Finding Your Way After Your Spouse Dies (Paperback)

by Marta Felber (Author) "Your spouse has died, and I'm sorry..." (more)
Key Phrases: journey through grief, widowed persons

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Ave Maria Press (February 25, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0877939322
• ISBN-13: 978-0877939320
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.3 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #53,386 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #7 in	Books > Health, Mind & Body > Relationships > Love & Loss
  #8 in	Books > Religion & Spirituality > Christianity > Ministry & Church Leadership > Ministry to the Sick & Bereaved
  #99 in	Books > Health, Mind & Body > Death & Grief > Grief & Bereavement

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

151 of 154 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Healing Solutions for the Hurting Soul, June 7, 2002

By	Rebecca Johnson "SeasonedwithLove.com" (Washington State) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)

Clean is the autumn wind,
Splendid the autumn moon,
The blown leaves are heaped and scattered,
The ice-cold raven starts from its roost.
Dreaming of you - when shall I see you again?
On this night sorrow fills my
heart.

~Li Po (701-762)

The loss of a friend or lover can be one of the most painful and disorienting experiences life can offer. Life seems bleak and empty, your mind becomes a pool of muddled thoughts. Losing your spouse is even more painful and the grief a person feels when they have to struggle through the grieving process can be overwhelming.

When you are trying to pick up the pieces and move on, it helps to know that there is someone out there who understands what you are going through. Marta Felber has dedicated this book to the reader with the hope that it will be of help in the journey through grief.

Drawing on her training as a therapist and her experiences in self-healing after the death of her husband, she has written this guide as if she was a friend sitting with you and you were both drinking a cup of tea. She starts by expressing her heartfelt sorrow for the reader's loss and then proceeds to speak from the heart in small easy-to-read chapters. She deals with the deepest feelings in a very gentle way.

She talks about how you should accept crying as a natural process, how you can start a journal and how you must still think about eating well and exercising even in this stage of grief. She speaks of how to forgive, accept and let the healing process begin.

I think this is a book everyone should read whether they have experienced a loss or not because all of us will come into contact with someone in our lives who is experiencing loss. This will not only help you understand grief, but will allow you to understand what someone is going through. I think this book could also be used for when you have lost a very good friend who is very important to you as some of the same principles apply.

I think writing can be theraputic and Marta has also written a companion book called Grief Expressed: When a Mate Dies. The second book consists of 64 written exercises that she completed for herself in the first year after she lost her own husband. She deals with a wide range of emotions and issues, such as loneliness, insecurity, friends, finance, sleeplessness, health and anniversaries.

If you have a friend who has experienced a great loss, perhaps you could give this book to them with a flower and a ribbon tied to it and I think it will be a gift they won't forget. Actions do speak louder than words, in most things in life.

I felt very calm and nurtured after reading both of Marta's books.

Healing.

~The Rebecca Review

67 of 69 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finding your Way, December 4, 2001

By	Harry McKeown (Sumter, South Carolina, USA) - See all my reviews

I thought that I would receive help from my friends after my wife passed away. I had to turn to books for assistance, but found only one that I felt helped me through that long walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death. Marta's book was direct, honest and increased my faith in God. Each daily prayer was very helpful. It is a wonderful book to give to a friend in need.

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Lukewarm Comfort, June 1, 2006

By	Arthem "arthem" (Knoxville, TN USA) - See all my reviews

This is a nice little book, consisting of two page reflections, advice, a suggested prayer, and related scripture on a series of topics that very roughly reflects the grieving process. As such, it can be read cover-to-cover, but serves most use as a "daily reflections" or "journal by proxy", and is best when you flick through the pages and read whatever section you happen upon.

My main complaint with "Finding Your Way..." is that it's yet another "grieving grannies" book that is inherently speaking from and to an older woman's perspective, thus leaving something to be desired as a book for under-40 widowers. Just once I'd like to find a book that addresses topics such as "how to regain your sense of manhood after braiding your daughter's hair."

That being said, "Finding Your Way..." is a comforting and encouraging book, and contains helpful advice for anyone who has lost a spouse.