GRIEF: loss during lockdown, creating a community & the power of friendship What The Funk?

hello! welcome back to WTF, where this week we won’t be discussing the unserious, and not exactly the serious either. in this episode we’ll be speaking about grief - something we have all collectively experienced in the past year through losing our sense of freedom in the wake of the pandemic. in particular, we’ll be exploring Nafeesa’s experience of grieving the loss of a loved one during lockdown, after her 31 year old sister Saima Thompson sadly passed away in June 2020 slap bang in the middle of the pandemic. starting with the initial cancer diagnosis, we move through her family’s experiences of normalising trauma, going through anticipatory grief and preparing for loss together.
we also talk about how feelings of isolation during lockdown, both physical and emotional, led her to connect to others experiencing young grief by setting up a community platform - Goodness Gracious Grief (@goodnessgraciousgrief / www.goodnessgraciousgrief.co.uk). and after exploring the importance of such support networks, we reflect on the role that strong friendships has to play in not only ‘showing up’ throughout this difficult process, but also in helping you to reconnect to your sense of self when your identity becomes impacted by life-changing events. 
join us for what will be an emotional but very special episode, as we honour the incredible Saima Thompson; writer, campaigner, podcaster, public speaker, entrepreneur and founder of award winning Masala Wala Cafe (@masalawalacafe) - but most importantly, an amazing big sister, daughter, wife and wonderful friend who compacted a lifetime of love, work and close connections with people during her 31 years.
as always, feel free to get in touch with us via Instagram @whatthefunkldn or email whatthefunkldn@gmail.com - we'd love to hear from you!
Abbie & Nafeesa x

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.