Shows
The BibliotherapistsThe Bibliotherapists S2 Ep #6: Stacey Heale on writing - and reading - through griefWelcome to the second series of The Bibliotherapists, and our sixth episode, featuring Stacey Heale, a writer, speaker, curator, fashion academic, and campaigner known for her honest discussions on womanhood, grief, and rebuilding after loss.This is a (surprisingly?) uplifting conversation about life, love and rebuilding.đ§ 5 takeaways from our conversation with Stacey1. Grief is a Portal, Not a Problem to SolveStacey shares how the death of her husband Greg reshaped her entire identity and how grief became a teacher, not just a wound.âIf we can feel...
2025-08-1553 min
Everything Happens with Kate BowlerSuleika Jaouad: Survival Is a Creative ActSometimes, the bad thing happensâagain. The kind of news that flattens your plans, your energy, your sense of who you are. And you think, surely thatâs enough now. Havenât we hit the quota for suffering? But thereâs no quota, just the long middle where life doesnât follow a script and youâre left figuring out how to be a person again. Suleika Jaouad knows this terrain well. Sheâs a writer, artist, and advocate, beloved for her memoir Between Two Kingdoms and her new offering The Book of Alchemyâa creative companion for those learni...
2025-06-1032 minEverything Happens with Kate BowlerStacey Heale: The Aftermath of the AftermathWhen Stacey Healeâs husband, Greg, was diagnosed with terminal cancer, life became a blur of caregiving, grief, and trying to hold a family together with two small children and no time to waste. Overnight, Stacey became a caregiver, medical advocate, emotional buffer, and the person holding all the impossible pieces. In this tender and fiercely honest conversation, Stacey and Kate talk about what it means to love someone all the way to the end, and then somehow keep living. They explore the invisible labor of caregiving, the loneliness of anticipatory grief, and the weird sacredness of th...
2025-05-2742 min
Women Are MadS7 E3 A deep-dive into grief with our incredible pal Stacey HealeToday, we talk about grief - in all of its stages and strange forms. With none other than the really fantastic Stacey Heale, whose husband Greg Gilbert died three years ago.For a show about death, there's a lot of laughter. And some tears. But you've come to expect no less, of course.Stacey talks us deftly through parenting, money worries, thoughts about dating, and the 'forest of support' which surrounded her following Greg's death. The reality of carrying on alone into these years and the questions and struggles which follow; from thoughts...
2025-05-1354 min
The Therapy EditTHROWBACK One Thing with Stacy Heale on how to talk to children about lossIn this THROWBACK episode Anna chats to Stacey Heale about how to talk about and show all the hard emotions, grief included. Stacey's partner Greg died of cancer and she speaks openly about her experiences of death and grief talks and writes openly about the topic and how we can prepare for the emotions that grief will throw at us all at some point.You can follow Stacey on Instagram
2024-10-2521 min
Woman's HourWeekend Woman's Hour Listener Week: Van Life, Risky sports, Widows Fire, Pets as therapy, TummiesListener Week is when all the topics, interviews and discussions are chosen by YOU!We hear from listener Siobhan Daniels. She wrote to us on Instagram: 'I would love you to talk about van life and an alternative way of living.' Siobhan is 65 years old and after selling her home and possessions has lived in her motorhome for five years. She joins Nuala McGovern on the programme.Listener Kitty Dowry wanted us to take a look at so called 'risky' sports, and to encourage us all to look at them in a different way...
2024-08-2456 minWoman's HourListener Week: Widow's Fire, DNA discoveries, Decluttering backlashListener Week is when all the topics, interviews and discussions are chosen by YOU!As part of Listener Week we have been asked by widows to discuss one side effect of bereavement â hyper-arousal, and the term âWidowâs Fireâ. Nuala McGovern explores these ideas with listener Lizzie, Stacey Heale, who has written a book â Now is Not the Time for Flowers - about her experience of being widowed, and also by the psychotherapist Lucy Beresford, who can shed some light on what might be going on.DNA testing for family ancestry is becoming more popular, with some...
