Real stories. Real grief. Restored belonging.
Through real stories, I help people honor grief and rediscover a sense of belonging.

Our Reader Community.

Join The Five Widows Club Reader Community

If this story spoke to you, I invite you to stay connected. Join the reader community to receive reflections inspired by the book, discussion guides, updates on future stories, and invitations to upcoming events and retreats.

Our Books

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The Author’s Chair

Stories from the Middle of Grief, Love, and Becoming

Welcome. Pull up a chair.

The Author’s Chair is where I write from the middle not the beginning, not the ending, but the honest, tender space in between. It is a place for reflection, truth-telling, and story, written slowly and intentionally as I live and write my way forward.

This series chronicles my author journey alongside my lived experience with grief, love, healing, and purpose. Some entries will speak directly to writing The Five Widows Club. Others will step back and reflect on the heart work behind the words what it means to keep loving after loss, to keep believing in hope, and to keep becoming when life has been forever changed.

These posts are not lessons. They are conversations.

I write for readers who are carrying grief, for those navigating life after loss, and for anyone who understands that healing does not follow a straight line. You do not need to be a writer to belong here. You only need to be human.

Each month, I return to this chair to share a reflection tied to season, story, and becoming from the quiet ache of the holidays, to redefining love, to the power of telling our stories out loud, to watching hope grow into legacy.

If you’re reading this, you’re invited to sit with me.

There is no rush here. No fixing. No pretending we’re further along than we are.

Just honest words, offered gently, from the middle.

Pull Up a Chair

If these reflections resonate with you and you’d like to stay connected, you’re welcome to leave your name and email below.

I don’t send frequent messages.
No noise. No pressure.

Just occasional notes when a new reflection is published, a meaningful milestone arrives, or something worth sharing unfolds.

You can step away anytime.

Stay Connected / Book Updates

Receive thoughtful reflections, author news, journal release updates, and invitations to upcoming events.

Amazon Bestselling Novel

The Five Widows Club

Released May 26, 2026

Five women. Five stories. One shared experience of loss.

The Five Widows Club introduces readers to a diverse group of women navigating widowhood, identity, friendship, and the difficult work of rebuilding life after profound loss. Through tension, truth, and unexpected connection, this Amazon bestselling novel reminds readers that grief may change us, but we do not have to face it alone.

Coming Fall 2026

The Five Widows Club: 30-Day Companion Journal

Take Your Place in the Circle

The story opened the conversation. Now the journal invites you to take your own place in the circle. Created especially for widows, this 30-day companion journal offers thoughtful reflections, meaningful prompts, encouragement, and space to write honestly about grief, love, identity, and living forward.

Inspired by The Five Widows Club and shaped by Dr. Tina Fornwald’s lived experience as a widow and grief specialist, the journal can be used alongside the novel or as a personal journey of reflection.

Available Fall 2026

Book Two

The Five Widowers Circle

Planned Release: 2028

The Five Widowers Circle gives voice to grieving men whose experiences are often overlooked or misunderstood. Told through five distinct, emotionally layered perspectives, this novel explores masculinity, vulnerability, and the power of shared support after loss.

Who this book speaks to:

  • Men navigating grief
  • Partners and families of grieving men
  • Therapists, counselors, and faith communities
  • Readers of character-driven, emotionally honest fiction

Book Three

The Children We Carried

Planned Release: 2030

Some grief begins before we have words for it.

The final novel in the trilogy centers on the children left behind those who were too young to fully understand loss, yet old enough to be shaped by it. Moving between memory, growth, and legacy, this story completes the trilogy with reflection, healing, and forward motion.

Who this book speaks to:

  • Young adults and adults who lost a parent early
  • Families processing loss across generations
  • Grief-informed educators and counselors
  • Readers of coming-of-age and legacy literature

Interested in booking Dr. Tina Fornwald?

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