Melissa Pierce on Parenting the Kids You Have and the Importance of Self Care

“You really have to parent the kid that you have. I have two sons, and I parented my youngest differently than I parented my oldest during that time because there were different needs there.”

— Melissa Pierce

I had such a great discussion with Melissa Pierce for this episode. Melissa is a widowed parent, an author, and a self-care advocate. She has two sons, and her older son really struggled as a teen so be sure to listen for that part of our discussion if you’re facing a similar situation.

Some topics Melissa and I discuss include:

  • Melissa and her husband, Dave, adopting their two sons from the Oregon foster care system;

  • Moving their family from Portland to a small town in Eastern Oregon;

  • The traumatic shock of finding her husband dead after he’d gone to bed the night before feeling just a little unwell;

  • Making major changes in her life right away, despite all the grief literature suggesting one should not do this;

  • How the small town they lived in rallied to support Melissa and her boys after Dave died;

  • Finding The Dougy Center after she moved back to Portland;

  • How her grief therapy ended up dipping in and out of personal development therapy;

  • How her older son began to struggle that he so much that needed more help than could be provided locally;

  • Making the decision to send her teenage son to a wilderness therapy program and then to Boys Town;

  • Deciding to remarry;

  • How self-care changed her life; and

  • Melissa’s book recommendations for widows.

I hope you enjoy my discussion with Melissa Pierce.

Listeners: get a 10% discount on Melissa's self-care subscription boxes at filledwithgold.org - use discount code WIDOWEDPARENT.

 
 
 
 

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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

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What is your biggest challenge as a widowed parent right now?

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Jenny Lisk

Jenny Lisk is the founder of the Widowed Parent Institute. She is an award-winning author and widowed mom who is dedicated to helping widowed parents increase their family's well-being. Jenny’s books, Future Widow and Widowed Parents Unite, and her show, The Widowed Parent Podcast, guide the journey of solo parenting after loss.

https://jennylisk.com/
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Best of Show, Part 1: Conversations with Widowed Parents

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Jessica Lahey on Inoculating Our Kids Against the Risk of Substance Abuse