2024-08-2157 min
Happy Mum Happy BabyStacey Heale on guiding children through griefIn this episode of Happy Mum Happy Baby, Giovanna sits down with Stacey Heale, a writer, campaigner, and the author of âNow is Not the Time for Flowersâ, a candid exploration of grief written by Stacey following the death of her husband Greg.Stacey tells Gi about the day Greg was diagnosed with terminal bowel cancer and how they navigated the realities of parenting their two daughters through his terminal illness. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
2024-07-161h 00
The Scummy Mummies Podcast287: Grief, sex and Ronan Keating with Stacey HealeWhat's the best thing to say to someone who's in mourning? Is the second year of grief really the hardest? And who was the lead singer of Westlife? Helping us answer all these questions is the amazing Stacey Heale! She tells us what it was like to lose her husband, Greg, who was diagnosed with Stage 4 bowel cancer on their daughter's first birthday. Stacey explains what life is like now, nearly three years after his death. We discuss Widow's Fire - the phenomenon of bereaved people who turn to sex for comfort. Plus, the best and w...
2024-07-1654 min
Women Are MadS3 E8 Stacey Heale: A special episode on death and life.Stacey Heale knows emotion. She has an exquisite gift for pinning down that visceral, liminal experience which exists between the physical and the psychological. Her book 'Now is Not The Time For Flowers' hauntingly documents the death of her musician husband Greg Gilbert so powerfully that it will alter how you look at life. Our conversation with Stacey was freeform. It took the turns it needed to, but kept coming back to the pivot of anger. In many different guises, and from many different angles. It felt rich and nourishing to be a part of. We hope you will feel...
2024-04-3053 min
Sparkle on SubstackDance to your own tune with Tanya Lynch at Ease Retreats "We're in this really fast paced environment now where we're multitasking x100. When I look back to what my mum and my grandmother had on their shoulders and I look at the role that we have today I think it's because we know no different. We've got these go faster stripes going, more, more, more. More input from the moment we wake up to the moment we're going to bed and I just worry about the state of our mental health moving forward.âTanya LynchTanya and I met at...
2024-04-2851 min
Widowed AF: Real stories of love, grief and beyond - With Rosie Gill-MossS2 - E2 - Stacey HealeIn this episode of Widowed AF, host Rosie Gill-Moss is joined by Stacey Heale, author of Now is Not the Time for Flowers, and widowed mum of two.Stacey shares the horror of losing her husband Greg to Bowel Cancer at a young age, navigating grief while raising their two young daughters.Rosie and Stacey hit it off immediately bonding over their shared experiences as grieving mothers, the loneliness and isolation they experienced and the loss of their identity in widowhood.The pair discuss the transformative power of love and acceptance, while acknowledging...
2024-04-191h 36
The Grief LoungeUnfiltered Grief: Insights and Reflections with Stacey HealeIn this episode Stacey and Sadie engage in an authentic dialogue about grief and loss, drawing from their shared experiences of losing their husbands to stage 4 bowel cancer. In this honest conversation, they confront the harsh realities faced amidst a pandemic, delving into the challenges of end-of-life care and the profound need for connection and community during caregiving. They openly discuss the isolation they both felt and the differing coping mechanisms observed in their husbands. Touching on the urgency of normalising conversations about death and dying, they emphasise the importance of expressing wishes and desires before it's too late...
2024-04-1255 min
Discover the Best Audio Stories in Biography & MemoirNow is Not the Time for Flowers: What No One Tells You About Life, Love and Loss by Stacey HealePlease visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/719247 to listen full audiobooks. Title: Now is Not the Time for Flowers: What No One Tells You About Life, Love and Loss Author: Stacey Heale Narrator: Stacey Heale Format: Unabridged Audiobook Length: 9 hours 51 minutes Release date: March 28, 2024 Genres: Memoirs Publisher's Summary: AS SEEN ON LORRAINE AND FEATURED IN THE TIMES 'Stacey Heale ... has such a muscular take on grief, and her ideas around how we live with profound loss are truly original.' Clover Stroud When Stacey Heale's husband, Greg, was diagnosed with incurable cancer on their daughter's first birthday, everything changed. She...
