.
They can point you to some good services, to some good Material that are out there. Come to YouTube, Google, research. Just type stuff. Basic question: how do I move on from this today? You'll find some pointers as to what you can do, some idea. They're not gonna be all perfect. You have to take the one that pertain to you and kinda use that.
Okay, oh, I can add to this one. I can do this one. One thing at a time, because otherwise you will crash, 'cause it is overwhelming. How do I deal with the clothes in the closet? How do I deal with all these other stuff? How do I deal with the car? Do I transfer it? Do I keep it? Can I transfer it because it was under his name?
You gotta go to court to get that changed. There's so many things you gotta do, so you have to take the time, have a checklist. If you can [00:23:00] have someone to help you make a checklist one at a time. You do one today, that's good, and then you can do one next week. It's your s- decision to make one at a time. No hurry at all, because you will regret it if you're doing anything in a hurry.
Emily: I know sometimes it's frustrating because every day feels like a week. You know? Yeah. When you're early on, like, time just seems to be taking forever. Yes. But peace does come and- Mm-hmm ... clarity of mind does come, and, um, it's a tough journey, so thank you for sharing that and- Yes
and doing what you do out in the world to help just encourage and inspire other people. So, um- Yes ... we'll put all the links to where you can find Lucy and her resources in the show notes for everyone. But what would you say if someone wants to follow you, they wanna connect with you, they wanna just share, how this resonated with you?
What's maybe, like, the one best place for people to be able to follow you or connect with you?
LTP Hope: For sure you can catch me on [00:24:00] Facebook at LTP Hope as well. All my stuff are staying under one name, LT- @LTP Hope, so that it's easy for you to reach. Please do reach out. I read every single post. If you go on my YouTube channel, I have a ton of videos talking about how to deal with grief the first couple months, you know, the first year.
How do you go on into the second year? The second year is even har- harder because now you're thinking, "Oh, my God, it's been gone for two years," and you ha- you still have to deal with the different stuff. It's like a second wave of grief that come up on you. So there's different little blips. I have some, the videos, I call them Moment of Reflections, but they're like two or three minutes that just give you a word of encouragement.
If you're missing someone today, you're not by yourself. You are not on this journey by yourself. I thought I was. I didn't understand what I was feeling. And if somebody's not going through that journey or hasn't gone through it, just telling you, "Oh, you'll get better. Don't worry. Time will heal everything," those are not [00:25:00] word you wanna listen to.
Yes, for them, but it's not for you. That's not applicable for you. You first, if you have church people you can talk to, your pastor, reach out, small group if you can, do that. You can also follow a lot of services online. That's gonna give you a word of encouragement. As hard as it is, as much as I question God, and still question God, I know God is in it.
He was in it, 'cause it could have been worse. It could have been so many other thing, and I have to look beyond the pain and see that no matter what, God is still in control, and God is still in everything. He won't let anything happen without His permission. So even when I lost him- He had a reason why he did that.
Mm. I cannot take that over. I just have to let it, leave it on His hand. He knows best. And I ended up having, losing one of my very best friend forever right after my husband passed, and that was supposed to be the person who [00:26:00] helped me through going through my husband loss. No. And shortly after that, I lost him.
I was like, "What? God, what are you doing?" The best man of our wedding pass away a few months later. I said, "God, okay. Okay, I gotta... You, this is too much." But you have to realize that in spite of all these situation, God is doing His thing. We may not understand it today, but in His time we will.
Emily: Mm.
LTP Hope: I just pray that you hold on, search for the help, ask for help.
There are different resources out there. Send me an email or IM, Messenger. I respond to every single one, I promise you. You, I will lead you to something that you may need. I'm a researcher. I look for things.
Emily: Yeah, she's an auditor. So find the stuff. She knows how to look at stuff.
LTP Hope: She
Speaker 4: knows how to find it.
LTP Hope: I will
Speaker 4: find the things. I love it.
LTP Hope: Forensic accounting, so I will find it for you.
Emily: Oh, I love it. Amazing. Well, thank you so much, Lucie, for coming on, for being [00:27:00] brave, putting your face out there, sharing your story, and just for being, having such a generous heart and giving back to the widow community. Sure.
So.
