Stolen Goodbyes

What do you do when the daily Covid death toll hits 1,820—the UK’s highest—lives reduced to statistics? When loved ones die alone, within days of a cough, last seen walking into an ambulance. No warning. No family. No funeral. No goodbye.

That’s why I created Stolen Goodbyes—an urgent act of journalism to restore humanity to those we lost, and give voice to the extraordinary lives behind the numbers.

What began as a podcast in lockdown has become something deeper: a living archive, a public record, a safe space—a memorial to those who died, and a vital platform for the Covid-bereaved, a still-grieving, often invisible community met with silence, disbelief, or denial.

Each season explores a different facet of pandemic grief: real-time loss, political neglect, love after loss, and the emotional aftershocks. Guests aren’t celebrities—they are spouses, children, partners, and friends. Ordinary people whose loved ones were extraordinary to them and who died during a global crisis that reshaped our world.

We walk through each person’s life—their quirks, jokes, one-liners, habits, triumphs, tragedies, and the legacy they leave behind.

Stolen Goodbyes is more than a podcast. It’s a social history archive, a witness statement, and a deeply personal project that continues to evolve.

Grief doesn’t fade just because the headlines move on. These voices still matter. Stolen Goodbyes continues to say: You were here. You were loved. You will not be forgotten.

To help future generations understand what this moment truly felt like, these testimonies are now preserved in the British Library’s National Life Stories collection, alongside testimonies from Holocaust survivors and other vital witnesses to history.

Launched in 2020 and created on my laptop during lockdown while parenting and working as a journalist, the podcast is fully independent. In 2021, it won Gold at the British Podcast Awards.

Its impact has been profound: helping guests feel seen, sparking unexpected transatlantic friendships, and offering memorials where none existed. One guest said: “This was the only funeral my husband ever had.”

It has been described as:

🟡 “A masterclass in trauma-informed storytelling.” — Dart Centre for Journalism and Trauma

🟡 “A true legacy podcast.” — BBC Radio 4

🟡 “Magnificently produced... a cathartic experience.” — Guest

🟡 “A beautifully crafted set of stories... inspiring and important.” — COVID Remembrance Group

And by listeners:

💬 “A delicate subject handled with great sensitivity.”

💬 “A place where I felt seen.”

💬 “Raw, honest, and compassionate—Karen gives a voice to those who had theirs taken away.”

💬 “A testament to our shared humanity.”

In a world eager to move on, Stolen Goodbyes chooses to remember.

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