When her husband, Scott, died in April 2021, Andria Gaskins kept asking herself one question: Now what? Her answer became RESTORED Widow, a community that helps widows navigate grief, reclaim hope and rebuild life without disappearing inside their loss.
One of its next projects is a RESTORED Widow art experience planned for January 2027 at the Mint Museum, an afternoon centered on creativity, connection, healing and possibility. Gaskins hopes Charlotte neighbors will help make it a gift: through sponsorships, participating widows could attend at no cost.
At first, "Now what?" was a practical question. "How do I manage the things we once handled together? How do I keep showing up for my sons? How do I make decisions without the person I expected to grow old with?" Gaskins writes.
Eventually it became something deeper. "Who am I now? What does my life look like from here? Can grief and joy exist at the same time?"
Those questions became the foundation for RESTORED Widow. Gaskins also hosts The RESTORED Widow Podcast.
Not about moving on
"RESTORED Widow is not about 'moving on.' I do not believe love works that way," Gaskins writes. "It is about learning how to live forward while honoring the life and love that came before."
Widowhood can be deeply isolating, she says. In the early days of loss, people often surround a widow with love and support. Then the calls become less frequent, the cards stop arriving, and the rest of the world resumes its normal rhythm long before she has figured out what normal means for her now.
RESTORED Widow was created for that space, and Gaskins wants women from every background to feel welcome. "Grief does not belong to one race, neighborhood, income level, or age group, and neither does our community," she writes.
Brunches, workshops and apples
Today RESTORED Widow includes a private Facebook community, brunches and gatherings, workshops, the podcast and experiences designed to help women reconnect with life. Gaskins also reaches women through her "Cooking for Yourself" segments, built around one message: "You're worth cooking for."
The group planned a September apple orchard outing, a day of fresh air, cider, laughter and connection. "That may sound simple, but after loss, simple things can become significant," Gaskins writes.
"I do not want women only to talk about grief," she adds. "I want them to begin discovering what life can look like alongside it."
"I never would have chosen the heartbreak that brought me here," she writes. "But I have learned that rebuilding rarely happens through one enormous, life-changing decision. More often, it happens through a series of smaller ones."
This story appears in the October 2026 issue of Stroll Quail Hollow.