Two weeks before she was due to finish university, Susan Riley’s father passed away suddenly. A few months later she would attend graduation with just her mother alongside her, smiling for the cameras while on the verge of tears. “You owe it to yourself to celebrate those milestones but it’s so bittersweet”, she tells listeners in this week’s episode.

When her mother died from cancer five years later, Susan became an orphan at the age of 25. While she understands the time she had with her parents was a blessing she reflects on how the grief has unfolded throughout her life, rearing at pivotal moments. Looking back on her wedding day, she says that: “Such a massive thing is made of the father and mother of the bride that when you’ve got neither walking you down or at the end of the aisle, it’s glaringly obvious that they’re missing”.

In the episode, Susan considers how the loss of her parents has impacted her life and her relationship with her own daughter. “I’m very aware of the fragility of time and in a second your life can be unrecognisable”, she says.

Listen to the full story now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Acast. Subscribe for a new episode every Wednesday.

Nobody Told Me is Stylist’s latest podcast and shares stories of real women who have experienced life’s toughest challenges and the lessons they learned along the way. Listen to previous episodes with Lucy Wyndham-Read, Candice Brathwaite and Kadeena Cox as they share the moments that made them.