LTP Hope: Thank you so much for what you do. You are doing an amazing work out there yourself. I'm only I'm so happy and glad to be in your company, because you are doing some amazing work out there, and I thank you for what you're doing. That's how I ended up finding you, you know? So I appreciate all you do, and I pray that you continue to grow as, as much as you can, that you don't have no womb to receive.
Thank you so much.
Speaker 4: You're welcome
Speaker: All right, guys. If you're looking to sync up with me in the near-term future, then get your calendars ready. Let's make plans to meet up in person. So first things first, mid-September, which by the time you hear this is gonna be in just a couple of weeks, I'm gonna be in the San Antonio area, and I'm just gonna do something super casual, super low-key, [00:28:00] nothing formal. For anyone who may be within driving distance that wants to meet up, I'm looking at September 18th or 19th. If you do wanna meet up, send me an email, send me a DM, let me know, and I'm gonna try to coordinate calendars the best that I can. Also, in October, just outside of Tulsa, Oklahoma, I will be attending and speaking at Stand in the Gaps: Held in Hope conference.
This conference is for widows and for ministry leaders who support widows, and this is their first conference that they've hosted. It's happening October 8th and 9th, and tickets are only $25. I would love to see you there to be able to introduce you to some of our other brave widows that are gonna be there.
And so this is a great opportunity, especially if you can just drive over and meet up with us. We have lots of other things that are happening, and the best way to know about them is actually not listening to the [00:29:00] podcast. Did you know that? The best way to learn, the fastest way to learn about things that are happening is to be on the email list, is to join the free, F-R-E-E, the free Brave Widow community and get in the room or listen to the replays of what we're talking about in there so that you can know the most recent, current, latest and greatest updates of all the events that are happening virtually and in person.
I've even got more lined up than what I've shared with you today. But you wanna learn about those more in detail through email and also by being in the free community. So if you wanna join me there, again, it's totally free. It's a name and email. There's no time limits. There's no free trial. There's not a point you're gonna put in your credit card.
It is free. You can find that at bravewidow.com/free, F-R-E-E
And then lastly, I just want to plant a little seed in your mind because we have our next round of [00:30:00] Brave Widow Academy that starts in January. Brave Widow Academy is for the widow who's ready for more, who is no longer in survival mode, who is no longer struggling on a day-to-day basis, who's no longer overwhelmed with grief every single day, but is functioning, who is surviving but not actually living There's a part of you that wants to believe that a good future is possible, that wants to believe that life could feel full and vibrant and interesting again, and that maybe you could have a sense of, of purpose and connection with other people.
But there's also a part of you that might be afraid that the life you're living is just it. This is just it. And I wanna encourage you that doesn't have to be the case. You will get to decide whether or not you want to build a new [00:31:00] life, build a life that's full. I'm not talking about building a future without your person.
I'm talking about building a full and beautiful life where you weave in the spirit of your person into this new life, and that you grow and learn and expand your own capacity for both, for holding love for your person and the life that you had, and also learning to build a life that you can love now and in the future.
So if you're listening to this and you're like, "Wait, you're m- that's me. You're talking about me," then I would love to invite you to join the Brave Widow Academy wait list. So our next group is gonna start in January.
I'm not gonna do a lot of hard selling over the holidays. I wanna get us through the holidays, and I actually have something that's gonna help us with that, that you may wanna join. But in January, we're gonna open the doors for applications to the academy, and if you're on the wait list, you're gonna get to hear when those doors are [00:32:00] open, what times we're gonna be meeting, what all the academy is about.
And joining the wait list isn't a commitment. You're not saying you're gonna join. You're not saying that you have decided. You're just saying like, "Hey, I'd like to, I'd like to be... learn a little bit more. I'd like to be told when the next academy's gonna open. I'd like to learn some more details about what to expect."
And between now and then, I'm gonna share testimonials of real clients, real widows who have gone through academy. If you wanna learn more, just go to bravewidow.com/academy. I will see you guys on the inside.
Speaker 13: Hey, thanks for spending this time with me today. If you're listening and thinking, "I don't wanna do this widow thing by myself," I'd love to invite you into the free Brave Widow community. It's a private, faith-based space where you can connect with other widows who really get it, join gentle live calls, and get resources to help you take the next small step forward.
To [00:33:00] join us, just go to bravewidow.com/free or click the link in the show notes. You don't have to walk this road alone. I'll see you inside