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LAUREN LENTZ l Grief Coach & Somatic Anxiety Practicioner

@imsorrywerefriends

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Helping widows navigate life after loss 🤍
From early grief → rebuilding → living again
🎙️The Widow's Collective
self-guided + 1:1 + group support ↓

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A really confronting part of widowhood can be feeling like you're being watched, judged, or measured against someone else's expectations of what grief should look like.

Someone thinks you're moving on too quickly, doesn't understand why you're still having hard days, or they have opinions about dating, parenting, celebrating, traveling, or the choices you're making as you figure out life without your person.

But here's your reminder: You don't owe anyone an explanation for how you grieve.

You don't have to make your grief look a certain way to prove how much you loved your person.

You don't have to justify the decisions you're making or convince anyone that you're handling things the right way.

Your grief is yours. Your relationship was yours. And the life you're learning to navigate now is yours, too.

People will have opinions. Let them. You get to decide what feels right for you, what you need, and how you want to move through this life.

And...if someone doesn't understand? That's okay. They don't have to.

You get to grieve in a way that feels true to you.

💕

Lauren
(Widow & Certified Grief Coach)

Follow along for honest conversations about grief, widowhood, and learning to build a life you never expected.

#widow #grief #griefjourney #griefsupport #reimagine by @imsorrywerefriends

There's something powerful about finding women you didn't know you needed.

The conversations you don't have to explain. The feelings you don't have to justify and see validated through another woman's eyes. The realization that you aren't carrying quite so much on your own.

That's what Re-Imagine is about. Finding your people in the rebuilding, too.

Today is the LAST day to join us!

Our 12 weeks together begin November 12.

And...joining Re-Imagine also gives you first access to future in-person gatherings and retreats I host, because getting to hug the person you've been walking alongside online is everything.

I'd love to have you at the table.

Comment "Re-Imagine" for more info.

💛

Lauren
(Widow & Certified Grief Coach)

#widow #grief #griefsupport #griefjourney #community by @imsorrywerefriends

In Episode 39 of The Widow’s Collective, (out today and in my bio) we're talking about what acceptance in grief really means, and how to acknowledge the reality of our lives without having to be okay with what happened.

And... if you're in the murky middle, grappling with difficult questions about who you are now and wondering what life might still hold for you, there's a spot open in Re-Imagine.

This is a space to be held in community with other widows who understand. Doors close tomorrow.

Comment RE-IMAGINE and I'll send you the details.

💕

Lauren
(Fellow widow & certified grief coach)

#widow #grief #griefsupport #podcast #reimagine by @imsorrywerefriends

You can be deeply loved by the people who show up and still hurt over the people who don't.

One doesn't cancel out the other.

You don't have to shame yourself for feeling disappointed, and you don't have to force yourself to stop caring. But you can begin to notice where your attention keeps going, and gently ask yourself what that part of you is still needing.

The goal isn't to pretend their absence doesn't hurt...it's to make room to see the love that is here, too.

These are the kinds of conversations we have inside Re-Imagine when we explore what it means to find our tribe after the death of a spouse.

Real, honest conversations about the things so many of us quietly wrestle with on our own. The disappointments, the questions, the relationships that have changed, and the longing to feel understood by the people around us.

And you don't have to navigate all of that on your own.

Doors to Re-Imagine are open through Friday, October 30.

Comment RE-IMAGINE and I'll send you the details.

Xo,

Lauren
(Certified Grief Coach)

#widow #grief #griefsupport #griefjourney reimagine by @imsorrywerefriends

When we lose our person, we're grieving so much more than the life we shared.

We're grieving the trips we won't take.
The milestones they won't be here for.
The ordinary Tuesdays we thought we'd have for decades.
The conversations we haven't had yet.
The person they were still becoming.

We're grieving a future we could picture so clearly, even though we hadn't lived a single moment of it yet, and there's a deep ache that comes alongside missing things that never got the chance to happen.

Those dreams were real to us. That future mattered. We had already made room for them in the life we imagined.

And then, suddenly, we're left trying to make sense of a life that looks nothing like the one we thought we'd be living.

