I Was Built for This Moment: Suzie’s Journey Through Loss and Solo Parenting

In this deeply moving episode of the Solo Dad Podcast, Matt sits down with Suzie to talk about grief, resilience, faith, and rebuilding life after unimaginable loss. In “I Was Built for This Moment,” Suzie shares the story of her relationship with her late husband Eric — from meeting as children through their Orthodox church community, to building a marriage, raising daughters, and navigating devastating loss together.

Suzie reflects on the early years of their relationship, Eric’s deep love for family and faith, and the life they worked hard to build together. But after the deaths of both of her parents, their family was suddenly rocked again when Eric was diagnosed with stage four cancer during the height of the COVID pandemic. What followed was a heartbreaking journey through caregiving, hospital restrictions, medical uncertainty, and anticipatory grief.

Throughout the conversation, Suzie opens up about caring for a dying spouse while raising young children, the emotional toll of watching someone slowly fade, and the helplessness of navigating end-of-life care during lockdowns. She shares powerful moments from Eric’s final months — including his determination to protect his daughters from witnessing his death, his unwavering faith, and the ways grief transformed her understanding of strength and survival.

Now years into her grief journey, Suzie speaks candidly about solo parenting, moving across the country to reconnect with her childhood church community, therapy for both herself and her daughters, and learning how to move forward while still carrying love and grief together. She describes life after loss as “living in the encore” — a continuation of the story, even after everything changed.

This episode is filled with honesty, humor, heartbreak, and hope. Suzie’s story is a powerful reminder that grief does not erase love, that resilience can coexist with sorrow, and that sometimes the greatest act of courage is simply continuing forward one day at a time.