Better, Not Bitter: A journey from heartache to healing

by Michelle Cowan

In Better, Not A journey from heartache to healing , when Michelle Cowan’s husband dies in a sudden crash, she is forced to figure out how to move forward with a grieving teenage daughter. This would require them to walk a path that was a foreign passageway to most and welcomed by none. Both would come to experience the brutality of a political system and an industry that levels immeasurable destruction and heartache. At the same time, they would encounter unexpected kindnesses, support, and the sheer goodness of others.

Michelle takes the reader on a journey of love and loss, power and influence, courage and honor, and, finally, deep brokenness bringing the chance for a new normal, a time of restoration and living with permission granted. The loss of Joe was incalculable to Michelle, AJ, and all who loved him. Michelle found that loss met time and again by Joe’s love, a love that was forever near her and palpable from across the sacred veil.

“…Michelle has chosen to make the world a better place as a result of her tragic experience.” —TOM OSBORNE, NebraskaHuskers football coach and U.S. Congressman

“The author sought comfort in what some might consider unlikely places and … unlikely coincidences, culminating in a paradigm-shifting twist. An emotionally compelling read.” —REKHA BASU, former opinion columnist at Des Moines Register

“With the clear tone of someone who knows, Michelle Cowan captures the devastation that has reshaped countless lives, including mine.” —MILLIE WEBB MADD National President 2000-2002

210 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 6, 2023

Reviews

[Denise Loutsch-beitelspacher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good read. This book hits very close to home for me. Lots of similarities between our situations. Highly recommend.

[Tracy Clair · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some people are just inspiring, and Michelle Cowan and her daughter, A.J., fit that description.

When your beloved husband and father gets hit by a drunk driver and is killed, how do you deal with that? How do you move on? It wasn't easy, and it took a lot of courage, but Michelle and her daughter wanted to see the drunk drivers in Nebraska (the state with the 3rd highest rate of drunk driving deaths) stopped. They took their fight all the way to the Nebraska congress. I won't tell you any more. I wouldn't want to spoil the story for you.

This is a well-written, moving memoir that will especially appeal to anyone who has lost someone important to them or has felt the grief of a friend or famly member.

I had the honor of meeting Michelle at a writer's workshop over the summer, and she is as great of a person as her memoir suggests she is.

[Angila Hanson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Michelle did a great job writing and articulating all the things that happened during her grief journey. As a fellow widow myself, I felt everything she said and I empathized all the feelings she so graciously wrote. I’m also from Nebraska and I am shocked at our legal system and I learned a lot about our Senators and how important it truly is for an individual do the research when it’s time to vote! Easy read, very well written, and very thought provoking from the legislation to the after life.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was very fortunate to hear Michelle tell her story for a program at a neighboring library. It was a very moving presentation. I purchased the book for our town library so it could be shared by our patrons. Michelle's book does a very nice job of explaining the root of her familie's grief and despair and the courage she and her daughter displayed in trying to create justice to prevent loss of life for others. I admire both of them for their courage in pursuing several different methods to deal with their sorrow.

[Catherine Nasers · Rating 3 out of 5]

Incredible story. You can easily read this in a day. It was an absolute pleasure to hear Michelle share her story in person and then read her book.

I did feel like some points were a little heavy-handed and were repeated throughout for added emphasis, but it just felt like she was repeating herself.

Someone said you shouldn’t rate memoirs because it’s people’s lives so take my rating with a grain of salt. Absolutely still read this!

[Elizabeth Greer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Michelle shares the story of her husband horrific and tragic death in a way that makes you feel as if you are right there too. You can feel her pain; how raw and real it is. I couldn't help but feel the emotions she and her daughter felt as they tried to navigate thru life without their rock and advocate for a change in laws.

[Esther Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Courageous Book

This is an incredible story, a page turner, of the beautiful author who lost her husband in a car crash. The courage it took for her to find answers, and change the system into a better place. She is a prolific writer. I read this in two days! Highly recommend & so glad I stumbled on this beautiful story.

[Julie Kreun]

When Michelle Cowan's husband dies in a sudden crash, she is forced to figure out how to move forward with a grieving teenage daughter. The author stopped at the Sioux Center Public Library and left a copy of the book. She is interested in doing an author visit and/or book club.

[Amber Hallock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Couldn’t put it down