Kris Marsh on Struggling After Losing Her Mom at Age 19

“My whole life I had heard people say, oh, you’ve been through so much, you’re so strong. You’re so amazing that you were able to move past that and rise above it. But what they didn’t understand — and I didn’t understand myself at the time, really — was that was my coping mechanism, to keep moving so that you didn’t have to think about it.”

— Kris Marsh

I had such a great discussion with Kris Marsh for this episode. I’ve had listener requests to hear from some people who really struggled after losing a parent at a young age. Kris lost her mom to suicide when she was just 19 years old, and she didn’t get the support that she now realizes she needed. She became, in her words, a “classic overachiever” in order to avoid dealing with her pain and loss. This continued until she approached the age her mom was when she died, at which point she couldn’t avoid dealing with it any longer. I’ll let you listen to Kris tell her story in her own words. She now feels strongly that grieving kids need support, and that just because they seem ok doesn’t necessarily mean they are. I’m so glad Kris was willing to share her story with us.

I hope you enjoy my discussion with Kris Marsh.

Links & resources for this episode

• Motherless Daughters: The Legacy of Loss, by Hope Edelman

• Motherless Mothers: How Losing a Mother Shapes the Parent You Become, by Hope Edelman

More links for listeners

• Download: Kids & Grief: What You Need to Know

• Article: I’m a Widowed Mom: Here Are My 3 Tips for COVID-19 Widows

• Book: Widowed Parents Unite: 52 Tips to Get Through the First Year, from One Widowed Parent to Another

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.

---