Early Mourning Coffee Club

A playdate that was never meant to be part of our story... and yet became one of the most important ones.In this episode, I share what happened when Oscar met another little boy who had also lost his Daddy. What started as a simple meet-up turned into something much bigger. A quiet moment of connection, understanding, and the realisation that he's not the only one.☕️🖤

Last night, my 3 year old son Oscar reached up into the sky and cried "I want my Daddy back"And I had to somehow hold him... while my own heart was breaking too.This episode is about helping a child understand grief, when you're still trying to understand it yourself.https://winstonswish.org/Winston's Wish Free Support line Open Mon-Fri 8am-8pm - 08088 020 021https://www.justgiving.com/page/lydia-wallis?utm_medium=FR&utm_source=CL&utm_content=link_in_biohttps://www.justgiving.com/page/allforgilbert?utm_medium=FR☕️🖤

The second year of grief doesn't look like people expect.It's quieter on the outside... but heavier on the inside. Less visible. Less understood. And somehow... more complicated.This episode is about the in-between. Where joy and heartbreak sit side by side. Where you can stand at a wedding and laugh, cry, feel everything... and still miss them all at once. If you've ever felt like you should be 'further along' by now - this is for you☕️🖤

Grief doesn't disappear... it jusst changes shape. And sometimes healing shows up in the form of muddy paws, early mornings, and a puppy who has absolutely no concept of personal space.This week I'm talking about Honey, the chaos she's brought into our lives... and the quiet ways she's helped us to heal.Because joy doesn't replace love. It learns to sit alongside it.☕️🖤

Birthdays used to mean cake, candles and making a bit of fuss (okay... a lot of fuss)Now they mean something very different.This episode os about grief showing up where you don't expect it. In hospital waiting rooms, in quiet moments, in the space where someone should still be. It's about missing him. It's about making your own birthday coffee (which just isn't the same)And it's about learning how to hold both love and loss all at once.Also featuring:- A pre op appointment that emotionally assaulted me within 30 seconds- The reality of being the "responsible adult" - And a birthday message I didn't expect, but somehow really neededIf birthdays feel complicated for you too, then this one's for you☕️🖤

We learn what grief "should" look like long before we ever experience it. Through films, TV, music and even adverts.But when grief arrives... it doesn't follow a script.In this episode I talk about the gap between how grief is portrayed in the media and what it actually feels like to live it. It's messy, quiet, repetitive, and very real.From cinematic storylines to supermarket breakdowns, this one is about unlearning the polished version of grief and making space for truth.I also mention the website 'Does The Dog Die' which is a resource that helps you check for difficult or triggering content in films and shows before you watch:https://www.doesthedogdie.com/If your grief doesn't look like that movies, you're not doing it wrong. You're just living the version no one writes scripts for.☕️🖤

Episode 13: The Things We LoseGrief isn't just about death. It can live in divorce papers.In hospital waiting rooms.In the loss of a body part.In futures that never happen.This week, my friend Gemma joins me to talk about grieving something we rarely discuss: losing part of your body after breast cancer.It's raw, honest, sometimes funny, and a reminder that grief doesn't need permission to exist.If you've ever wondered whether your loss 'counts', this episode is for you ☕️🖤

Mother's Day can be beautiful. But when you're grieving, it can also be incredibly complicated.This week on the Early Mourning Coffee Club, I'm talking about Mother's Day in the middle of grief. Whether you're missing your mum, grieving your husband while raising his child, or carrying a version of motherhood that looks very different to what you imagined.Because this day can hold both things at once: love and heartbreak. I'm sharing the story of my first Mother's Day without Alex, when I took Oscar camping in Crowed, terrified I couldn't do it on my own... and the small, quiet moments that reminded me maybe I could.If Mother's Day feels heavy for you this year, this episode is for you. Put the kettle on. Pour the coffee. Let's begin.☕️🖤

Episode 11: One for sorrow, two for joy This week, I'm talking about signs. Not the loud spooky cinematic kind. The quiet ones. The ones you question. The ones you feel more than you can explain.Magpies. Aftershave. A talking Build-A-Bear.Not proof. Just presence. And sometimes, that's enough.☕️🖤

What if everything you've been told about grief... isn't quite true?In this episode of the Early Mourning Coffee Club, we gently unpack one of the biggest myths around loss - the "five stages" - and explore what's actually happening in your brain, your body and your nervous system when someone you love dies.This is an honest science-backed conversation about love, attachment, survival mode, and most importantly why you are not doing grief wrong.If your grief feels messy, confusing, or just nothing like the neat linear stages you were promised... then this episode is for you ☕️🖤

