Rhian Mannings: ‘Everyone grieves differently, there is no rule book’
6/1/20261 hr 8 min
What happens when unimaginable loss changes your life forever?
In today’s episode, John is joined by Rhian Mannings, founder of 2Wish.
Rhian reflects on the devastating loss of her one-year-old son George, who died suddenly after suffering a seizure, and the death of her husband Paul just five days later. She speaks about grief, trauma, and the reality of trying to survive after losing what felt like everything.
The conversation explores the lack of support available to bereaved families, the impact grief can have on mental health, and why honest conversations around suicide are so important. Rhian also shares how founding 2Wish gave her purpose, helping families facing the sudden death of a child receive the support she wishes her own family had been given.
If you need support, you can find advice and someone to talk to by visiting www.samaritans.org, emailing jo@samaritans.org or calling 116 123.
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Transcript preview
First 90 secondsJohn Robins· Host0:00
Hello, everyone. It's John here. Just letting you know that I have written a book. It's called Thirst: 12 Drinks That Changed My Life, and it's out now. In many episodes of How Do You Cope?, you'll have heard me talk about my relationship with alcohol, and in writing Thirst, I wanted to explore what alcohol means. Why did it mean more to me than other people? Why did it mean some things felt better, and why did it mean so many things went wrong? I also talk about lots of other things you'll have heard me and my guests discuss on How Do You Cope?: meditation, physical pain, gratitude, trauma, and therapy. There's even a chapter about my bum and its relationship with Buddhism. So if that piques your interest, Thirst is out now, and the audiobook, read by me, is available wherever you get audiobooks from. [upbeat music] Hello and welcome to How Do You Cope? with me, John Robins. This is the show where I sit down with special guests to talk about the challenges they've overcome and the coping mechanisms they use in their everyday lives. And before we go any further, I do need to mention that this episode covers the loss of a young child and also suicide, so do listen with care. And if you need any support, you can find links to resources in the show notes. Today's guest is Rhian Mannings, an incredible woman who's been through the very worst of what life can throw at you. In 2012, Rhian lost her one-year-old son, George, after he suffered a sudden seizure.