#6 Tania - Child bereavement, the upheaval and trauma

Bereavement Room

Today's guest in the room is British Bengali podcaster of Brown Don't Frown, Tania.

Tania has joined me in the room to talk about her biological mother who died suddenly and unexpectedly when Tania was 10 years old. Having spent the first decade of her life in East London before moving around, she has now done a full circle and returned to her roots in the East End.

We unpack what child bereavement looked like for her, the importance of emotional support and love following the heart breaking news that her mother had died on what began as a normal day of dropping off the kids to school to the absolute inconceivable trauma that followed.

Tania reflects on intuition, premonitions and dreams, something i know all too well and have been exploring, the interpretation of dreams in relation to death and grief.

We take a look back on her life, particularly the part when she was adopted by her biological aunt, and then estranged from her biological father. In fact family estrangement is common in all communities including the Bangladeshi community, it is something that is not widely spoken about perhaps out of fear, judgement, reputation and other external factors.

I ask Tania, does she grieve for the life she never had, whether her life might have turned out differently, of course the answer is largely yes, she replies, I was robbed of my childhood, bereavement has solidified much of how i feel, also reflecting that she is a self made woman who now thrives in her adult life.

We end our conversation on Bengali joy and hopefully what is helpful guidance around embarking on side hustles and creative ventures.

Don't forget you can find Bereavement Room on social media, https://linktr.ee/bereavementroom

As always, thanks for listening,

Your host,

Callsuma Ali