‘You Are Not Alone,’ Part 1: Attend Camp Widow
Photo from Soaring Spirits website
Everyone’s concerned about loneliness these days.
The US Surgeon General is talking about it.
My friend Allison Gilbert is writing a book with Dr. Ruth about it.
It seems that, as a society, we are collectively feeling more alone than ever.
Widowed parents won’t be surprised to hear this. I frequently hear from listeners of the Widowed Parent Podcast that they don’t know anyone else in their neighborhood, school community, or personal circle who is widowed and is now raising their kids or teens alone.
If this sounds like you, you should know: There are a lot of us. It’s why I pulled the voices of 48 widowed moms and dads into my latest book, Widowed Parents Unite: 52 Tips to Get Through the First Year, from One Widowed Parent to Another. I wanted you to hear directly from fellow widowed parents, and to know that you aren’t alone.
But: It’s one thing to begin feeling a little less alone, and another thing entirely to move toward actually being a little less alone.
For that, I’ve got some tips – beginning today with this: Attend Camp Widow.
One great way to connect with other widowed people is by attending Camp Widow.
No, it’s not camping. Not even close.
It’s more like a few days away with hundreds of your new widowed friends, connecting, listening to incredible speakers, attending workshops, and generally feeling a lot less alone. There’s dancing, and yes, even laughing.
Your fellow widowed parents are rooting for you.
It feels like just yesterday that I was sitting at lunch on my first day of Camp Widow in San Diego, chatting with three others I’d just met. At the end of the final morning session, a few of us looked around and said to those who happened to be sitting nearby, “Hey, do you want to grab some food?” Since none of us had arrived knowing anyone, off we went together to a nearby restaurant. It wasn’t long before one woman in the group was regaling the others with stories about, as she put it, turning her late husband into a coconut tree. He’d wanted his ashes buried in Hawaii, with said tree planted atop—and it turned out that wasn’t such a simple feat.
Since then, I’ve often wondered what the diners at nearby tables thought upon overhearing that conversation.
In any case, do check out Camp Widow. They run programs a few times a year in various locations, and they serve people of any age, gender, or marital status who have lost their partners. Their San Diego camp in July 2024 is going to be the last full weekend camp they hold before changing formats and expanding to more cities.
I hope this suggestion for finding a way to be a little less alone as a widowed parent is helpful.
Your fellow widowed parents are rooting for you.
From one widowed parent to another: you’ve got this.
Adapted from “Widowed Parents Unite: 52 Tips to Get Through the First Year, from One Widowed Parent to Another,” by Jenny Lisk, published October 24, 2023, by Bluhen Books. Excerpt reprinted with permission from Bluhen Books. All rights reserved.
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