Marni Henderson: Health Educator, Life Reentry Practitioner, and Widowed Mom
“To newly widowed parents: be very tender, kind, with yourself and give yourself what you need in that moment to be where you are. There’s nothing to fix. So often our culture and community tries to have us bypass and to get better and to function and to do well. Give yourself some tenderness and be kind to yourself and really honor where you are.”
— Marni Henderson
I had such a great discussion with Marni Henderson for this episode. Marni is the founder of Coalesce Discovery and Sunrise Retreats, is a licensed health educator and a Life Reentry practitioner, and is a widowed mom herself.
Marni and I discussed her journey as a widowed parent, including:
How her husband told her before he died that it wasn’t her time to go, and this kept her going in the early months;
The decision to send her boys back to school after homeschooling them while her husband was sick;
How deciding to move became her first early step back into life;
How a school trip to Belize became a big “aha moment” for her and her boys;
Some tools in the Life Reentry Model; and
Developing Sunrise Retreats to create a space for widows to connect and to feel a flicker of hope – including retreats specifically for widowers and for those widowed by cancer.
I hope you enjoy my discussion with Marni Henderson.
Links & resources for this episode
Marni’s blog post: “What is your launchpad to creating life after loss?”
Coalesce Discovery - Belize retreats
Sunrise Retreats - Idaho retreats
Second Firsts, by Christina Rasmussen
More links for listeners
Thank you sponsors & partners:
Help Texts - Grief support text messaging service. Tips and support delivered all year long, personalized based on your loss. Listeners get $10 off: https://helptexts.com/jennylisk
BetterHelp - Talk with a licensed, professional therapist online. Get 10% off your first month: betterhelp.com/widowedparent
Support the show - Chip in at BuyMeACoffee.com
What is your biggest challenge as a widowed parent right now?
Call our voice mailbox at (669)257-3434 and leave a message. Or, answer this quick one-question survey. We’ll work with experts to answer listener questions in future episodes & articles.