Who am I now?
What does my future look like?
How do I begin imagining a life that was never in the plans?

These are some of the questions that can emerge as we learn to live with loss.

And we deserve space to explore what that means.

If you're looking for a soft place to land, where you can have these conversations with women who understand this experience firsthand, I'd love to tell you about Re-Imagine.

It's my upcoming group experience for widows, running through the fall and winter months - a season when the future we imagined and the life we're living now can feel especially far apart.

Comment RE-IMAGINE and I'll send you the details.

💕

Lauren
(Fellow widow & certified grief coach)

#widow #grief #griefsupport #griefjourney #reimagine by @imsorrywerefriends

Sometimes, we start considering what moving forward might look like and realize it means having to acknowledge things that feel really sharp and scary.

That you're building a life without your person.

That you're making decisions they won't be here to help you make.

That the future you once imagined together isn't the future you're living.

And that, little by little, you're learning to navigate a life you never would have chosen.

You might even find yourself resisting the very things you've been hoping for.

Because what happens when life starts to feel a little more normal?

When you begin making plans again?

When you catch yourself looking forward to something?

When you realize you're adapting to a life without them?

It can bring you face-to-face with the permanence of your loss in a way you weren't expecting; and maybe a part of you would rather stay in the place you know than confront what it means to keep living in a world where they're no longer here.

That doesn't mean you don't want a life that feels good again.

It doesn't mean you're doing grief wrong.

It means moving forward can ask you to accept a reality you would give anything to change.

And you don't have to rush yourself through that tension.

You can want more for your life and still grieve the life you thought you'd have.

Both can be true.

And if you're looking for a space where you can explore what comes next, alongside other widows who understand this experience, comment RE-IMAGINE and I'll share more about my 12-week group.

You don't have to figure this out alone. And you don't have to keep wondering whether you're the only one who feels this way.

In Re-Imagine, we make room for the complicated, sometimes conflicting feelings that come with learning to live a life you never expected—while connecting with women who get it.

💕

Lauren
(Certified Grief Coach)

#widow #grief #griefsupport #griefjourney #reimagine by @imsorrywerefriends

Sometimes, the hardest part of taking a next step isn't knowing what you want. It's not knowing what that step will ask of you.

Will you have the energy for it?
Will you be able to show up when grief feels heavy?
What if you try and realize you're not where you thought you were?

I think we can spend so much time trying to predict how we'll feel in a future experience that we forget we're allowed to figure things out as we go.

You can be curious and hesitant.
You can want something and have reservations about it.
You can recognize that something might be good for you and still feel a little scared to step into it.

And sometimes, you might genuinely not have the capacity right now. That's worth honoring, too.

But if you've been thinking about what's next for you, I invite you to get curious about what might be underneath your hesitation.

Because this is something I think about often when it comes to Re-Imagine. You don't have to know exactly what comes next or have everything figured out to explore what's possible alongside women who understand this part of widowhood.

If you've been considering joining us for the next round but aren't sure you're ready, I'd love to talk with you about it. Comment "re-imagine" and we can explore whether it's the right fit for you.

💕

Lauren
(Widow & Certified Grief Coach)

#widow #grief #griefjourney #griefsupport #reimagine by @imsorrywerefriends

When you're surviving, you're just trying to get through the day - often, second by second.

You're barely coming up for air, only to put your head back down and keep moving through the initial impact of loss.

But as time moves forward and the grip of survival begins to loosen, you start to re-emerge into this new, foreign world.

You may surrounded by people who love you, but you begin to notice how much of their lives has stayed the same when nothing about yours feels familiar anymore.

And that's a type of loneliness that can be hard for the outside world to see.

Re-Imagine meets you there. In the murky middle of widowhood, where you're still trying to understand your grief, who you are now, where you want to go, and how you want to continue to carry your person forward.

You're met by a group of women who get it. Women who understand that you're not just grieving the person you lost, but also trying to find your footing in a life you never expected to be living.

Here, you're witnessed, held, and validated in your experience. You have space to make sense of what's changed, explore what comes next, and begin to imagine what a life that holds both your grief and your future might look like.

