Widowed With Kids: Sharon Rosenbloom on Parenting Through Grief, 24 Years On

Content warning: cancer, death, end-of-life care, child bereavement and serious illness. Twenty-four years ago, Sharon Rosenbloom’s husband Simon died from cancer, leaving her with two young children and a life she had never imagined having to live without him. Today, Sharon is a bereavement therapist, coach and author of Widowed With Kids. But before we get to everything she has learned since Simon died, we go right back to the beginning. Sharon and Simon met on a blind date she nearly didn’t go on. She spilled his Diet Coke all over him, somehow didn’t put him off, and he went on to drive from Surrey to North London night after night just to see her. Both had already survived major health scares before they met. Simon had undergone major surgery following pancreatic cancer, while Sharon survived a brain tumour at just 26 after initially being sent home with what doctors thought was a virus. Together they built a family and had Sophie and Oliver. Then Simon became ill again. Secondary cancer was discovered, followed by chemotherapy, a precious family trip to Disneyland Paris, sepsis, a rapid deterioration and hospice care at the end. And then Sharon had to work out how to raise two grieving children while grieving herself. Sophie was seven. Oliver was five and had complex additional needs, meaning his understanding of his dad’s death unfolded very differently. Every day he would ask, “When’s Daddy coming ding dong?”, waiting for Simon to come home. We talk about children grieving in completely different ways, the advice Sharon was given not to cry in front of them and why she now believes the opposite. We also discuss children and funerals, solo parenting, family support and the sheer practical weight of becoming the only adult responsible for everything. Simon’s funeral took place on Father’s Day. Afterwards, Sophie would give Sharon cards telling her: “You’re my mum and my dad.” And Sharon says that is exactly what she became. What makes this conversation particularly special is the length of the view. Twenty-four years later, Sharon can tell us what happened next. There were relationships, mistakes, difficult lessons, training in counselling and coaching, writing Widowed With Kids, supporting other bereaved people and eventually learning how to be genuinely happy in her own company. This is an episode about raising grieving children, becoming mum and dad, surviving the years that follow and discovering that while widowhood may stay with you, life keeps growing around it. Take care of yourselves, and each other.