This stirring collection celebrates the strategies widows learn and the resources they muster to deal with people, living space, possessions, social life, and especially themselves, once shock has turned to the realization that nothing will ever be the same. Anyone who has lost a loved one or is involved in helping the bereaved will be able to relate to the experiences conveyed in The Widows’ Handbook. But, while both men and women understand the bewilderment, solitude, and change of status thrust upon the widowed, women suffer a particular social demotion and isolation. shown here in all its variations.
Events in Massachusetts feature co-editor Jacqueline Lapidus, contributors Florence Grende, Susan Mahan, Ruth Rothstein, Christine Silverstein, Ellen Steinbaum, Holly Zeeb, occasional visiting contributors from other regions, and other New England widows. Other Massachusetts poets in the anthology include Gail Gilliland, Barbara L. Greenberg, and (former Mass. resident) Mary Oliver.