"My husband died, my life collapsed." On a February morning in 2008, Joyce Carol Oates drove her ailing husband, Raymond Smith, to the emergency room of the Princeton Medical Center where he was diagnosed with pneumonia. Both Joyce and Ray expected him to be released in a day or two. But in less than a week, even as Joyce was preparing for his discharge, Ray was dead from a hospital-acquired virulent infection, and Joyce was suddenly faced - totally unprepared - with the reality of widowhood. A Widow's ...
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"My husband died, my life collapsed." On a February morning in 2008, Joyce Carol Oates drove her ailing husband, Raymond Smith, to the emergency room of the Princeton Medical Center where he was diagnosed with pneumonia. Both Joyce and Ray expected him to be released in a day or two. But in less than a week, even as Joyce was preparing for his discharge, Ray was dead from a hospital-acquired virulent infection, and Joyce was suddenly faced - totally unprepared - with the reality of widowhood. A Widow's Story illuminates one woman's struggle to comprehend a life absent of the partnership that had sustained and defined her for nearly half a century. Joyce Carol Oates shares the derangement of denial, the anguish of loss, the disorientation of the survivor amid a nightmare of "death duties," and the solace of friendship. She writes unflinchingly of the experience of grief - the almost unbearable suspense of the hospital vigil, the treacherous "pools" of memory that surround us, the vocabulary of illness, the absurdities of commercialized forms of mourning. Here is a frank acknowledgment of the widow's desperation - only gradually yielding to the recognition that "this is my life now." Enlivened by the piercing vision, acute perception and mordant humour that are the hallmarks of the work of Joyce Carol Oates, this is a extremely moving tale of life and death, love and grief.
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Add this copy of A Widow's Story to cart. $18.30, very good condition, Sold by Prominent Trading Company rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Hereford, HEREFORDSHIRE, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2011 by Fourth Estate.
I found it interesting because it was an in depth individual; thought process by the widow that most people dont consider. As a widow myself- I relived some of her actions.
I also questioned- how did she remember all those things? A portion of my time period is blurred because of the emotional grief you are going through at that time.
Most people dont realize it takes a long time- years or maybe never- before there is an adjustment to your new status. So many things to take care of and your mind is not up to handling this all at once.
The book was well written with a lot of thought.
A good - "What To Do" book for someone who is in a terminal illness situation or close to a someone who has lost a loved one.
