Celebrating the Coyote: A Memoir [Hardcover]

Barbara Waters (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This checkered memoir by Waters, a teacher of literature and creative writing, is intended as a tribute to her late husband, Frank Waters (1902-1995), best known for his critically acclaimed novels (The Man Who Killed the Deer) and nonfiction works (Of Time and Change) set in the American Southwest. The author shares her husband's affection for the region as well as his impassioned reverence for the Native American peoples who inhabit it. Married for 16 years, the two lived in Arroyo Seco, a small town north of Taos, N. Mex., an area about which Waters rhapsodizes in flowery prose. Despite the 27-year age difference between Waters and her (older) husband, she characterizes their union as "very nearly having it all." However, Waters also explores the downside of their marriage with a sparkle the rest of her elegy lacks. Particularly notable is a lunch she arranged in 1996 with two of Frank's three former wives. Her description of their conversation reveals Frank as an insensitive womanizer who almost always put his considerable needs first. Waters refers here to her late husband as "Dr. No," because of his negative attitude toward most of her activities, interests and ideas. The author's references to astrology, ghosts, spirits, myths and the symbolism she finds in nature will appeal to those who share her New Age worldview, as well as to Frank Waters's students and fans.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Waters writes affectingly of coming to terms with her first year of widowhood, but she is perhaps too close to her emotions for a smooth accounting. While grief is hardly graceful, this book lacks smoothness; the transition between anecdotes and narrative is not seamless, and Waterss discussion of New Age elements seems out of character. Throughout, Waters strives to capture her married life as a cohesive whole, but the emotions presented are not always well rounded. Doris Lessings Diaries of Jane Somers (Vintage, 1984. reprint) and May Sartons journals are more captivating, although they deal with aging more than widowhood.Naomi E. Hafter, Broward Cty. P.L., Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 319 pages
• Publisher: Divina (May 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0965952150
• ISBN-13: 978-0965952156
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #643,691 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book!, September 13, 2010

By 

Faith Welsh "Faith in Taos" (Taos, NM) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Celebrating the Coyote: A Memoir (Paperback)

This is a wonderful memoir about life in Taos, living with a famous writer. It is about love, marriage and all the complex innuendo that accompanies making a relationship work. It is well written and insightful... a great read!

4.0 out of 5 stars Celebrating the Coyote, July 3, 2001

By 

Cassandra Barnes "Cassandra" (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Celebrating the Coyote: A Memoir (Paperback)

In Celebrating the Coyote, Barbara Waters writes about her husband, author Frank Waters, and how she survived his death. Known as the "Grandfather of Southwestern Literature," Frank Waters wrote more than 25 books and was nominated five times for the Nobel Prize.

Far from being overshadowed by her famous husband, Barbara Waters earned degrees in journalism and psychotherapy, the second of which she found helpful in understanding the man she married.

Waters reveals the sources of the inner strength and wisdom guiding her life. She says she realizes that "my whole book is a ceremony celebrating my exchange of energies with the universe." It a memoir of a journey from the depths of intense grief to a life newly appreciated. Although she includes details of her marriage, Water primarily shares the growth she underwent, both in being married to Frank Waters, and in recovering from his death.

She poignantly describes the "Damn firsts," like her first trip alone and first Valentine's Day without him, then adds, "the infinite number of Firsts is always surprising, sometimes overwhelming. Seconds are not nearly so wearing. Except for the sound of ambulances."

Waters adeptly weaves events from her youth, her life with Frank, the philosophy found in his books, and all that she has learned in a lifetime of study into a tapestry that celebrates life. As John Nichols writes in his forward, readers will find Celebrating the Coyote "a poetic, informed, and spellbinding elegy for a man and a marriage, and for the wondrous complexity of all life."

3.0 out of 5 stars Norma in Colorado, May 3, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Celebrating the Coyote: A Memoir (Paperback)

I nearly didnt finish this book as it was a little hard to get into. The first part reminds me of someone writing mind chatter. It was disorienting to me. There was enough good though that I kept reading and am glad I did. It is filled with "That's the way I feel, or I wish I could say it that way" type of writing. Stick with it. It ends up a good read.