Episode 9: Love, Loss & February 14th ❤️‍🩹Valentine's Day looks very different when the person you built your life with is no longer here.In this episode, I'm talking about helicopter rides over the Alps, prison massages in Thailand, and the quiet evolution of love over 13 Valentine's Days together.I'm sharing what this day used to mean. What it means now. And how love doesn't disappear just because someone does.If Valentine's Day feels heavy for you, this episode is for you.Pour a coffee. Take a breath. And treat yourself to some Lily O'Brien chocolates.☕️🖤

Episode 8: Running With Love For Winston's WishThis week is special. I'm joined by my friend Lydia, who is running an ultra marathon in May in Alex's memory to raise money for Winston's Wish, the charity that has held me and Oscar through some of our hardest moments. We talk about carrying people with us, about endurance (both running and in grief) and about what it means to do something meaningful with pain.To donate to Lydia's amazing venture please follow the linkhttps://www.justgiving.com/page/lydia-wallis?utm_medium=FR&utm_source=CL&fbclid=PAdGRleAPzyaJleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZA8xMjQwMjQ1NzQyODc0MTQAAafQrGRA86RDIQWZG2giD7I5xPY2byRmJbnHCUtWQ_HC_EbPNXoCOt3_Y6Qxag_aem_cO6vrwcOJC50lXulKwL9EQ

Episode 7: The Gentle Return Of JoyAfter loss, joy can feel risky. Complicated. Even undeserved. This episode is about giving yourself permission to feel good again - not instead of grief, but alongside it.Not forced happiness. Just quiet moments of ease. Just enough softness to let your shoulders drop.If joy feels far away right now, you're not broken. You're healing. ☕️🖤

Episode 6: Totally Unhinged Things I Did To Process My GriefA reminder that grief has no rules.You're allowed to be messy.You're allowed to laugh at the wrong moments.You're allowed to do things that don't make sense to anyone, even you.This episode is me telling the truth about what survival actually looked like - unfiltered, undignified, and human.If you're here, I'm sorry you're here but I'm glad we're here together☕️🖤

Episode 5: After The Chairs Are Put AwayA year after the funeral, I'm finally able to look back without flinching.This episode isn't about reliving the day. It's about what that day gave me. The love that showed up. The laughter that surprised us. The way grief can be held by other people when it's too heavy to carry alone. I'm joined by Emily, one of mine and Alex's best friends and the celebrant who stood beside me on that day. We talk about funerals, memory, and why love doesn't end when everyone goes home and the chairs are put away.Pop the kettle on. Sit with me for a bit. I'm sorry you're here but I'm glad we're here together ☕️🖤

Episode 4 is one I never planned to make - because it's about a life I never planned to live.This episode is about becoming a solo parent overnight. Not by choice. Not gradually. But through loss.It's also about the difference between single parenting and solo parenting. About grief that doesn't pause for bedtime. About doing everything alone - while missing the person who should be there beside you.If you're solo parenting - especially through grief - I see you. And if you're supporting someone who is, I hope this episode helps you understand what they're carrying.

Grief makes people nervous.So they disappear, or say the wrong thing, or even try to fix what can't be fixed.This episode of the Early Mourning Coffee Club is for two kinds of people:- If you're grieving - I hope you feel seen- If you're supporting someone who is - I hope this takes some of the pressure off.You can't fix grief. But you can stay.Pop the kettle on, say their name out loud, and join me for this one ☕️

This week on Early Mourning Coffee Club, I'm sharing why I'm spending six weeks in the French ski resort of Tignes - the place where me and Alex met - and what it means to return with our son as I teach him to ski for the first time.I'm also joined by my friend Alex Connor, who worked a ski season with us and witnessed our love story unfold. We talk about memory, grief, joy and what it's like to carry someone forward while standing in the place where it all began 🤍

Dear Oscar - Episode One.This podcast was recorded in the early hours of the morning, coffee in hand, grief already awake, and featuring an extra special guest...The Early Mourning Coffee Club is a place for people who loved someone who left too soon. A place for quiet mornings, heavy hearts and doing the best we can with what's left. This first episode is a letter. To my son Oscar. About his Daddy. About love, loss, and learning how to exist in a life that looks nothing like the one I imagined.It's not about fixing grief or making it make sense. It's about showing up anyway.If you wake up too early because grief won't let you sleep - you belong here.Coffee first. Grief second. We'll figure out the rest together.

Welcome to Early Mourning Coffee Club - the podcast where grief is intense, humour is finely ground, and strength sneaks up on you like a double shot.Hosted by Meg, a 30-year-old widow and solo parent, this weekly show explores loss without cliches, laughter without guilt, and life after everything changes.Raw, real, inappropriate at times - exactly what grief actually looks like. Each Tuesday morning, grab a coffee (or whatever gets you through the day), and sit with Meg as she shares her experience in a podcast that offers space to be heartbroken and hopeful all at the same time.Hit follow, pour your coffee and let's take this one sip at a time.