Episodes

This week, Alexandra chats about the importance of having strategies ready to go. We all have tools and resources that can help us handle life and our grief. It’s important to know what these strategies are and feel prepared to use them when needed. What may work one day may not work the next, however, it is a good idea to have multiple resources ready to handle a variety of situations. Connect with Alexandra on her website, forwardtojoy.com, or send her an email at alexandra@forwardtojoy.com. ...

This week, Alexandra discusses the importance of just owning what is our own feelings and responses. When getting into the holiday season, it can be very easy to take on others’ emotions and feelings. This week’s tip is just own what is yours. We cannot be responsible for how others feel and react to what we do or situations we are involved in. It is not always easy to do this. We are responsible for how we deliver information and our own reactions/responses. Connect with Alexandra on her websi...

This week Alexandra chats about the importance of letting go of the energy we take on from others. When we don’t have a good outlet, holding onto negative energy or the energy of others can start to impact us physically. Journaling is a way to help release some of that energy. It gives us a place to be raw, vulnerable and uninhibited with our thoughts and feelings. Sometimes the idea of sitting down, opening a book and writing can be overwhelming. So, use voice memos. Use your note section in yo...

This week, Alexandra gets to have a fun conversation with Allison Cullen. Allison Cullen is the host of The You Do Woo Podcast. She spent the past 15 years working as both a business manager in the music industry and a business coach in the health & wellness world. She also a background in counseling and certification in Human Design. She started her business & podcast in early 2020 when the world was in a state of disarray and she knew that fellow mommas & entrepreneurs needed to be able to mak...

This week, Alexandra chats again about the importance of boundaries. They can be temporal, emotional, mental, spiritual, sexual, etc. Boundaries can be set for ourselves. They can be set with others. They can even be planned for when spending time with family and friends throughout the holiday season. They can also be planned for when we are out and about in the frenzied holiday energy. Dr. Nedra Tawwab has a great book, Set Boundaries, Find Peace that can help offer suggestions for how to set b...

This week, Alexandra jumps into tips that can help throughout the holiday season. It can be a stressful time and can activate grief. Even just being out and about can expose us to the frenzied energy of others around us. It can be exhausting, stressful and at the end of the day, not enjoyable. The first tip is to set an intention of the day. How would you like your day to go? How would you like to respond to what may happen during your day? There is no predictability to the day, however, setting...

This week, Alexandra gets to have a fun chat with Advanced Yoga Instructor Avery Rich. A former lawyer, Avery continues to help people problem solve, only now her methods are on the yoga mat. Teaching into her second decade, Avery resides in Winnipeg, Manitoba, which is a little far for Alexandra to attend Avery's classes. Luckily, Avery has a podcast which breaks down yoga poses and provides an opportunity to practice each pose. Avery has an insight into yoga and explains the positive impact of...

This week, Alexandra gets to talk with a fellow suicide survivor and best-selling author, Crystal Partney of the You Are Loved podcast. They chat about how to find ways to heal after such a loss as well as find meaning and purpose after someone dies. Crystal also created prevention and aftermath care boxes to help people find simple ways to care for themselves. Crystal is an absolute resource through the grief process. Connect with Crystal: Instagram: scattering.hope Owl and Thistle care boxe...

This week Alexandra shares about her first real dating experience since Shawn died. She has learned 3 things about dating as a widowed mama: 1) there are so many logistics!! 2) the capacity to date now looks so different than before and 3) opening up to allow another person into our personal space requires vulnerability. If you have tips about how to date, please send them on to Alexandra! Connect with Alexandra on her website, forwardtojoy.com, or send her an email at alexandra@forwardtojoy....

This week Alexandra talks about how often we embrace celebrations of life to not focus on the sadness and avoid the discomfort with death. She proposes and encourages that we can embrace it all. We can be sad and celebrate our loved one’s life. We can remember the good times and the harder times. We don’t have to always be strong. It’s okay to take on all the feels and show others, including our kids, how we can work through it all. Link: It’s Ok That You’re Not Ok Connect with Alexandra on her...

This week Alexandra talks with financial advisor and expert, Rick Salmeron, about all things financial. Out of all the different things that have to be done after the loss of a loved one, managing finances can be very stressful. Rick breaks down the process into simple, digestible tips. He approaches the process with empathy and care. Rick chats about some Do’s and Don’ts for how to handle finances. Such a rich conversation! Feel free to reach out to Rick and check out his services below: www....

This week, Alexandra chats about the dreaded elevator speech when you have to tell someone about your situation. There’s no preparing for what kind of reaction you’ll get with the exception of having an arsenal of responses. There’s no right or wrong way to handle an elevator speech either. It will morph and change just like the grief process does. Send in your funny stories about sharing your situation with others, so Alexandra can share them on the show! Connect with Alexandra on her website,...

