It’s International Widows Day — Announcing Our New Book “Legendary Widows: Stories of Legacy”!
INSIDE LOOK Newsletter
INTERNATIONAL WIDOWS DAY
Today is International Widows Day
We’re excited to announce the release of our new book Legendary Widows: Stories of Legacy!
Honoring accomplished and renowned widows who have had a profound influence around the globe, our book will leave you with the belief that widowhood is a stage of life in which to blossom.
Whether you know a widow or are a widow yourself, you will deeply feel these stories.
Today, when you make a tax-deductible contribution of $100 or more, you’ll receive a copy of Legendary Widows: Stories of Legacy as our thank you.
We’re asking for your financial support today, and we’d like to share more about the reason why.
A majority of our services are provided at no cost so we can help every widow who comes to us. Our research shows that after finding Modern Widows Club, widows experienced a 90% decrease in almost always feeling depressed, and a 94% decrease in almost always feeling overwhelmed. Over 6 times as many widows often felt happy, and over 4 times as many almost always felt a sense of purpose.
These are just a few of the ways your support helps provide a crucial lifeline that creates true impact in the life of a widow.
Your charitable gift also honors the widows in your life. These are our grandmothers, mothers, wives, sisters, daughters, aunts, nieces, and friends. You love them, and we love them too.
Today we invite you to:
Watch our 2023 #OneMillionWidows video
View our 2023 #OneMillionWidows slideshow
Learn more about International Widows Day, take a look at some of the issues affecting widows around the world, and learn what needs to be done to safeguard and advance their rights
Sign our Petition to Advance the Rights of Widows in the United States and Worldwide
Make a charitable donation of $100 or more to help care for widows who come to Modern Widows Club, and receive a copy of Legendary Widows: Stories of Legacy
Join us throughout the day on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn for special activities and updates
Thank you for your contribution. We’re grateful to you for making a difference in the life of so many widows.
COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT
The journey of healing and rebuilding after loss led Lisa C. and Claudell M. to build a vibrant community that has been illuminating the path for many: the Modern Widows Club Southern California Community. This community was born from a gap in grief support resources and a desire to fill that gap with warmth, understanding, and guidance.
In 2022, Lisa, 13 years into her widowhood, moved to Southern California to care for her recently widowed mother. She sought a local widow support group but found none. From this absence, however, arose an opportunity to advocate for widows in Riverside County. Soon, the Los Angeles, Orange, and San Diego counties joined forces, and the Southern California Community came alive.
Lisa’s world had been shattered on February 6, 2010, when her 7-year-old son discovered that her husband, his father, had died from a drug overdose. As a mother, author, and educator, Lisa had spent years helping widows navigate their grief. Now, she was ready to commit to serving this community on a larger scale.
Claudell joined the cause one year after her own heart-wrenching loss. On June 16, 2021, her husband Billy, after a long illness, took his own life. Claudell, a small business owner, mother of two, and proud grandmother, decided in June 2022 that she wanted to support other widows. She discovered Modern Widows Club online and connected with Lisa.
Together, Lisa and Claudell have created a haven for widows in Southern California. Their meetings, held twice a month, are a mix of comfort, understanding, and laughter. They offer a space where widows can share their experiences, fears, and hopes with those who “get it.” Spending time with those who understand the journey is integral to the healing process. This deep empathy is a salve for the soul and a key to moving forward confidently.
Each meeting, each conversation, each shared tear and laugh is a testament to the resilience and strength of the community. Lisa and Claudell are not just leading a support group; they’re building a sisterhood. They’re guiding their Wisters (widow + sisters) through the dark valleys of grief and towards the sunlight of new beginnings.
MWC STORE
New MWC Shirts and Hoodies Available
We’ve added three new logo designs and a variety of new shirts, including tees, hoodies, and tanks, to our store.
And, of course, our original MWC logo tee is still available in our signature teal color!
LEGENDARY WIDOW ROLE MODEL
Una, Lady Troubridge by Romaine Brooks, 1924
Una Vincenzo, Lady Troubridge
Our June 2023 Legendary Widow Role Model is Una Vincenzo, a British sculptor and translator born Margot Elena Gertrude Taylor in 1887. Nicknamed Una by her family when she was a child, she chose the middle name Vincenzo herself, after her Italian relatives.
Una was brought up in London in an upper middle-class family and was a pupil at the Royal College of Art. She set up a sculpture studio after graduation, but when her father died in 1907 she married Ernest Troubridge, having few options for financial support.
Una and Ernest had one daughter, Andrea. Ernest rose to the rank of admiral during the First World War, and Una gained the title “Lady Troubridge” when he was knighted in June 1919, though by that time they had separated.
Una was well-educated and fluent in several languages. A successful translator, she introduced the French writer Colette to English readers. She was a devoted admirer of the Italian-Russian operatic bass Nicola Rossi-Lemeni and followed his career all over the world. She later became a close friend to both Rossi-Lemeni and his wife, the soprano Virginia Zeani, and was godmother to their young son.