2024-03-2805 min
Is It My ADHD?PART TWO: âGrace, where have you been?â with Stacey HealeâPeople with ADHD will burn out more quickly, because it takes them more effort and mental work to do what could be seen as to be done effortlessly by other people. If weâre serious about this, we need to support people during the build-up rather than just see them when itâs too late and theyâre in full burnout.â Dr Mohamed Abdelghani Today, Iâm joined by fashion academic and the author of âNow is Not the Time for Flowersâ, Stacey Heale, for a deep dive into the real lived experience of ADH...
2024-03-2827 min
Not Too Busy To WriteStacey Heale on writing about death and lifeStacey Heale is a fashion academic and writer whose husband Greg was diagnosed with terminal cancer when their youngest daughter was just a baby. Greg died 5 years later. In her memoir Now Is Not The Time For Flowers, Stacey writes about the big conversations that arise from imminent death. In this epsiode Stacey and I talk about writing about the dead, abandoning the typical memoir structure and the very funny side of a very dark experience. Now Is Not The Time For Flowers is out March 28thLinksNow Is Not The Time For Flowers...
2024-03-2747 min
Is It My ADHD?PART ONE: âGrace, where have you been?â with Stacey HealeIn this episode, we turn the tables slightly and I become the interviewee because Iâve got some home truths to share. Iâve been withholding slightly, and itâs time to be honest. So, I feel very lucky that Stacey Heale â author of âNow is Not the Time for Flowersâ â is joining me as the host of a two-episode special where I come clean.  The theme is burnout, something I know many of you have experienced in a variety of ways, and a common occurrence in people with ADHD. Stacey and I have both been...
2024-03-2135 min
The Lemonade Podcast08. Stacey Heale on the fallout of partner loss, the lessons in grief, and reclaiming our identityThe incredible Stacey Heale is a true multi-hyphenate - a fashion academic, speaker, campaigner, and author of upcoming memoir, 'Now is not the Time for Flowers'. In November 2016, her husband Greg Gilbert, the lead singer of Delays, was diagnosed with stage four bowel cancer. He died five years later in September 2021, leaving Stacey with two small children, Dali and Bay.In this refreshingly honest, no-holds-barred conversation, Stacey and I lift the lid on the reality of navigating cancer diagnoses, our roles as primary caregivers to our late partners, and dealing with regrets in the wake of...
2024-02-151h 13
Women's BusinessFrom ADHD to life after loss with Stacey HealeStacey Heale is a writer, and fashion academic who has shared her life online for many years, including through the death of her husband, Greg, in 2021. Greg's death impacted Stacey and her life and work hugely, so of course we do discuss her grief journey, but I really wanted to make sure that this was Stacey's story, and it's a fascinating one at that. A must-listen for anyone who has - or thinks they have - ADHD, Stacey takes us through uni drop outs, early jobs, working through Greg's diagnosis, illness and death, and where that has led her...
2023-09-2546 min
StompcastPt 3: What support would Stacey Heale have wanted when her husband died?In the final part of this Stomp, Stacey explains why you shouldnât worry about intruding when someone is experiencing a loss and how she felt about the people who didnât show up. Stacey and Alex ponder the power of voice notes, the importance of knowing that âthis too shall passâ and Alex shares the health fact of the week which shows the impact of bottling in your feelings. Follow Stacey  @stacey_healeLINKS:Child Bereavements The Compassionate FriendsThe Good Grief Trust   Hosted on Acast. See aca...
