Co-Host Sophia Giblin shares her experience losing a parent as a teenager, and having to cope as the eldest sibling of four. 

Sophia’s mum was diagnosed with cancer in the year of her GCSEs. Their family had reason to hope she would get better with chemo, but she kept getting sicker and sicker. Seeing her health deteriorate with the treatment was already traumatic enough, but Sophia was abruptly forced to come to terms with losing her mother when her father sat her and her siblings down to explain that their mother wouldn’t survive. Not even a full week later, their mum died. 

Navigating life with that grief in her heart was difficult. Sophia didn’t feel safe with her feelings, and was reluctant to talk about her pain in fear that it would trigger others’ pain as well. She repressed them and tried to numb them, and, if she found someone she thought was safe enough to talk to, she would test the waters to see just how safe. 

Odette and Sophia remind listeners about the importance of creating spaces of safety for children to be able to share how they’re feeling, what they’re thinking, their fears, desires, and concerns. 

Key Takeaways:

• Sophia had no time at all to come to terms with losing her mum.
• Sometimes, people repress their feelings and don’t talk about them with others because they don’t feel safe with them.
• It’s important that adults create spaces of safety for children to share what’s on their minds.

Resources

• Harry’s Rainbow
• Odette Mould on LinkedIn
• Sophia Giblin on LinkedIn
• Donate to Harry’s Rainbow