In this episode, Alexandra recalls several instances where flexibility is a must. No matter how we plan for something, another thing can happen and wipe out our plans. Whether it is Buddy getting sick, a schedule change, clients canceling…there is always room for flexibility. This may challenge our feelings of security with predictability but it is a must! Connect with Alexandra on her website, forwardtojoy.com, or send her an email at alexandra@forwardtojoy.com. Portions or topics on this sho...

This week, Alexandra gets the opportunity to chat with author and wellness coach Marie Scott about her journey, after her husband of 30 years died of esophageal cancer. Marie took her grief journey and found purpose in helping other widows and widowers find their health, energy and strength to keep moving forward. She has even found love again and celebrates 4 years with her partner. Definitely reach out to Marie below! https://www.mariescottwellness.com/?r_done=1 https://www.linkedin.com/in/ma...

This week Alexandra discusses her experience with the anniversary of Shawn’s death. There is no predictability of how things will go, what feelings will come up or how to handle it all. As much as Alexandra thought there might be, there just isn’t and this year she really experienced it. There’s no right or wrong way to grieve but she encourages all to ride the waves. Connect with Alexandra on her website, forwardtojoy.com, or send her an email at alexandra@forwardtojoy.com. Portions or topics...

This week, Alexandra talks about how opportunities come out of surrender. Rather than focus on controlling the outcome of a situation or when an opportunity will come through, focus on the small steps and actions you can take toward whatever your goal is. Opportunities will find you at the most random times, when you are open to them. It is not about how perfect the environment or you are for the opportunity, it's about how ready you are for the opportunity. How you look or act does not create t...

This week Alexandra dives into the biggest question: are there signs of suicide? Short answer- No. This is very frustrating because with signs, we can predict who will die this way. We can ensure it won’t happen to us. Suicide does not discriminate. Life does not discriminate. This doesn’t mean we don’t check in on our loved ones. It does mean that we can do so in a more specific way to work on our connection with each other. Alexandra offers tips for how to work on that connection and encourage...

This week, Alexandra describes having a moment out of the favorite books, If You Give A Mouse A Cookie, where she started in one place and ended up right back where she started. Going through this, brings up two themes: 1) That sometimes through grief or even life, we can feel like we have ended up right where we started. Not necessarily that we have gone backwards, but that we can feel we have made progress and healed something and that theme will come right back. 2) Delegate, delegate, deleg...

This week, Alexandra shares how life amped up in a short period of time, making her feel very overwhelmed and stressed. As much as it would be nice if life would give us a break after having such a loss and having to go through so much, the truth is life doesn't stop. Things don't always get easier. Life is an ocean and while things are calm at times, they are also intense at others. It is important to identify what tools we can use when we feel good so that when stress increases, we are able to...

This week, Alexandra discusses how slow healing can be. There is no equation or predictability to grief. There are good days and bad days and those are all different for each person grieving. Take time, be patient, be kind to yourself and sometimes the process takes just one step at a time. Connect with Alexandra on her website, forwardtojoy.com, or send her an email at alexandra@forwardtojoy.com. Portions or topics on this show may be triggering. Please seek professional help or assistance if...

This week, Alexandra has her first guest on The Widows Club Podcast, Alena Gourley! Alena is a LSW is a Clinical Hypnotherapist, psychic, medium and spiritual guide specializing in hypnotic healing and past life regression. She customized all her sessions to her client's beliefs and needs. Alena works together with her clients to heal current or past relationship issues, physical, mental or emotional traumas or pain, such as phobias, anxieties, addictions, depression and anxiety, improving sport...

Throughout the grief process, there are many opportunities to grow and heal, which also means we have to let go of some things. Not necessarily our person, but things that hold us back from growing. Forgiveness is crucial and this week, Alexandra dives into what forgiveness means to her and how to take the first steps to do so. Connect with Alexandra on her website, forwardtojoy.com, or send her an email at alexandra@forwardtojoy.com. Portions or topics on this show may be triggering. Please s...

This week, Alexandra gets even more personal in sharing about an altercation where two close people decided to say unkind and disrespectful things to her, about her and Buddy. She shares her Pimple Principle, the importance of understanding how others and ourselves communicate and 3 ways to know that when someone is yelling/venting or “going off” it is not about you but about them. Connect with Alexandra on her website, forwardtojoy.com, or send her an email at alexandra@forwardtojoy.com. Port...

This week Alexandra discusses the ideas around safety and security during the grief process. So much of losing a loved one can trigger a feeling of a lack of security and safety. There is physical safety and also there is mental and emotional safety. Often, when we feel triggered emotionally, we try to feel better with external strategies, such as shopping, binge watching shows, tackling house projects. The emotional need won’t go away until we are able to truly face it intrinsically. Tapping in...