Introduction

What do we do when life ends? How do we honor the past while moving into an unimaginable, uncertain future? This tender, bracingly honest memoir explores how Jenny, a young widow, navigates the sudden loss of Tris, her beloved spouse of eighteen years.

With Tris gone, Jenny suddenly finds herself a single mom to a teen daughter and adult stepson. The newly splintered family finds ways to celebrate “milestone firsts” —including birthdays and other holidays that, without Tris, now feel hollow and bittersweet. Jenny finds herself drawn to new people, including other widows and psychic mediums, and becoming open to different kinds of connections based on sharing and spirituality. She also embarks on a halting quest for new romantic love. Initially, as she endures awkward first dates and unpleasant interactions with self-proclaimed “nice guys,” she resists her new reality —but over time, she finds someone unexpectedly comforting, blending the pain of loss with the pleasure of closeness. For readers who have also lost a loved one, The Good Widow offers both a comforting guide to grief and a form of companionship; for everyone, it’s a beautiful example of how even after death, love endures.

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Excerpt

My Beloved,

It’s just over seven months now since you’ve been gone.

At times, I still can’t believe it. It feels incredible that I’ll never again be able to hold your hand, stroke your hair, or kiss your lips. I ache to touch you again, for you to touch me. I am starving, ravenous to smell your scent, breathe your breath. Instead, I stand in front of your open closet, stroking the dress shirts that had touched the once warm skin over your once beating heart. ... view entire excerpt...

Discussion Questions

1. If you could go back and control what happened on the day you lost someone, what would you want to have happen? Why? How might those changes affect your feelings now?

2. Why is grief a taboo topic, rarely openly discussed? What gets in the way of open discussion about mourning and bereavement? What can be done to better support people in grief?

3. In your experience, what does it mean to “move forward” after a loss?

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