Customer Reviews

Widowhood Happens

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What will happen when your mate dies, no matter how long you've been married? Yes, it's a dreadful thing to be thinking about, it is, however, inevitable, eventually. Why not learn about what's in store for when you will no longer be part of a couple? Why not understand, before you tumble into its depths, what the process of grief looks like? We eagerly grab books off the shelf about getting married, being pregnant & parents, starting companies, making candles, learning to heal ourselves--why not a book about what widowhood will be like? No one knows you as well as you know yourself, so why not be prepared?

Interspersed with the women's & men's memories are insights from mental & spiritual health professionals, which makes for a fine balance.

Certainly WIDOWHOOD HAPPENS is a book every bride ought to be given before her wedding gown is re-made into a maternity dress, before your hair turns grey, before you really, really need it.

A very good book about Big Thoughts such as life & death, love & marriage, pain & pleasure, loneliness & companionship, self-pity & helping others. It makes you think & gives you some clues as to how to live your life--before & afterwards, highly recommended!

There are interviews in this book from men and women who've experienced widowhood, plus advice from psychologists. The book is something that would be useful for families of people who are widowed--so many times the surviving partner of a marriage reports that after the initial sympathy outflow, they are ultimately ignored. Plus how do you talk to someone about their loss and the person they lost.

This isn't so much a practical book about picking up the day-to-day pieces as it is about navigating the emotional tide. A good guide.

It never occurred to me that the reality of being a widow in my
thirties is a possibility until I read the first chapter of Gene K. Garrison's Widowhood Happens. It opened my eyes to a whole new aspect of life I hadn't previously pondered: death.

Garrison presents facts in a very reader-friendly format. Not once did I feel I was being inundated with statistics or terminology that was over my head. As I journeyed through these pages I found myself experiencing everything right along with each personal story and interview.

Thinking about your spouse's death is never comfortable and often frightening. Although you can never be totally prepared for this life-changing event, Widowhood Happens gives you a glimpse into the lives of people who have experienced this heart-breaking loss and come to realize that for every ending there is a new beginning, and that it is possible to come through the grief and enjoy a full life. In my class, After the Loss of Your Spouse, this book is on my suggested reading list. The combination of personal stories and professional insights gives much food for thought, and the writing style is easy to read.