Book: On Our Own: Widowhood for Smarties
Author: 67 different contributors
Publisher: Silver Boomer Books
Date: August 31, 2012
Genre: non-fiction anthologyPages: 216 Price: $14.00
My rating: a bittersweet collection well worth the read
I was asked to read and review this book some time ago, and I’m glad I was given the opportunity. It was compiled by Thelma Zirkelbach, Barbara B. Rollins, Becky Haigler, and Robyn Conley.
On Our Own: Widowhood for Smarties consists of almost one hundred stories, poems, and essays from sixty-seven different widows and widowers who are working through the grief of the loss of their life partner. It is a journey through the grieving process someone in that situation will understand, while not being too far removed from the appreciation of others not yet there.
Some entries will put a tear in your eye, others a smile on your face, and a few may cause you to chuckle.
I like what it says on the back cover, so will include it here:
Widowhood…a status with some deference but a role few seek. A new beginning usually greeted with dread rather than anticipation. The writers of this collection express the range of emotions at the loss of a spouse but the overwhelming message is affirmation of the strength they find to create new lives after deep loss. Widows and widowers will read these stories and poems with knowing nods, sighs and smiles. Other readers will find insight into a common human condition and perhaps courage to face their own unsought new beginnings. As the subtitle suggests, this is widowhood for smarties, for those who acknowledge the pain of loss but who are learning to live in spite of it, even to build on it.
It’s obvious there was much thought put into the creation of this book. Along the bottom of every page there is a continuous appropriate offering of quotes, adding to and complimenting the main content.
Examples:
- “Someone who thinks death is the scariest thing doesn’t know a thing about life.” – Sue Monk Kidd
- “I don’t mind dying, I just don’t want to be there when it happens.” – Woody Allen
- “Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal.” – from a headstone in Ireland
- “Grief can’t be shared. Everyone carries it alone. His own burden in his own way.” – Anne Morrow Lindbergh
- “The pain passes, but the beauty remains.” – Pierre Auguste Renoir
This anthology gives a well-rounded taste of the experience of widowhood, the deep profound loss, the pain and grief, but it also is encouraging and hopeful. On Our Own: Widowhood for Smarties is not only for the grieving of the loss of a relationship, it is a glimpse into the experience and definitely a good read for anyone.
You can find On Our Own: Widowhood for Smarties on my BUY THE BOOK! page.
Thanks for reading, and … Creative Musings! 🙂
Polilla Writes 