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    Widows' Words
    Women Write on the Experience of Grief, the First Year, the Long Haul, and Everything in Between

    Nan Bauer-Maglin (Edited by), Alice Goode-Elman (Contributions by), Kelli Dunham (Contributions by), Penelope Dugan (Contributions by), Melanie K Finney (Contributions by), Ellen Schrecker (Contributions by), Raquel Ramkhelawan (Contributions by), Maxine Marshall (Contributions by), Lauren Vanett (Contributions by), Alice Derry (Contributions by), Michele Neff Hernandez (Contributions by), Elisa Clark Wadham (Contributions by), Deborah E Kaplan (Contributions by), P.C. Moorehead (Contributions by), Mimi Schwartz (Contributions by), Anne Bernays (Contributions by), Edie Butler (Contributions by), Debby Mayer (Contributions by), Sonia Jaffe Robbins (Contributions by), Barbara Marwell (Contributions by), Maggie Madagame (Contributions by), Roni Sherman Ramos (Contributions by), Doris Friedensohn (Contributions by), Nancy H Womack (Contributions by), Joan Michelson (Contributions by), Tracy Milcendeau (Contributions by), Merle Froschl (Contributions by), Andrea Hirshman (Contributions by), Molly A McEneny (Contributions by), Heather Slawecki (Contributions by), Kathleen Fordyce (Contributions by), Patricia Life (Contributions by), Nancy Shamban (Contributions by), Susanne Braham (Contributions by), Alice Radosh (Contributions by), Parvin Hajizadeh (Contributions by), Jean Y. Leung (Contributions by), Joan Gussow (Contributions by), Kathryn Temple (Contributions by), Carrie L West (Contributions by), Lise Menn (Contributions by), Christine Silverstein (Contributions by), Tara Sabharwal (Contributions by)

    9780813599533

    Hardback, published 3 May 2019

    282 pages, 3 color images
    22.9 x 15.2 x 2.5 cm, 0.513 kg

    "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

    "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

    "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

    "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

    "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

    Becoming a widow is one of the most traumatic life events that a woman can experience. Yet, as this remarkable new collection reveals, each woman responds to that trauma differently. Here, forty-three widows tell their stories, in their own words.
     
    Some were widowed young, while others were married for decades. Some cared for their late partners through long terminal illnesses, while others lost their partners suddenly. Some had male partners, while others had female partners. Yet each of these women faced the same basic dilemma: how to go on living when a part of you is gone.
     
    Widows' Words is arranged chronologically, starting with stories of women preparing for their partners' deaths, followed by the experiences of recent widows still reeling from their fresh loss, and culminating in the accounts of women who lost their partners many years ago but still experience waves of grief. Their accounts deal honestly with feelings of pain, sorrow, and despair, and yet there are also powerful expressions of strength, hope, and even joy. 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.

    Contents
    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
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