2023-08-0217 min
StompcastPt 2: Stacey Heale on how to live bravely in the face of lossIn part 2, Stacey shares her instinct to start writing when Greg was diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer, plus her determination to persevere and enjoy life. Stacey also reveals the post-traumatic growth she experienced after loss, how she navigates her new awareness that you donât know how long you have, and how it has brought her back to her longstanding dream of being a writer.  Follow Stacey  @stacey_heale LINKS:Child BereavementsThe CompassionateFriendsThe Good Grief Trust  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
2023-08-0130 min
StompcastPt 1: Stacey Heale in Southampton CommonWriter, speaker and campaigner Stacey Heale is taking Dr Alex on a hefty stomp around Southamptonâs enormous Common. Staceyâs husband, Delays singer Greg Gilbert, sadly passed away from bowel cancer in 2021, so Alex asks Stacey to tell us about the incredible man that she knew â including his random quiz knowledge, musical skills and the unlikely story of how they met.  Stacey and Dr Alex discuss the complexities of grief especially for children. She shares how the outdoors helped her overcome a breakdown in her early 20s and Alex reveals the poignancy of stompi...
2023-07-3131 min
StompcastPt 1: Stacey Heale in Southampton CommonWriter, speaker and campaigner Stacey Heale is taking Dr Alex on a hefty stomp around Southamptonâs enormous Common.Â
Staceyâs husband, Delays singer Greg Gilbert, sadly passed away from bowel cancer in 2021, so Alex asks Stacey to tell us about the incredible man that she knew â including his random quiz knowledge, musical skills and the unlikely story of how they met. Â
Stacey and Dr Alex discuss the complexities of grief especially for children. She shares how the outdoors helped her overcome a breakdown in her early 20s and Alex reveals the poignancy of stomping in Southamp...
2023-07-3131 min
Not Another Mummy PodcastStacey Heale: Losing your partner and guiding your kids through griefGrief is still such a taboo subject but that's something that my guest on this episode is determined to change. Stacey Heale is a mum of two and in September 2021, her husband - Delays singer Greg Gilbert - died, five years after being diagnosed with stage four bowel cancer.Stacey talks to me about what life was like before the diagnosis - falling in love with this bookworm pop star and having babies together - and then what it was like to process his cancer diagnosis.She tells me how she's been supporting...
2023-06-2947 min
The ADHD Women's Wellbeing PodcastGoing Back: ADHD Women's Wellbeing Reflection Clips** All details of how to sign up for my brand-new, groundbreaking ADHD Women's Wellbeing Hormone Series are now on my website**Sometimes it's good to good to go back and reflect. While recording all these episodes, I find that the guest imparts so much wisdom and help, I need to go back for a second listen. In today's episode, I want to offer you this opportunity too.During today's episode of The ADHD Women's Wellbeing episode, I share with you some key insights and incredible learnings from a selection of previous guests. You can listen back to these guest's episodes...
2023-06-2231 min
ADHD Women's Wellbeing PodcastGoing Back: ADHD Women's Wellbeing Reflection Clips** All details of how to sign up for my brand-new, groundbreaking ADHD Women's Wellbeing Hormone Series are now on my website**Sometimes it's good to good to go back and reflect. While recording all these episodes, I find that the guest imparts so much wisdom and help, I need to go back for a second listen. In today's episode, I want to offer you this opportunity too.During today's episode of The ADHD Women's Wellbeing episode, I share with you some key insights and incredible learnings from a selection of previous guests. You...
2023-06-2232 min
The WidowhoodEpisode 8: "Who I was before doesn't exist. Who am I?"When your partner dies, a part of you dies too. Whether you've lost your daily purpose in caring for someone with illness, or your visions of the future are swiftly ripped from under your feet after a shock death. How do you rebuild yourself after loss? In the last episode of the season, Helen & Rosie talk with one of the first 'griefluencers' of Instagram, Stacey Heale, about being defined by grief, blind dogs, and sex toys...of course. WARNING: This podcast deals with themes of death, sex and contains explicit language.
