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.

Shared Experiences 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.

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.

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.

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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.

Soaring Spirits International: Embracing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

At Soaring Spirits International (SSI), we believe that widowhood is a shared human experience, transcending boundaries of marital status, gender, sexual identity, and religious traditions. Our programs welcome and honor the diversity that grief brings, offering support to anyone who has experienced the death of their person.

We are committed to ensuring equitable access to our programs, recognizing that underserved populations face barriers in accessing grief support. Through active outreach and data collection, we work to remove these barriers systematically and consistently.

Inclusion is at the heart of our mission. We understand that mourning takes different forms across cultures and identities. With curiosity and cultural humility, we continually adapt and expand our resources to serve an ever broader and more diverse community of widowed individuals. We actively seek feedback from underrepresented communities to ensure our programs are relevant and inclusive.

Our dedication to diversity, equity, and inclusion is an ongoing journey. We regularly review and improve our efforts, staying connected with the evolving needs of our global community.

Our full statement and DEI action plan can be found by clicking this link.

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.

Memorial Day Musings. Corpsman Up!

Memorial Day Musings. Corpsman Up!

Another holiday weekend looms and I know even two day ordinary weekends bring emotional struggles for the widowed population. These occasions are often hollow reminders of what is no longer. No matter...

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Unexpected Downtime

Unexpected Downtime

This week has been a kind of awful that I have not experienced for probably 20 years or more. Tuesday night, I started to feel progressively ill. Like the kind of ill where you know it was something...

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Two Peas in a Pod

Two Peas in a Pod

Robyn and I talk almost every morning.  It’s a kind of well-being check-in for us, I think. I would get concerned if I couldn’t reach her (without an excused absence). She feels the same. In any...

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Resting in Peace

Resting in Peace

Our Own Way We wish for our person to rest in peace—what about us? Are there moments of peace that we create for ourselves? Grief follows us like a shadow. No matter where we turn it can show...

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Solo Motherhood

Solo Motherhood

As summer draws near and we are at the finish line for yet another school year, the weight of being a solo parent has been even more apparent lately. First, it started with research and enrollment for...

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Sundays are the Most Nostalgic

Sundays are the Most Nostalgic

Sunday afternoons are sometimes still the most nostalgic and bittersweet times. I frequently have packed weekends, often a little too “peopley.” And it is a relief to get to Sunday evening, to pause,...

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Who Says You Can’t Go Home?

Who Says You Can’t Go Home?

“Who says you can’t go home?” asks the lyrics of a song written by New Jersey natives, Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora.  Two weeks ago, I made a trek to my home state of New Jersey for a quick...

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Solo Traveling

Solo Traveling

I’m currently on a 4 day outing on the Oregon coast and typing this post up from my little teardrop trailer. On the drive out here on Wednesday, it occurred to me that I’m not really “camping”...

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Weekly Journal Prompt

Journal Prompt

Explore the concept of self-care. What activities or practices help you nurture your well-being during this time of grief?

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

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