Widowed Village

Created by widowed people for widowed people. We get you.

Created by widowed people for widowed people. We get you.

What is Widowed Village?

Widowed Village is a virtual community hosted by Soaring Spirits International, which offers access to widowed peers, research-informed resources, and opportunities for connecting with and learning from other people who understand the life-altering experience of widowhood.

Do I Qualify?

Any widowed person is welcome here: married, never married, planning to be married, divorced at the time of death, all genders, straight, LGBTQ+, religious, not religious, widowed folks with kids and without, complicated or conventional relationships…anyone who has outlived the person with whom they’d planned to spend their life fits into our definition of widowed.

Join the Village

Widowed Village's research-informed resources are available to any person in need of support for themselves, a friend, client, patient or loved one. Interaction within the village is reserved for widowed people only, and joining as a member will be required to access the community discussion pages.

Widowed Time Frame

Perspective, Resources and Community for However Long You’ve been Widowed

Newly Widowed
Recently Widowed
Middle Widowed
Seasoned Widowed
We have a widowed person for that

We have a widowed person for that

Every widowed experience is different, and yet the way the person you love died may influence how you grieve. At Soaring Spirits we've discovered that connecting with other people whose loved one died in the same way as yours offers a unique and powerful comfort as you move through your grief.

We Have a Widowed Person for That is a place to find others whose lives have been altered in some of the same ways as yours. Sudden loss, long or short term illness, suicide, accidents or deaths complicated by addiction or mental health struggles: this portion of our website offers videos, resources, books, and group connections that facilitate the exploration of topics unique to the type of death your love one experienced, and how that death experience influences your healing.

You will find friends here who get it, and who get you.

Support for Newly Widowed

Support for Newly Widowed

Widow. Widower. Widowed. After your spouse or partner dies, feeling that you are the only widowed person in the world is not unusual, but it can be terrifying. We can’t take away the pain you feel right now, but we can help. The community here at Soaring Spirits will offer you understanding, friendship, inspiration, and encouragement as you learn to live without your person.

Research Informed Resources

Research Informed Resources

Current research on life after loss can inform, educate and provide a framework for the widowed community as we rebuild our lives. Access resilience-based books, articles, podcasts, websites and videos which will provide powerful information to support your healing journey.

Find a Regional Group

Find a Regional Group

Join thousands of widowed men and women who meet in cities throughout the world, including Canada, Ireland and the United States. These groups help widowed people rebuild social networks that foster healing through community connection. Groups meet twice monthly and are led by Soaring Spirits trained volunteer facilitators.

SSI Document Center

SSI Document Center

Our document center includes important information for the newly widowed, general resources for widowed people, and information for their support networks. Click here for access to The Newly Widowed Checklist, Common Grief Reactions in Adults, The Widowhood Resilience Scale, 10 Ways to Ease Trauma, and many other supportive documents.

Camp Widow Events

Camp Widow Events

This uplifting, life-affirming, conference-style program (both live and virtual) allows widowed people to gather and create strong community connections with other widowed people. Weekend Camp Widow® events are held annually in San Diego, Tampa, and Toronto, and one day Pop-Up Camps are held in various locations throughout the world.

SSI Book Library

SSI Book Library

The Soaring Spirits library offers a collection of books written by authors with backgrounds in mental health; books by our Camp Widow presenters; books recommended by widowed peers, and books written by other widowed people. Each section title identifies the category that applies to the book you are viewing and provides details for purchase.

Widowed Pen Pal Program

Widowed Pen Pal Program

Our Widowed Pen Pal program will match you with another widowed person for one-on-one, supportive e-mail correspondence. The Widowed Pen Pal program was designed for those who would like to correspond with one person consistently, rather than join a group forum. For your safety, our procedure for matching pen pals includes verification of widowhood, which we process through our Widowed Village program.

More Info

Widowed Village Around the World

Soaring Spirits International offers support, resources and community for widowed people around the world. Our Widowed Village program, which was created in 2010, has been accessed in 153 different countries, by tens of thousands of widowed people seeking solace in the comfort of a life-affirming community.

Widowed Village Around the World

Widow’s Voice Blog

Imagine finding a blog that gives voice to the pain you are living and the words you've thought, but never shared. We've amassed a library that includes thousands of posts written by widowed people, that normalize the sometimes crazy process of grief and loss. Our blogs are searchable and will lead you to specific topics or questions. You can also read every post written by any of your favorite authors by searching their name. Every single word that you will read on this blog was written for widowed people, by widowed people.

More Posts

EACH DEATH COMES AS TEACHER

EACH DEATH COMES AS TEACHER

Jan 26, 2022

REST IN PEACE THICH NHAT HANH October 11, 1926 – January 22, 2022   No coming, no going no after, no before. I hold you close. I release you to be free. I am in you And you are in me. Thich...

Read More

If Only….

If Only….

Jan 25, 2022

Photo our own – with our eldest child, Ben. I have many terrible dreams. Night-time dreams, I mean. My day-time dreams are much more enjoyable, pleasant, inspiring, life-giving. I am a light sleeper,...

Read More

Beginnings Revisited

Beginnings Revisited

Jan 24, 2022

I did not die.

And, neither did you. 

I am still breathing. 

And, so are you.

It's that plain. 

I can make his death as complicated as I want to, but really it...

Read More

Topsy Turvy Widowed World

Topsy Turvy Widowed World

Jan 23, 2022

Happy Sunday, peeps! Sometimes, this life after loss thing feels so surreal to me I can barely take it. At times, it feels as if the life I am living is a life I dont even recognize as me, and I wonder...

Read More

The Memory Bank

The Memory Bank

Jan 23, 2022

It all adds up doesn’t it? I’ve had days where it’s one bad thing again and again. I couldn’t catch a break. Life seems so tough when I’m right in the middle of the storm. I used to dwell...

Read More

Winter Doldrums

Winter Doldrums

Jan 20, 2022

                                  Mid-January. I can count on consistent cold for at least another couple of months. My rational mind knows better, but I sometimes wonder whether the...

Read More

Be Brave

Be Brave

Jan 19, 2022

Being brave isn’t the absence of fear. Being brave is having that fear but finding a way through it. Bear Grylls Experiencing loss in the time of Covid is complicated. Times like these require...

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2022 is the year of….Lovely Work

2022 is the year of….Lovely Work

Jan 18, 2022

Image by Jen Theodore on Unsplash We are far enough into January now to no longer be seeing quite so many stories of New Year’s Resolutions. What a relief. I can better tolerate stories of New Year’s...

Read More

Weekly Journal Prompt

Journal Prompt

Describe what you did daily that helped you cope with your person's death.

Journals

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Instagram

When you see someone who is further out from their loss rebuilding their life after the death of a spouse or partner, it can provide hope. This Widow's Voice reader saw a flicker of hope in Staci's recent post...

10/20/2020

Sponsors

Widowed Village is grateful for the incredible support of our corporate and community sponsors. Our work is fueled by their generosity.

Kathleen Moore Rehl Moving Forward on Your Own Family Foundation