Joy Imboden Overstreet Reflects on Widowed Parenting After 47 Years

The Widowed Parent Podcast

I had such a great discussion with Joy Imboden Overstreet for this episode. Joy is a widowed parent, and is in fact the person who is farthest out from their loss that we’ve had on the show. She was widowed 47 years ago, when her kids were just 3 & 6 years old. I think it’s really helpful to hear her perspectives and reflections after many years.

Some topics Joy and I discuss include:

• The shock of her 29-year-old husband being diagnosed with testicular cancer when her kids were 1 and 4 years old;
• Feeling angry after he died, followed by shame and self-loathing;
• Hiring a male nanny for her young kids;
• Meeting her second husband 8 years after her first husband died;
• Her older son becoming ‘super dad’ after his first child was born as a reaction to missing out on experiences with his own dad;
• Her daughter exploring feelings of abandonment as an adult in relation to losing her dad; and
• Planning to have discussions now with her adult kids, 47 years after their loss, about things they never talked about—and realizing that it’s never too late to talk about it.

I hope you enjoy my discussion with Joy Imboden Overstreet.

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