2023-05-041h 07
ADHDAFEpisode 49: ADHD, 'Adulting', Motherhood & Chaos with Stacey HealeWriter and TedX Speaker Stacey Heale shares 'honest conversations on how to rebuild your life after hard timesâ⌠and we are so grateful to this legendary lady for her honesty and insights in this wonderful conversation. At 43, Stacey is freshly diagnosed with ADHD. The Mother of two, and jack of all trades is just as chaotic as we are! Part of our ADHDAF mission is to eradicate the shame around the symptoms and struggles we battle daily and to celebrate the messy âtoo-muchnessâ and rebellion so many of us relate to. Which is why we ADORE this blether a...
2023-04-041h 05
The ADHD Women's Wellbeing PodcastUnpacking an ADHD diagnosis during deep griefDigesting a late-in-life ADHD diagnosis can feel overwhelming and sad, yet this week's guest was also processing grief after losing her husband.Today's guest is Stacey Heale, a freelance writer, soon-to-be author, academic and curator who explores the topic of grief and how we deal with it. Stacey had a late-stage ADHD diagnosis at 42, just after her husband died, and was in deep grief.During this week's conversation, Stacey and Kate talk about:Stacey's story about losing her late husband to bowel cancerDealing with grief Stacey's ADHD realisation whilst deep in griefStacey's ADHD diagnosis process Unpacking life after an ADHD...
2023-03-3050 min
ADHD Women's Wellbeing PodcastUnpacking an ADHD diagnosis during deep griefDigesting a late-in-life ADHD diagnosis can feel overwhelming and sad, yet this week's guest was also processing grief after losing her husband.Today's guest is Stacey Heale, a freelance writer, soon-to-be author, academic and curator who explores the topic of grief and how we deal with it. Stacey had a late-stage ADHD diagnosis at 42, just after her husband died, and was in deep grief.During this week's conversation, Stacey and Kate talk about:Stacey's story about losing her late husband to bowel cancerDealing with grief Stacey's ADHD realisation whilst deep in griefStacey's ADHD diagnosis...
2023-03-3051 min
The Grief GangWidows fire: What actually is it? With Stacey Heale.This week Im speaking with Stacey Heale, writer, speaker, curator and campaigner and all round bad ass!Stacey joined this shit gang last year when her husband Greg died from bowel cancer. I found Stacey online before Greg had died and found myself following the journey of this family of 4. Quietly rooting for this family from the sidelines and sending little pocket prayers. Stacey's writing did and still does floor me. She writes so eloquently, honestly yet brutally about grief and widowhood. She cuts the shit and thats why I a...
2022-11-0241 minThe Grief GangWidows fire: What actually is it? With Stacey Heale.This week Im speaking with Stacey Heale, writer, speaker, curator and campaigner and all round bad ass!Stacey joined this shit gang last year when her husband Greg died from bowel cancer. I found Stacey online before Greg had died and found myself following the journey of this family of 4. Quietly rooting for this family from the sidelines and sending little pocket prayers. Stacey's writing did and still does floor me. She writes so eloquently, honestly yet brutally about grief and widowhood. She cuts the shit and thats why I a...
2022-11-0241 min
Dead Parent ClubThe surviving parent: with Stacey HealeWhat's life like as a surviving parent? How do you navigate your children's emotions AND your own? In this week's episode we're taking a new perspective on life as a member of the DPC and we got down and griefy with the PHENOMENAL Stacey Heale.If you don't follow her on Instagram yet (what are you doing?) find her at stacey_heale. Stacey's husband Greg Gilbert died a year ago, leaving behind two children aged 5 and 7. Their children were just 1 and 3 when he was diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer...
