The Light at the End of the Tunnel: Coming Back to Life After a Spouse Dies [Paperback]

Mary Menke (Author)

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Mary Ward Menke is a nonfiction writer whose work has appeared in The Toastmaster, Dog Fancy, Science of Mind, and The Writers Post Journal. She is a contributing editor to January Magazine, an online book review magazine. As a writer, Mary understands the power of words. She also believes that even non-writers can benefit from getting words on paper during stressful times. Mary was inspired to compile the stories of survival in The Light at the End of the Tunnel: Coming Back to Life After a Spouse Dies after her son and her friend each lost their spouse quite unexpectedly due to similar misdiagnosed medical events, several years apart. Because of the special bond shared with these individuals by Mary and her husband (the friend's husband was also his best friend), she witnessed first-hand that advice offered with the best intentions can often be completely wrong for the recipients. And the myriad books about grieving written by "professionals" sometimes leave the reader thinking they must have been written for someone else. The Light at the End of the Tunnel is written by survivors for survivors with the two-fold purpose of encouraging those who have "been there, done that" to help themselves while helping others and to show the newly bereaved that there is no single right way to grieve.

Product Details

• Paperback: 164 pages
• Publisher: AuthorHouse (July 17, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1425944213
• ISBN-13: 978-1425944216
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,327,902 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I contributed a chapter to this book., October 25, 2006

By 

Brenda Elliott (Douglasville, GA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Light at the End of the Tunnel: Coming Back to Life After a Spouse Dies (Paperback)

I didn't know what else was going into the book along with the chapter I wrote but Mary has managed to pull together an amazing number of true stories with enough variety to speak to a number of reader's experiences.

Loosing a spouse gets 100 points on the stress scale the "Social Readjustment Rating Scale" by Thomas Holmes and Richard Rahe and is at the top of that scale in terms of stress impact. Nothing can really save a person from going through the stress of loosing their spouse but knowing that others survived a went on with their lives gives hope in a situation that at times seems hopeless. It can go a long way in helping a surviving spouse to reach that light at the end of the tunnel.


Brenda A. Elliott

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Opening Communication Paths, September 22, 2006

By 

Kathryn M. Denton (St. Louis, Missouri) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Light at the End of the Tunnel: Coming Back to Life After a Spouse Dies (Paperback)

Mary Menke has written an amazing book. Recently two of my friends spouses died, so I bought 2 copies. Although both people are friends, neither of them are so close to me that I knew how to talk to them about their loss. By giving them Mary's book, it opened the communication paths between myself and my friends on this difficult delicate subject. One of my friends read it in a day and said she will read it again. Thank you Mary. I can't say I look forward to having a reason to purchase another one :), but if the need arises, I am glad I now know what to do.
Kathy Denton, author of, "The Search of a Lifetime", "Corporate Russian Roulette", and cameo-author of, "Beneath the Big Muddy"

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good compilation of personal stories, January 9, 2007

By 

N. Maneck "NWIN" (Gallatin, TN 37066) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Light at the End of the Tunnel: Coming Back to Life After a Spouse Dies (Paperback)

Light at the end of the Tunnel is a great compilation of first person accounts of individuals from various walks of life.