In 1915, Lady Troubridge met and fell in love with author and poet Radclyffe Hall, the partner of her cousin Mabel Batten. Batten died in 1916, and Troubridge and Hall moved in together the following year. They both identified as “inverts,” a term used by turn-of-the-century sexologists that classified same-sex attraction as a form of gender variance.
Hall, who often went by the name John, published the novel The Well of Loneliness in 1928; it was subsequently banned in England for its description of lesbianism. The book, along with manuscripts, photographs, and diaries from Troubridge and Hall, is part of a collection of more than 61,000 items digitized by the University of Texas at Austin to offer insight into the two LGBTQIA+ pioneers and the impact of censorship on gender identity.
The couple remained together until Hall died of cancer in 1943. Single for the remaining 20 years of her life, Troubridge is the author of 1945 biography The Life and Death of Radclyffe Hall. She passed away in Rome in 1963 at age 76.
Read about our other Legendary Widow Role Models here.
MENTAL HEALTH MOMENTS
Your Personal Survivor Mission
By Cyndi Williams, MSW, LCSW
For widowed parents, one of the most painful grief experiences is knowing that our children are grieving too. In the book Running on Empty: Overcome Your Childhood Emotional Neglect by Dr. Jonice Webb, PhD, one of the parenting styles listed is The Bereaved Parent. As I read this section of the book, I remember feeling a knot in my gut as I realized my children were not only hurting from the loss of their father, but they were hurting from the loss of their mother as they had known her up to the ages of 8, 12, and 16, when their dad passed away.
I was irrevocably changed without a choice in the matter. They went from having a healthy, happy, two-parent home to looking to their bereft mother for direction while she was trying to find her own path again. I had no idea what to do. So, for a while I did nothing but work, cry, and put one foot in front of the other. Instead of being the strong one, with all the answers and comfort for them, we took turns holding each other up. My 8-year-old daughter was having anxiety at bedtime. My 12-year-old son pulled away from me and leaned more on some friends who were making poor choices. My 16-year-old son had some PTSD, which made home a very difficult place to be.
I felt them all slipping away from me and struggling in ways I felt unequipped to help with. I pushed forward with my goal of finishing my master’s degree while working full time so that I could financially support them, and continued to keep their father a part of our family and traditions. I never let them forget how much he loved them.
Click below to continue reading Cyndi’s article.
A WIDOW’S PATH
The Bridge
By Janice Talbert
A few weeks ago, I was once again unsettled in my widowhood. I understand by now that it’s cyclical, and I took time to acknowledge the unease and look to understand it.
I had the strong desire for change, for growth, for life. I felt on the edge of… something; but I lacked what I envisioned was the courage of forward motion. In my frustration, I gave up on pushing myself to go where I thought I should be. Days later, I realized that I had crossed a different bridge, with ease.
Path of the Abyss erupted from my core, portraying early grief and ending with hope (10/19/2021).
The Start poured out a year later, and mixes hope with courage (10/1/2022).
The View came spontaneously, and surprised me by revealing a vision of where I’ve been and how far I’ve come (3/22/2023).
The Bridge revealed itself after I had crossed the unexpected (6/18/2023).
The Bridge
I have wandered and am weary.
Dappled light obscures my forest trek
And the trail is unclear and overgrown.
With thanks, I emerge as my eyes adjust to a wide and beautiful canyon
Stretching to the horizon in both directions.
I survey the expanse with a deep sigh.
A well-worn path leads to a bridge — a suspension of frayed ropes and rotted planks.
I stand, as strength drains and the chasm sneers.
I deflate onto rocks, to wallow and fret.
A faint illumination draws my attention and I see
The Me I wish to be
On the other side.
I sit.
I contemplate.
I test my nerve.
Then, forsake resolve.
Self-shamed, I gather strength and choose a lesser path along the rim, keeping
The Me I wish to be
In sight.
My way winds again to the forest,
And I carry that vision within
Like a torch.
I amble down this humble course while sun rays peak through canopy.
From parted shadows, a lane opens to a wildflower meadow.
I stroll lazily, revived with color and aroma.
The verdant field parts to a footbridge spanning a fast stream.
Without hesitation, I almost skip across
This small but sturdy structure.
A short stroll and the lazy trail returns to the canyon’s edge,
With the Me I wish to be
Aglow on the opposite side.
The canyon is still vast, but
The chasm has narrowed.
I smile and walk on.
Janice lost her husband and soulmate, Mark, in January 2021. Two months later, she found Modern Widows Club.
MWC BOOK CLUB
Join Us for Our July Book Club
Our virtual Book Club for widows meets on Zoom the third Monday of each month. Our next meeting is July 17 at 8pm ET, when we’ll be discussing Black Widow by Leslie Gray Streeter.
Leslie Gray Streeter is not cut out for widowhood. She's not ready for hushed rooms and pitying looks. She is not ready to stand graveside, dabbing her eyes in a classy black hat. But, here she is, having lost her soulmate to a sudden heart attack. Looking at widowhood through the prism of race, mixed marriage, and aging, Black Widow redefines the stages of grief, from coffin shopping to facing the fact that life goes on even after the death of the person you were supposed to live it with. – Hachette Book Group
Click to sign up for our Book Club, then join us July 17 for a thoughtful discussion.