Widow

by Lynn Caine

Vintage paperback is bright, with shelf wear, a bit of scuffing at spine edge/front cover. Lightly creased spine and some blemishes on foredges and foxing at endpapers. Else, pages are clean. LISTEDBY(KAD)

Genres: Nonfiction, Death, Biography, Memoir

222 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 1974

Reviews

[Sandi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was widowed years ago when I was in my twenties. I stumbled upon this book somewhere during the first year after my husband’s sudden death and found it surprisingly consoling. It offered some good advice as well as some terrible advice, but it was one woman’s frank discussion about her experience. I really needed to hear someone talk about being a widow at that time in my life. I was young and although my friends cared, they really couldn’t relate. They were mostly uncomfortable talking about what it was like for me to try to put my life back together after my husband’s death. Grieving and healing are not pretty and not always logical. Sometimes there can be sink holes of anger and frustration. Sometimes the ridiculousness of the situation can be stunning. Recovery takes work and active effort. This book is one of the things that helped.

[Mary Kenyon · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't think much of the widow herself; I was shocked with one particular section where she hints at having sex with another man as her husband lay dying in a hospital, and I kept going back to it. "Next thing I knew, I was in bed with him," and I just shake my head in dismay. Surely, I must be reading this incorrectly. Surely she left the man's bed and went back to her husband's bedside. This might have been a groundbreaking book in the 70's but the idea that widows go a little crazy and might call an old flame up and ask for help or write to a rich man and ask for $500,000 because she is a "poor widow" just made me cringe. I am sorry to learn that the author died of cancer herself within 15 years of becoming a widow, but this book was NOT written shortly before her death, as the description states. It was an updated widow book that was released shortly after she died.

[Drew · Rating 2 out of 5]

I find solace in well-written autobiographies by flawed, frank people with only partial insight into their own lives. I think, "Hey, I'm not as self-absorbed, self-pitying, and self-congratulatory as this!" In a way, Lynn Caine is a literary, middle-class '70s antecedent to "Real Housewives of New York." In "Widow," she stands naked before us, open to letting us see her, warts and all, as she recklessly navigates the time leading up to and following her husband's early death from cancer. Whether she's brave or a narcissist is your call. I found her diverting.

Found in makeshift lending library on street in Charleston, SC.

[Diana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading this book has helped me out many times over the decades. When my mother's husband died after months of fighting cancer, the knowledge I had gained from reading Lynn Csaine's experiences readied me for my mom's craziness. Crazy is normal, I learned. When I faced a divorce, I knew I would have to protect my life from my own nuttiness. Having traveled that road before me, she provides signposts-- and stories from the front.

[Debra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Published back in 1974, this is the first book of its kind to be published on the experience of widowhood. When Lynn's husband Martin died, she was left alone to raise two young children on her meager income. She went through what most widows go through, and she was honest enought to write about it for the world to read. She later called it the "how not to" book on being a widow, since she made all the mistakes. Honest and open, a necessary read even today, for anyone facing widowhood.

[Thom Dunn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the book better than I liked her. Her voice and attitudes throughout irritated me, but the book is well-paced and clearly written--something not always present.

[Beth Higgins · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was very interesting & insightful. It is a good guide for women experiencing loss of their husbands & will help you navigate the journey of grief. Although this book was written in the 1970's it still applies today. I was struck, however, with the progress that has been made in women's lives. We are no longer thought of as just a man's wife, but as persons of own with lives outside the home. Still, the shock of losing a spouse leaves one lost & alone, and this book will help lead the grieving wife towards the light.

[Jane De vries · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read it many, many years ago and it made more of an impression then than now.
A little too dated.
Dealing with something of this magnitude is even worse without a Faith framework.

Some pointers: Don't make any rash, major decisions when grieving.
Make sure both you and your spouse have updated finances years before.
Telling your children Dad is going to die, while watching it happen right before your eyes, is hell.
Don,t rush into romantic relationships without thinking. especially with friends' husbands.
There can be life as a Widow - it just takes time.

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

A gem! I loved this charming but genuine look at Ms Caine’s love and loss. Not at all depressing or self pitying, just honest.

[Virginia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Needing some validation. Book a bit dated in advice, but journey of grief still true!

[anna janco]

destruida

[Krissy · Rating 4 out of 5]

written in the early 70s, but just as valid today, this is a painfully honest memoir by a young mother who loses her husband to cancer. She bravely shows the "ugly" side of grief and provides an account of her experience and, finally, hope and optimism for the future. A good read, I think, for any couple. Lots to think about here.

[Sheila · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book long before I was a widow. I'm glad I had because it alerted me to the stages of emotional turmoil I'd experience.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

this was a good book it was interesting but also sad