Customer Reviews

The Unfaithful Widow: Fragmented Memoirs Of My First Year Alone

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a charming story of how one woman fought her way back from the grief of losing her husband to a new future filled with faith and happiness. As you go along on her year's journey, you will cry a little, laugh a lot as she experiences trying to date on line, and the joy that came from adopting neglected dogs to fill her life with love.
This is not just a book for widows. This is a book for anyone who has a void to fill in her life.
Be prepared for surprises with every chapter that will delight you.

I did enjoy this book. I was not sure I would, afraid it would be a maudlin collection of pity parties. Instead, I found a delightful collection of essays displaying the author's slightly twisted and very Southern take on the world after her husband died. Situations that had been routine while married were a whole different story as a widow. Fortunately, the author has good friends and better dogs to help her get through the difficult first year with her humor intact. This book earns an A from me.

Parental warning: R rated, so do not leave it laying around the house if you do not want it read.

FCC Disclosure: I was given a copy of the book to review. No other compensation was provided and the opinions expressed are my own.

In her review, Audrey Frank said, "This is a book for anyone who has a void to fill in her life."

That's much too limiting.

No void is necesssary, and the book is not just for females. It's a book for anyone seeking entertainment and anyone who might benefit from inspiration to keep going. It's also for everyone who likes dogs and soft-core dirty talk.

Barbara Barth is a master (mistress?) storyteller, with an uncanny ability to recall or recreate dialog. She is able to pluck humor from sadness. She shows proper respect for the past without being a prisoner of the past. Barbara demonstrates impressive resilience, strength and the ability to keep looking ahead despite widowhood, bad dates, and the death of a dog. Her unwillingness to accept cliche roles dictated by age, custom or gender are important lessons for everyone.

I don't want to concentrate only on the insprational aspects of the book, because it is a LOT OF FUN. I read the Kindle version on a bumpy train ride. I was tired and woozy. A lesser book would have made me turn off my iPad. With Barbara's book, I kept tapping to turn the electronic pages to see what happens next. The woman sitting next to me wondered what was making me laugh and she started reading along with me. I read faster than she did, and let her catch up before I turned the pages.

Although I didn't "get" the cover illustration (it's apparently a chick thing) and at times I thought I was overhearing a conversation that was meant just for women (number of bras owned, evaluating a man's butt), at other times I thought Barbara was talking directly to me.

Buy the book and hear what Barbara has to say to you. You won't be disappointed.

Michael N. Marcus
author of Stories I'd Tell My Children (but maybe not until they're adults)
author of Become a Real Self-Publisher: Don't be a Victim of a Vanity Press. Learn All About Self-Publishing. Publish a Better Book, Publish it Faster, Make More Money, Have More Fun

When my husband died March 9, 2011, I was devastated. It was totally unexpected. I had just had my 60th birthday and 6 weeks later my husband died, talk about a double whammy. Sixty! and a Widow! I read several books on grieving, widows, and other self help books like Ekhart Tolle, but none of them reached my inner being like Barbara's book. I found it doing a search on Amazon, and when I saw the title, "Unfaithful Widow" my curiosity got the best of me. What the heck is an "unfaithful widow" I thought. I just had to download a copy on my computer. Well, just reading the sample was not enough. I actually bought my first Kindle in order to download this book. With each chapter I came to feel that Barbara was reading my mind, I so identified with her jois de vivre. I loved how brave she was to go out and meet new people, and her stories of these incidents are hilarious. If you want to know how to deal with life after finding yourself suddenly single after several decades or even a few, then this book is for you. Never once did she let life get her down. In moments of rejection, she found humor and a sense of herself. In moments when we might all just curl up and cry, Barbara found a way to laugh. And boy can this woman write. What a natural talent. I highly recommend this book to anyone widowed whether it's recent or even several years. This is a book about living life to the fullest.

I purchased this and read it in less than a day. It's one of the best books I have read in a really long time. Becoming a widow at 33, I could see exactly where she was coming from.

Losing a loved one is always difficult and sometimes you need the support of others who have been through the same situation. I have not lost a husband but I have lost loved ones. The essays in this book will help you feel both the loss and provide a bit of a "pick-me-up". Rescuing animals became Barbara's coping tool that allowed her to learn to live again. This book is funny, wise and very insightful.

I think that anyone who has lost a loved one, even if you aren't a widow, you will find parts in these essays that ring true to you. I love Barbara's voice and I like that she didn't hold back.

I loved this book. I read it after I read The Help and The Help is a hard act to follow. Was excellent.

Barbara Barth--can't wait for her next book. What a bright, funny, amazing lady she is! The Unfaithful Widow drew me in with the first paragraph and kept me reading through the day. Her humor and love for her husband, family, friends and those fantastic dogs shine throughout this wonderful memoir. I picture her as a strong, capable women with a heart so generous that her writing can speak to all of us. LOVED it.

Very entertaining and inspiring memoir of the author's journey from Wife to Widow to Woman . . . humorous and heartbreaking all at once.

I read this short book in less than a day and cackled and sniffled my whole way through it. My own pack of dogs surely thought I had finally lost my mind.

Sweet, down to earth, and very human, I wish I could go antiquing with this phenomenal lady sometime!

Don't let the title fool you. This is a funny, smart and insightful book in which just about anyone can find something to relate to. Barbara is a strong, resourceful woman , that obviously has great coping skills as well as a way of getting through the rough times using humor. What a fun read !! I cried , and learned a few things as well as laughed alot !!!
I recommend the book to anyone, but , it's a must if you are going through any type of difficulty in your life . The book will make you laugh and put things into perspective. And I love the dogs !!! And as I read in another review.....It is definately not just for women. Two of my male friends have already borrowed my copy.