Grieving: A Love Story [Paperback]

Ruth Coughlin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1994

A widow's recollections of her husband's ten-month battle with cancer describe her profound sense of loss and devastation after his death, her confrontation with anger, and her adjustment to life without him. Reprint. 30,000 first printing.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Ruth and William Coughlin married at mid-life and spent eight happy years together until June 1991, when Bill, a judge and the author of 15 novels ( Death Penalty ), was diagnosed with liver cancer. In this memoir, Coughlin, the book review editor for the Detroit News , recalls her husband's 10-month struggle to stay alive and her efforts to ensure that he would die with dignity. Her book differs from others of this genre in not romanticizing the suffering she and her husband endured. Optimistic and good humored, Bill was convinced that chemotherapy treatments would slow the growth of his cancer. The Coughlins alternated between confidence and despair until it became clear that there was no more hope. After her husband's death, the author embarked on a mourning that she describes as "a narcissism that borders on the pathological." Offering no panaceas, her candor demonstrates that death and loss are facts of life. Author tour.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Kirkus Reviews

Raw outpouring of loss that's by turns moving and trying, by the widow of the recently deceased novelist and judge William J. Coughlin. The author discusses both her struggles to accommodate herself to widowhood and her life with ``Bill,'' mostly during his cancer- ravaged final ten months. The Bill who emerges here is memorable--a tough federal judge, a tender and sentimental lover, a devoted father, a hard-driving writer, a man of bravery and faith--and the extreme grief displayed by his widow is understandable. But Coughlin seems to suffer from the ``narcissism that borders on the pathological'' that she says mourning provokes, and when she criticizes supposedly insensitive friends for implying that she was overly dependent on her husband, the implication rings true. ``I used to have Bill,'' says Coughlin, ``and now I do not. I used to have a life, and now I do not.'' She makes an effort to go to her job as book critic for The Detroit News, but she ``shamelessly [tells] people high in management, when asked how I am doing, that walking into The Detroit News building and resuming my job is about as meaningless and puny as anything I have ever experienced.'' The events Coughlin describes certainly are enough to shake the faith of a saint--not only does Bill die lingeringly and painfully, but the author's father and beloved dog pass away as well, while her mother is hospitalized. It's not surprising, then, that Coughlin comes across not as a triumphant heroine but as a vulnerable human being torn by rage, confusion, and grief--one just beginning to find a way of bearing her existence. While those who have suffered a loss many appreciate Coughlin's memoir, others will wish for less self-absorption and more about Bill, so that they might participate in the author's grief rather than witnessing it with a mixture of pity and impatience. -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Perennial (October 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060976357
• ISBN-13: 978-0060976354
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #716,120 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It needs and deserves to be back in print..., November 16, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Grieving: A Love Story (Hardcover)

This book is a "must read" for people who have lost a loved one, or for that matter, if you have lost anyone...or are facing the iminent prospect of death. (As we all are...) It is sensitive, realistic and most of all, it's a love story. It's honest and beautiful.
It needs to be available...for everyone. I've never written a review before, and this book has moved me that much...

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding, January 15, 2000

By 

Rob C. (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Grieving: A Love Story (Paperback)

This is one of the finest works on the subject of loss yet written. Whether the reader is dealing with the recent loss of a loved one or needs comfort years after their beloved is gone, this piece of brilliant, honest writing is ideal. A wonderful job of writing, and a wonderful love story. A thank you is in order to Mrs. Coughlin. Your effort is greatly appreciated.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very moving, April 30, 2009

By 

Barb F. - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Grieving: A Love Story (Hardcover)

I found this in one of my favorite used book stores, and I am really glad I did. I work in hospice and this book helped me grow in my personal life as well as in my work in hospice. It isn't a very long book but it is full of insight. I strongly recommend it.