2022-08-261h 12
The Therapy EditOne Thing with Stacy Heale on how to talk to our children about lossIn this episode Anna chats to Stacey Heale about how to talk about and show all the hard emotions, grief included. Stacey's partner Greg died of cancer last year and she speaks openly about her experiences of death and grief talks and writes openly about the topic and how we can prepare for the emotions that grief will throw at us all at some point.You can follow Stacey on Instagram @stacey_heale
2022-08-1921 min
Unlocking Business Growth - exploring achievements, challenges and what's interestingStacey Brown Randall | Focus on the Relationship, Donât Request Referrals, SucceedAfter four successful years in business Stacey Brown Randall learned a hard lesson. Without the right approach to business development the business has no future. You cannot hope your business into success and being in all the places all of the time, constant networking, is exhausting.  It would be magic if the sales pipeline could fill itself as you do what you do best. Well with the right referral strategies it can! Referrals that flow naturally and consistently. When not attached to compensation they work especially well is a relational business, where there is a sizeable client inves...
2022-08-1743 min
The Life and Death PodcastâAs harrowing as it was there was some comfort knowing that we were all on the same team.â Stacey Heale on bereavement.In this episode, we chat to former academic, turned writer and TEDx speaker Stacey Heale whose husband, Delays drummer Greg Gilbert, died from bowel cancer last year. Since Greg's death Stacey has used social media to document her familyâs journey, offering an honest insight into âhow to live well in the rubble of your life.â
The mother of two discusses the difference between expectation and reality of death and grieving, the painful moment her and Greg told their children he was dying and what life looks like for her now.
You can find Stacey on Instagram @stacey_heale.
2022-06-2729 min
One For The RoadStacey Heale.And we are back! Season 6 of One For The Road, thanks for joining us again.My first guest for season 6 is Stacey Heale. Stacey is a writer, speaker and campaigner who is inspiring candid and honest discussions on the experience of caring for, loss and grief of a loved one. Stacey discuss the changes in her relationship with alcohol during the pandemic as a way of dealing with the daily struggles of family life and caring for her husband Greg Gilbert, the lead singer of indie-bands Delay who was diagnosed with incurable bowel cancer and passed away...
2022-06-0857 min
Spinning Plates with Sophie Ellis-BextorEpisode 66: Stacey HealeStacey Heale is a writer and former fashion academic and mum to 2 little girls.  I have followed her on Instagram for a long time. Five years ago her artist musician husband Greg was diagnosed with bowel cancer, on their second childâs first birthday. Stacey and I talked about how she then took voluntary redundancy to spend all the time she could with Greg, how she had to navigate first his illness, and then his death six months ago. She explained how she is now trying to establish life with her daughters -  just the three of them...
2022-05-301h 27
But Why?DEATH AND GRIEF WITH STACEY HEALEIn the second episode of series four, Clemmie chats to former fashion academic, turned writer and TED x speaker Stacey Heale whose husband, Delays drummer Greg Gilbert, died from bowel cancer in 2021. Since Greg's death Stacey has spoken out about her grief, the experience of watching a loved one go through cancer, and how to really live.In this emotional chat, Clemmie asks Stacey why she's so passionate about talking openly about her experience, finds out what Stacey wishes she'd known about death, and discovers how she's coped with her two kids since Greg's death....
2022-02-161h 14
The Don't Buy Her Flowers PodcastOverwhelm, Cancer and Grief with Stacey HealeTW: cancer, death. Steph talks with Stacey Heale four months after her husband Greg died of Bowel Cancer, having been diagnosed five years ago aged 39. Greg was the lead singer of indie band Delays, as well as a phenomenal artist and poet. Stacey, a writer, mother of two, and academic in her âpreviousâ life, shares how seeing your partner diagnosed feels and what people can do to help, what becoming a carer was like and how she has coped (or not at times) with his death and the subsequent grief. As big fans of Glennon Doyle...
2022-01-2858 min
In conversation with George Alagiah: A Bowel Cancer UK podcastCaring for a loved one with bowel cancerGeorge Alagiah interviews Stacey Heale from Southampton, whose husband Greg has bowel cancer, along with the charityâs Chief Executive, Deborah Alsina MBE, on what itâs like caring for a loved one with the disease. Â
2019-04-2435 min