In this special episode, Dr. Kimberly Hubenette sits down with her father, Dr. Quan, who lost his first wife nearly two decades ago and has been remarried to a fellow widow for 16 years. He breaks grief down into three concrete paths: live alone and cope solo, remarry and rebuild, or move in with family. He chose remarriage — and credits a chance encounter at a Chinese restaurant, where a fellow widow slipped him her phone number, changing his life.
The conversation also covers something rarely discussed out loud: the signs many widows and widowers report from a departed spouse, from a light bulb that should’ve been ice-cold but wasn’t, to a toddler grandson who swore his late grandmother read him bedtime stories. Father and daughter land on the same truth — you can love more than one person, just in different ways, and grief doesn’t mean you stop living.
If you’re navigating loss, this episode offers a roadmap, not platitudes.
Episode Highlights:
06:05 Backstory: Dr. Quan’s Widowhood — Losing His First Wife
10:54 Patients Sharing Grief: Conversations Beyond Dentistry
12:41 Dating After Loss )
15:20 The Choice to Keep Living:
17:48 Three Ways to Cope with Spousal Loss
21:18 Memories Persist: Pride in Shared Life
23:00 Pick a Road & Move Forward
27:00 Signs From Beyond
31:30 Feeling Loved Ones’ Presence & Unexplained Signs
33:00 What’s Your Choice
Resources:
📖Grid: Once in a Lifetime You Get to Start Over by Dr. Kimberly Hubenette
📖Live, Love, Survive, Thrive! by Dr. Kimberly Hubenette (COMING SOON)
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Quotes:
11:09 “I thought my life had ended when my wife died. The loneliness, the grief, and the pain were there, and I thought it was over for me.” —William Quan, DDS
14:25 “My patients weren’t just my patients; my patients were my friends.” —William Quan, DDS
14:18 “You survive, you don’t give up. I know that my late wife wouldn’t want me to give up, and she wants me to continue. So that’s what I do. Life is very simple. It’s not complicated. You just keep going.” —William Quan, DDS
17:33 “Love is an omniscient emotion.” —Dr. Kimberly Hubenette
18:41 “I found out there are three ways to cope with the loss of your spouse, and I have picked one way and I’m happy with it.” —William Quan, DDS
20:59 “I wish I had taken more videos of [Mark] talking, because sad to say, the longer it is, the harder it is for me to remember his voice and my mom’s voice. It’s sad because I thought I’d always, always remember it.” —Dr. Kimberly Hubenette
22:48 “Life was full of choices. You pick a road, you try not to look back, and you keep going down that road, and that’s how life goes.” —William Quan, DDS
25:36 “Grieving is always going to be there. It’s always going to be a part of us. However, we can always help others along.” —Dr. Kimberly Hubenette
Meet Dr. William:
