Congratulations to our 2025 Helen Bailey Award winner

October 2025

Congratulations to WAY member Nathan, who’s the winner of this year’s Helen Bailey Award for best WAY blogger. Nathan was nominated for the blog Terminally Stubborn that he set up after his wife Freyja died last year. 

WAY set up the award in memory of late WAY member Helen Bailey, who helped so many young widows and widowers through her blog Planet Grief and her book When Bad Things Happen in Good Bikinis.

Nathan was announced as the winner of this year’s award at the 2025 WAY AGM and Annual Gathering in Bournemouth. Afterwards he told us:

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“I am currently 11 months on from the moment my incredible wife Freyja died whilst I held her hand. It is one year and eight months since the second brain surgery that she chose so bravely to endure for us to have more time together. For all intents and purposes, I am functional. I’ve just started working again. Under the surface I am still so very broken and lost. 

I am not consistent enough with my writing but blogging about our experiences helped move my darkness outside of myself just a little bit. It made me remember her in different ways. I didn’t write to be awarded, but it means a lot that some of you have connected with our experiences. If that means it has helped even one person feel slightly less alone in this horror we live daily, I can feel it’s an achievement worthy of that award. Thank you so very much to everyone who voted for me.”

Congratulations to all our nominees!

Congratulations to all three of our talented nominees, who were put forward by fellow WAY members for this year’s award. The winner was also decided by WAY members’ votes.