Stolen Goodbyes

By Karen Rice

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Category: Health & Fitness

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Subscribers: 1
Reviews: 1
Episodes: 46

Mark Lenahan
 Oct 25, 2020
Interview with surviving family members of COVID-19 victims.

Description

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.


Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/stolen-goodbyes.


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.


Episode Date
The Disconnect Between the World's Perception of the Pandemic & the Searing & Troubling Reality of Covid Grief
Mar 24, 2025
Stolen Goodbyes: 5 Years On – An Interview with host and creator Karen Rice
Mar 18, 2025
Love After Covid Loss: Emma Charlesworth’s Journey from Heartbreak to Healing
Dec 24, 2024
From Fairy Tale to Despair to Loving Again - My Life with Michael and Ryan by Rebecca Reilly
Dec 17, 2024
Elephants, White Roses, and Love After Covid Loss: Victoria's Tribute to Her Dad David Daniels
Dec 10, 2024
Remembering Bob Pape: From Technicolor Love to Fostering New Beginnings
Dec 03, 2024
Kristie Cervantes: Love, Loss, and a Beautiful Tomorrow
Nov 26, 2024
The Two Crusaders Lynda & Charles: Love and Advocacy After Loss
Nov 19, 2024
Love After Covid Loss: Robin's Legacy: A Daughter’s Tribute to Love, Resilience, and Advocacy
Nov 12, 2024
Love After Covid Loss: Finding Hope in the Wake of Covid Tragedy
Nov 05, 2024
Love After Covid Loss: The How and Why of Grief with Kayleigh O'Connor
Oct 29, 2024
Chris Riley
May 30, 2023
Peter Owen
May 23, 2023
Pete Levy
May 16, 2023
Anne & David Morrison
May 09, 2023
Anna Gibson
May 02, 2023
Sucha Singh Hothi & Gurdev Kaur Hothi
Apr 25, 2023
John Leigh
Apr 18, 2023
The MacVicars
Apr 11, 2023
Chris Cooper
Apr 04, 2023
Hefin and Valerie Williams
Mar 28, 2023
My quirky, loving mum Sharon
Mar 21, 2023
Surviving Grief - A special episode
Mar 14, 2023
Thomas Rice
Mar 07, 2023
Boris Johnson - Trauma
Feb 24, 2022
Boris Johnson - Partygate
Feb 24, 2022
Boris Johnson - Delayed Lockdown
Feb 24, 2022
Ten months without our husbands
Mar 02, 2021
James D Vance
Feb 23, 2021
Irma Marquez en Español
Feb 16, 2021
Irma Marquez
Feb 09, 2021
Muriel Bonner
Feb 02, 2021
Goff (Godfrey) Smith
Jan 26, 2021
Leo Adams
Jan 19, 2021
Terry Haslam
Jan 12, 2021
Barry Lewis
Jan 05, 2021
Irene Cain
Dec 29, 2020
Violet Partington
Dec 22, 2020
Trevor Gardiner
Dec 15, 2020
Anna Shewan
Dec 08, 2020
Susan Porter
Dec 01, 2020
Roy Weeks
Nov 24, 2020
Kevin Morgans
Nov 17, 2020
John Langford
Nov 10, 2020
Martin Addison
Nov 03, 2020
Stuart Charlie Charlesworth
Oct 14, 2020