How She Rebuilt Her Life After Becoming a Widow at 38 w/ Bethany Spencer (RR #83)

Oct 12

2 min read

Updated: Oct 14

Rebel Rootz Show Episode #83 with Bethany Spencer.

Watch the full episode on Youtube:

At 38, Bethany Spencer became a widow with five kids under the age of 11 after her husband died just 11 months after a cancer diagnosis. In an instant, the life she thought she was building changed completely.

In this episode, Evonne and Bethany talk about grief, motherhood, raising kids through loss, accepting help, and what it actually looks like to rebuild a life when everything familiar is gone. Bethany also shares why healthy grieving mattered so much to her, especially because she wanted her children to see that grief is something you process, not something you bury.

Bethany also opens up about finding love again, why becoming Keith’s wife does not make her any less of Eric’s widow, and how her family keeps Eric’s memory alive while still making room for a new chapter.

Today, Bethany lives in Costa Rica, coaches people through grief, and is preparing to release her book in March. Her story is a reminder that moving forward does not mean forgetting what came before. Sometimes rebuilding means learning how to hold both.

Timestamps:

[00:00] Trailer + Intro

[02:01] Becoming a Widow at 38

[04:19] Rebuilding a Life After Loss

[06:41] Letting Go of the “What Ifs”

[10:45] How to Actually Support Someone Grieving

[14:27] The Overwhelm After Losing a Spouse

[17:46] Becoming a Grief Coach

[23:24] Modeling Healthy Grief for Your Kids

[24:47] Moving to Costa Rica to Heal

[29:38] Finding Love Again

[31:56] Loving Again Without Replacing the Past

[33:19] Keeping Eric’s Memory Alive

[36:56] Look Up When Life Gets Hard

Key Takeaways:

• “I don’t like to dwell in the what-if space too much because the what-ifs just give way to frustration.” ~ Bethany Spencer

• “Jump in. Don’t ask, just jump in.” ~ Evonne Varady

• “Sometimes we just need people to hold the light for us because it’s just so dark.” ~ Bethany Spencer

• “I had to model healthy grieving for my kids. I didn’t want my kids to stuff it and ignore it and sweep it under the rug.” ~ Bethany Spencer

• “You have to take care of you first.” ~ Evonne Varady

• “Being Keith’s wife does not make me any less of Eric’s widow. I will always be his widow.” ~ Bethany Spencer

• “Make sure that you take time to look up… a lot of times the joy and the good is in the peripheral.” ~ Bethany Spencer

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Timestamps:

Key Takeaways:

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