Description
Book SynopsisForty-three widows tell their stories, in their own words, revealing how each woman deals with the trauma of bereavement differently. Whether you are a widow yourself or have simply experienced loss, you will be sure to find something moving and profound in these diverse tales of mourning, remembrance, and resilience.
Trade Review“Women have learned to find fortitude in sharing the truth of their lives - not because we have the same truth, but because we find community and support there. The stories in this honest and loving book will give strength to those experiencing widowhood and wisdom to those trying to help them build the rest of their lives.”
-- Suzanne Braun Levine * author Inventing the Rest of Our Lives: Women in Second Adulthood *
“Widows’ Words is an invaluable tool for understanding loss, mourning and grief, and an equally fascinating and compelling read with diverse and varied points of views, which proved to me that every loss is unique yet universal. Nan Bauer-Maglin has brought together many strong female voices that both define and redefine the concept of 'widow.'" -- Jonathan Santlofer * author of The Widower's Notebook: A Memoir *
“This collection is a comforting, necessary companion for the many, many women whose love outlasts their partners' lives. The stories are honest, unsentimental and as complicated and varied as marriages themselves.”
-- Anna Sale * host of the WNYC Studios podcast Death, Sex & Money *
"This heartfelt collection should help widows, and widowers as well, feel less alone as they move through a wrenching transition." * Publishers Weekly *
"Expertly compiled and deftly edited by Nan Bauer-Maglin, "Widows' Words: Women Write on the Experience of Grief, the First Year, the Long Haul, and Everything in Between" is a unique and very highly recommended addition to both community and academic library collections." * Midwest Book Review *
"Gentle, wry humor and strong advice that feels like it’s offered in a warm blanket and a hug. It all makes
Widows’ Words a great reference and good comfort even though, for the newly bereaved, it can’t begin to cover everything." * Post News Group *
Table of ContentsContents
Introduction
Prologue: Expectant Widows Alice Goode-Elman “What We Were Afraid Of: A Memoir”
Kelli Dunham “The Queen Has Spoken”
Penelope Dugan “Living a Life”
Melanie K. Finney “Preparing for the Journey through Grief”Nan Bauer-Maglin “Deserted/Dumped for a Second Tim
Recent Widows Nan Bauer-Maglin “A Widow’s Notes: The First Six Months”
“My Other Half: Raquel Ramkhelawan interviewed by Maxine Marshall” Lauren Vanett “The Cloak”
Alice Derry “’The Most Precious Fit’— A Dialogue with C.S. Lewis’
A Grief Observed” Michele Neff Hernandez “On Grief”
Elisa Clarke Wadham “Wedding Rings”
Deborah E. Kaplan “The Afterlife of an Archive”
P.C. Moorehead “A Healing Garden”
Mimi Schwartz “You See, I Told You So!”
Anne Bernays “Yes, I Miss My Husband, but I’m Also Discovering the Pleasures of Living Alone”
Long-Time Widows Edie Butler “The Grief Convention”
Debby Mayer “10 Scary Things I Have Done Since My Husband Died”
Sonia Jaffe Robbins “Being Alone”
Barbara E. Marwell “Recreating My Life”
Maggie Madagame “Becoming Maggie”
Roni Sherman Ramos “Who I Am Revealed”
Doris Friedensohn “Losing the Artist, Living with His Art”
Nancy H. Womack “After the Aftermath”
Joan Michelson “Three Poems”
Unique Takes or Digging Deeper Tracy Milcendeau with Merle Froschl, Andrea Hirshman, Molly McEneny, and Heather Slawecki “Widow-to-Widow”
Kathleen Fordyce “Parenting as a Widow”
Patricia Life “Memories of a Widow’s Daughter”
Nancy Shamban “Lost Acts…..”
Susanne Braham “Dealing with Double Loss: Husband and Hearing”
Alice Radosh “Synchroncity and the Secular Mind”
Parvin Hajizadeh “Mourning American-style”
Jean Y. Leung “The Rocks that Bind”
Joan Gussow “On Not Feeling Sad”
Kathryn Temple “What They Do Not Tell You”
Carrie L. West “Nine Things Resilient People Do After Losing a Spouse or Partner”
Lise Menn “Make Lemonade?!”
Epilogue Christine Silverstein “The Missing Vow”
Acknowledgments
Tara Sabharwal “Artist’s Statement”
Notes on Contributors
