Wayfoundation

A message from Caroline Doughty, current Chair of WAY:

On a blistering hot day in June 2003, my husband Nick died of oesophageal cancer. He was 42 and I was 34, our daughters were 15 months and 3 years old.

None of my friends had any real idea what I was going through – they tried hard to help and were incredibly supportive, but I felt isolated and alone. Still married to the man I loved, yet horribly, frighteningly single.

Six months later it was Christmas and I was at rock bottom.

I decided to go to a WAY lunch at the home of the area organiser in north London, where I lived. I was nervous, but as soon as I arrived at Beverley’s house things changed… Someone took my little girls into the lounge to look at the Christmas tree, beautifully decorated with twinkling lights and presents. Someone else took me into the kitchen, put a glass of wine in my hand and I promptly burst into tears. I knew, instantly, that everyone in that room understood exactly how I was feeling – there was no need to explain, or pretend, or put a brave face on. I could, at last, just be me and I didn’t have to hide my grief.

That afternoon was filled with tears, laughter and a fair bit of wine. It was the start of a long relationship with WAY, which led me to eventually run the north London group, join the national committee and to be elected chairman in March 2009.

I am  passionate about WAY. I believe that the companionship it offers and the support from people who really do understand the horror of being widowed, long before you should be, is incomparable. I have made lifelong friends through WAY and my children have grown up with others who have lost a Mum or Dad, so they know they are not the only children in the world who this has happened to.

If you have lost a partner – whether you were married or not, have children or not – and you are 50 or younger, then I urge you to join WAY and get involved. Support your local group, talk to others on our message board or in our secure chatroom, join in with our events, come away for a weekend with us and discover for yourself how empowering it can be to be supported by others who really do know what you are going through.

We will help you rebuild your life, however impossible that may seem just now.

With best wishes,
Caroline