Jess Herrick was 28 when her partner Max was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive cancer.

What followed was a year of brutal treatment, long hospital stays, and a kind of life that no one in their twenties expects to be living. Against the odds, Max went into remission and they tried to rebuild. But just a year later, the cancer came back, this time terminal.

In this episode, Jess talks about loving someone through illness, becoming a carer in your mid-twenties, and the quiet, devastating losses that come with young widowhood, not just the person, but the future you were meant to have together.

They got married in a hospice just days before Max died.

Jess also shares what it’s actually like to be widowed at 28, the messy reality of grief in your twenties, and why she’s now helping other young widows find each other through peer support.

This one is raw, honest, and devastating, but also full of love.

Rosie is joined by Leslie Harter-Berg, author of You Are So Strong, to talk about sudden loss, solo parenting, and rebuilding a life you never asked for.

Leslie’s husband Ryan died unexpectedly in 2019 after suffering an aneurysm and stroke while they were on a family holiday. He was 34. They had two very young children. One moment they were by the pool, the next, everything had changed.

They talk about the reality of those early days. Telling your children their dad has died. Coming home without him. The strange, relentless practicalities of grief. And why being told “you are so strong” can feel completely off the mark.

They also talk about what comes next. Finding love again. Building a blended family. Raising children who grieve in very different ways. And holding both joy and devastation at the same time.

Leslie shares how her book came to be, and how writing it felt less like revisiting trauma and more like spending time with Ryan again.

Title: You Are So Strong: On Grief and Letting Go of My Favourite Compliment Available: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Target, Kindle, and Audible (narrated by Leslie herself)

• Instagram: @lesliehartberg

• Nonprofit: Bids for Wids (sharing widows' stories)

• Podcast: Widowed AF

• Book: Rosie's memoir (published on the anniversary of Ben's death)

This episode discusses sudden bereavement, young widowhood, children's grief, and the death of a spouse. If you have been affected by any of the topics discussed, you can reach out to Rosie or Leslie directly via their social channels.

In this episode, Rosie Moss speaks with Stuart J Green, author of The Regenerative Leap, whose story of love, loss and survival is almost impossible to comprehend, and yet deeply human.

Stuart takes us back to a life built in the Philippines, where he met his wife Maya, a brilliant lawyer, mother, and woman deeply committed to justice. Their love story is rich with humour, culture and connection. And then, in a moment of unimaginable violence, everything changes.

Maya is murdered in broad daylight, ambushed in her car while picking up their children from school. What follows is a story that will stop you in your tracks. A mother’s final act of protection. Children who survive against all odds. And a father who must hold it all together while his world collapses.

Together, Rosie and Stuart explore what happens next. The immediate aftermath. The fear. The decision to flee the country within days. And the reality of arriving back in the UK as a suddenly single parent to three traumatised children.

They talk about:

Survivor’s guilt and what it means to be “the one left behind”

• Raising children after extreme trauma and telling them the truth over time

• The anger children feel, and where it lands

• The strange isolation of being a widowed parent, especially as a dad

• The power of routine, even when everything feels impossible

• And the idea that grief doesn’t just break you, it can also rebuild you

Stuart shares how he deliberately chose not to look back at his grief until his children were stable, and what happened when he finally opened those journals years later. From that came his book, and a framework for navigating life after devastation.

At the heart of this conversation is a powerful reframe. Not resilience. Not “getting back to who you were”. But regeneration. The idea that after the fire, something new can grow.

This is an episode about the worst thing happening… and what comes after.

About raising children through grief.

About love that protects, even in the final moment.

And about finding a way forward when there is no map.

If this episode resonates, sharing it or leaving a review helps other widows find it.

https://www.regenerateleap.com/