I picked up Widowish as an Amazon First Read, admittedly because the sample started with a bit of a medical mystery. While Melissa's husband, Joel, had already been diagnosed with MS, it wasn't what left him in a coma, and left her with an impossible choice.

Reading those first few chapters, I could sense her desperation for him to recover, and her pain when he could not. Every bit of this book feels authentic and heartfelt.

As the story evolves, Melissa does an incredible job chronicling the emotional journey of a now only parent, coping not only with her own emotions but with those of her young daughter. Some friends and family supported her. Others judged her, and none, it seems, as harshly as she judged herself.

What is the appropriate mourning period after the loss of a spouse? How does someone find the strength to move on? What is the role of community in grieving? Melissa's is a beautiful story about recovery and helping others who are similarly "widowish." Recommended. ( )

You would think a book about being a widow would be depressing to read, especially after the year we have had with the Covid lockdowns. I’m not really certain why I picked this book but it has become one of my top 10 reads for this year. Yes it was heartbreaking but it is also filled with love and honesty. Be prepared for some ugly crying. But also be prepared for how uplifting it is. Melissa Gould wrote an amazing tribute to her husband, leaving her daughter a beautiful testimony, and an raw honest look at finding your way through grief. Joel, Melissa’s husband, was diagnosed with MS. That is a difficult illness to get through. It is one that isn’t cured. He died from West Nile Virus. Both of them were amazingly courageous. I can’t imagine what writing this was like for her. Reading it, my emotions were everywhere. But through it all, I had a deep gratitude to Melissa for sharing Joel with us and her life, (along with their daughter’s). The journey she invites us on with her is not easy. I cannot express enough how honored and privileged I feel to have walked a bit with her. She taught me a lot. This is a book that you should read and then gift to someone else. We are all touched, at some point, by grief.
I won this book in a Goodreads Giveaway. I reviewed it voluntarily and honestly. I encourage you to read it. Buy it or get it from your library. Read it and pass it on. ( )

Widowish: a Memoir. Melissa Gould. 2021, Joel, the author’s husband suffered from MS and was gradually becoming more disabled, but he died unexpectedly of West Nile disease. Gould, a television and screenwriter, wrote this memoir at the suggestion of a friend who was also a widower. She begins with their first meeting and courtship and describes their marriage including the their struggles with his MS. Gould is a competent writer and describes her grief and that of her daughter and their slow recovery. She realizes every grief is different and how everyone feels theirs is the worst. She found comfort in the words of Joel Osteen and a psychic which to me was strange to me since she is a non-practicing Jew. Lest than a year after her husband’s death she also met a perfect man who seems to understand her and is able to let her grieve. In addition to this book, she has started a group for people who have lost their spouses and she has a webpage ( )

As the title suggests Melissa has lost her husband. This is the story of her life with her husband and her life afterwards.
I found little in her that I could recognise from my own experience and my response was often incredulity rather than empathy. Everyone does have a different response to grief I know but her life is far removed from anything I can identify.

I got this book for free and the views expressed are solely my own ( )

Ms. Gould shares her experience of losing her husband while still a young woman. Her candor about her feelings and thoughts give a glimpse into the process of surviving the death of someone so beloved. I found her words resonated with my own grief over the death of my husband. ( )