I Thought It Would Be Better Than This: Jessica N. Turner on Loss, Identity, and Hope”

Apr 11, 2025

01:06:17

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Description:

In the summer of 2020, as Jen was beginning to process the loss of her 26-year marriage, there was one person walking her own similar but different journey, and understood many of the feelings of anger, grief, shame, and loss that Jen was just beginning to feel. Someone who knew how that disappointment felt.

Jessica N. Tuner, founder of the popular lifestyle blog The Mom Creative, was a few months ahead of Jen in processing the loss of her 16-year marriage to her husband and father of her three children. Today, Jessica shared with Jen and Amy what the road to recovery has looked like for her, including grieving the end of the life she thought she would have forever, the change of her identity, navigating the messy false-starts, and clawing her way back from what felt like “the floor of hell”. Jessica compiled those hard-fought lessons into a book she’s hoping will be a manifesto of hope to others, called I Thought It Would Be Better Than This: Rise From Disappointment, Regain Control, and Rebuild a Life You Love.

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Thought-provoking Quotes:

Nothing about what I thought my life was going to be, is my life now. Now I feel like I walk around in the world and I feel grief and loss and disappointment and dismay from everybody. It’s amazing how my eyes have opened. It was a big awakening to the loss people are living with everyday.–Jessica N. Turner

When we made the decision to divorce, I felt like I was sitting on the floor of hell, everything was dust, everything was different.–Jessica N. Turner

No matter how devastating the loss, the life you can still rebuild is astonishing. – Jen Hatmaker

Resources Mentioned in This Episode:

Say Anything film (1989) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098258/

Sixteen Candles film (1984) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088128/

Cameron Crowe - https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001081/

John Hughes - https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000455/

James Spader - https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000652/

Some Kind of Wonderful film (1987) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094006/

I Go Crazy by Flesh for Lulu - https://open.spotify.com/track/2o1AevEuv39qZAVy6k2pmn

The Breakfast Club film (1985) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088847/

Weird Science film (1985) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090305

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off film (1986) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091042/