If this sounds like something you're looking for, comment "Re-Imagine" and I will reach out to you.

Xo,

Lauren
(Widow & Certified Grief Coach)

#widow #grief #griefsupport #griefjourney #reimagine by @imsorrywerefriends

The murky middle.

I was laughing.
I was buying a new house and getting promoted to a new role in my career.
I was making new connections.
Forming new friendships.
And learning to parent all on my own.

And...

I was so lost.
I was scared.
I longed for the life in the before and resisted what was here.
I knew I didn't want to live in this space forever.
But I also didn't know what else was possible for me here.

You're no longer only surviving, but you're not yet thriving either.

It's the gray space of grief and I can meet you there.

Comment "Re-Imagine" to learn more about my 12-week program for the widow living in the liminal space of grief.

You are not alone.

💕

Lauren
(Certified Grief Coach)

#widow #grief #griefsupport #griefjourney #reimagine by @imsorrywerefriends

One of the loneliest parts of widowhood can be when the world starts to see you as “doing better,” while you're still trying to figure out how to live in a life you never wanted.

You're functioning. You're making plans. You're showing up. And yet, you may still feel lost in a life that doesn't feel like yours. You may be questioning who you are now, what you want, and how you're supposed to move forward when a part of you would give anything to go back.

This is the murky middle.

And I believe it's a part of widowhood we don't talk about or sit with enough.

You can be finding your footing and still feel completely unsure of where you're going. You can be building a life around your grief and still deeply wish this wasn't the life you had to build.

You don't have to have it all figured out to begin exploring what comes next.

That's why I created Re-Imagine, a 12-week group experience for widows who are ready to explore who they're becoming, reconnect with themselves, and begin imagining what life might look like from here; and just as importantly, to do that alongside other women who understand the complexities of this life.

I'm exploring the possibility of opening a second Re-Imagine group running November 12 – February 11, provided we have enough women ready to join us.

If you've been in this in-between place, wondering what comes next but not quite sure how to begin, I'd love to hear from you.

You don't need to know exactly what you want your life to look like, you just need to be open to exploring what might still be possible here.

Comment “RE-IMAGINE” and I'll reach out with more information.

💕

Lauren
(Certified Grief Coach)

#widow #grief #griefsupport #griefjourney #reimagine by @imsorrywerefriends

Because surviving the initial shock of losing your person is one thing, learning how to live without them is another.

You're beginning to notice the empty spaces they left behind. You're figuring out who you are in a life you never imagined living. You're navigating decisions, experiences, and moments you once shared with someone else.

And while the people around you may see progress, you may be standing in the middle of a thousand unanswered questions and a life that looks completely foreign to you.

You can laugh and still miss him.
You can enjoy your life and still ache for the life you lost.
You can look like you're doing well and still need someone to ask how you're really doing.

The world may have moved into the next chapter of your story before you've even figured out how to live in this one.

And that can be an incredibly lonely place to be.

If this is where you find yourself, you're not behind. You're not doing grief wrong; you're navigating a part of widowhood that often goes unseen.

And you deserve support here, too.

I'm exploring opening another round of Re-Imagine, my 12-week group for widows navigating the questions of, "what's next?"
and "who am I now?"

We'll walk alongside one another from November through February, making space for the hard parts, the questions, and the possibility of building a life that holds both love and loss.

If you'd like to learn more, comment RE-IMAGINE and I'll reach out with details.

💕

Lauren
(Certificated Grief Coach)

#widow #grief #griefsupport #griefjourney reimagine by @imsorrywerefriends

There will come a day when you start to crawl your way out of the trenches. When you begin to notice that survival isn't the only option for you anymore.

It won't happen overnight; it will happen slowly, over time.

But when you hear that little voice within you saying, "There has to be more to life than this..." don't be so quick to silence her.

I've come to believe that wanting a life that feels meaningful again and wishing your person were here to share it are not mutually exclusive.

You can want both.

You can miss him and still believe that there is more for yourself.

🫂

Lauren
(Certificated Grief Coach)

#widow #grief #griefsupport #griefjourney #lifeafterloss by @imsorrywerefriends