My Husband Is Not a Rainbow: The Brutally Awful, Hilarious Truth About Life, Love, Grief, and Loss

by Kelley Lynn Shepherd, Kevenn T. Smith (Illustrator), Michele Neff Hernandez (Foreword)

From TEDx speaker, writer, and involuntary widow, Kelley Lynn, comes the real life story of love, loss, and what happens when your husband leaves for work one ordinary Wednesday and never comes home.

In "My Husband Is Not a Rainbow," Lynn gives you a front row seat into the grief tsunami (please don't call it a 'journey') that busted through her young and happy marriage, shattering her world to pieces, and stealing the only life she knew. This brutally raw and often hilarious peek into one woman's brave struggle in the aftermath of her husband's death, and the beautiful love between them that started it all, will have you laughing, crying, and re-thinking everything you thought you knew about life, love, grief, and loss. Written in real time and told through poetry, journal entries, Facebook posts, grief-counseling session snippets, and letters to her dead husband, "Rainbow" will have you falling in love with love, while simultaneously feeling validated in your own personal grief tsunami.

"My Husband Is Not a Rainbow" is for anyone who has ever felt lost, hopeless, and alone in times of grief. It is for anyone who has ever loved someone, and then had to figure out what life looked like without them here on earth. It is for anyone who has taken pain and turned it into purpose, and anyone courageous enough to keep on living, even while having the knowledge that people will keep on dying.

Genres: Grief

656 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 18, 2018

Reviews

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve known Kelley since we were kids, but I met Don through the pages of this book. Then I loved him. I’m so happy she was blessed with loving and being loved by this amazing man, and now she is sharing that story with all of us. My heart broke over and over for and with her in these pages (the phone call, the loss, the daily struggles, the airplane..), but I also laughed with her during the stories of Don’s “reappearances.” This book will stay with you.

[Becky · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did not finish this book. As a widow myself I wanted to like it and to support the author. I was drawn to the title of this book because I tired of all of the cliches that you hear - he is in a better place, he is not suffering anymore, God only gives you what you can handle., etc. I was expecting a less dramatic, more humorous treatment of grief based on the title.
While I certainly understand that everyone experiences grief differently, I was losing patience with Kelly. Yes, it sucks but you have to face life and move forward. I tired of reading about her constant meltdowns. Yes, they happen, I’m not sure every single one needed to be detailed in this book. I might pick this up again but it certainly wasn’t resonating with me. But, everyone’s journey is different I suspect this candid account may help others.

[Lana Rudner]

This book is so wonderful - I have not been able to put it down. Kelley shares her story with a mixture of grief and counters it with humor. So hard to describe, but this has been a life-saver for me after losing my husband 3 years ago.

[Ellen Sweetman- Brant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kelley is a phenomenal writer. Her style is profound, humorous , gut wrenchingly sad and so full of a her REAL LIFE love story of how part of her died with the loss of her husband. A MUST read book for anyone ever having lost someone or knowing someone who has lost someone.Kelley portrays what grief does to her/an individual and the tools that can help you feel in all ways ,to live in each moment by moment and continue life, on life’s new discovered terms. I could not put the book down. Kelley is an inspiration that life for her has meaning. Thanks for that HOPE for me as well.

[Christine Farrell-espe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a beautiful tribute to love and loss. Kelley lost her husband suddenly, as did I, and she has an incomparable ability to connect with the the many emotions that accompany such a tragedy.
The book is beautiful, funny and heartbreaking all at once.

[Kristy Marshall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best loss of spouse book I have read!

This book resonated with me on every level of my widowhood experience. I cried , I laughed, and many times at the same time. This book is a must have for widows on their grief journey/ path whatever you want to call

[Andrea · Rating 2 out of 5]

I admire this woman for having the courage to tell the story of how she lost her husband, but aside from a few parts, I really could not get into this book. I hoped it would help me in my grief, but it really just came across as an autobiography that wasn't very compelling.