Can Happiness Come Back After Loss | Jen Santaniello

How do you keep showing up as a parent when grief changes the future you imagined?In this episode of Father Talks, Michael Darden sits down with Jen Santaniello, who was 36 and expecting her third child when her husband was diagnosed with cancer. He died within five months. Jen shares what it was like to raise three young children while grieving, the fear behind her son’s question—“What if something happens to you?”—and the difference between simply functioning and truly living.Jen also talks about how children grieve, rebuilding her identity, moving forward without leaving her husband behind, and finding happiness again without feeling that it betrays the person she lost. She is a bestselling author, certified life coach, and founder of Forward, Not On, where she supports young widows and widowers as they move from surviving to thriving.This is an honest conversation about grief, parenting after loss, resilience, and the love that continues. Listen, subscribe, and share this episode with someone who may need it.Father Talks: Real men. Real conversations. Real life.