Wailing Women, Episode 4: Black Widow

The podcast Great Grief takes shape around Nnenna’s own great grief, which she experienced after the death of her husband, Philip Freelon, in 2019. A wife for nearly 40 years, Nnenna wonders in this episode what to make of the term "widow."Perhaps loss does not make her into a widow. Perhaps it is turning her into something else altogether. Read a transcript of this episode. This is episode four in our four-part season of Great Grief with Nnenna Freelon, "Wailing Women," exploring the profound beauty and irreparable losses we experience as Black women through story and song. Listen to all four episodes, touching on the shock of widowhood, the bittersweet of sisterhood, and the love-hate journeys many of us have with our hair. As we give voice to the wailing women within, we find more than tears. --- Unlike other podcasts on grief, Great Grief by Grammy-nominated vocalist Nnenna Freelon doesn’t give you a blueprint for how to get over it. Instead, she offers her own experiences as a wife, a sister, a Black woman, and a powerful jazz artist to help you get into it. Each four-episode season is organized around topics that intertwine our grief experiences—topics like sisterhood, the inevitability of change, and Black love. A new collection drops every quarter, accompanied by a live opportunity for us to gather around our griefs in different cities across the South. Season 1 is available now on all podcast platforms. Learn more about Great Grief and find upcoming live events near you. Check out the archive of essays in Scalawag's grief & other loves series. Join the Great Grief Facebook community.