In "Widower: When Men are Left Alone", a journalist and a social worker explore the grief process as men experience it. The book contains the oral histories of twenty men, ranging in age from 30 to 94, who have lost their wives to a range of causes including cancer, alcohol, murder, and suicide. Taken together, the stories guide the reader through the journey of widowhood, from the raw despair of the early weeks to the resolved perspective thirteen years later, offered by the only true authority on the subject - the men who have survived it.
INTRODUCTION TO THIS NEW EDITION
WHAT HAPPENS TO MEN WHEN THEIR MATES DIE
GEORGE: The First Few Months
Dealing with anger and disbelief, with the lack of carnal comfort and with inept expressions of sympathy
SAM AND JIM: Relying on Religion and Work
The values and dangers of familiar structures
JAN: A Murder in the Family
The strength of the tribe and of solitude, coping with the children's loss, and making a quick reliance
HANK: When a Wife Takes Her Own Life
Coming to grips with suicide through a "replacement wife" as grieving agent
MARK: Widowed Under Thirty
Generational differences, and the danger of escaping depression by making a quick recommitment
RANDY: Turning to the Bottle
Bereavement as a catalyst for self destruction and resurrection
KARL: Finding New Friends
Turning to people outside your circle and finding you have something new to offer
JAKE, FRAN, MIKE, AND JERRY: Keeping Company
A Transcript of a bereavement group
BILL: When Your Wife is Your Whole Life
In the process of re-peopling your life, sometimes a psychiatrist can help
JOE: Married for Life, and Longer
Living in the past even when you're active in the present
GORDON: Ambivalence in Bereavement
The Complications of grieving a wife who slowly destroyed herself can inhibit efforts to start a new life
MURRAY: Anticipatory Grief
The incremental mourning of long-term illness, the difficulty of talking about it, and finally taking advantage of new freedoms
DEREK: Assisted Suicide
The special challenge of sharing responsibility for a wife's death
ROGER: A Transformation of Values
In seeking the wisdom of other widowers, finding new wisdom in one's self
LOU: Enjoying Life After Death
Learning to be happy again, alone but not lonely, without feeling guilty
PETER: The Ultimate Transcendence
Overcoming the limitations of society and of the self to grow into a new kind of man
—developmentally, psychologically, emotionally, and spiritually
WHEN MEN ARE LEFT ALONE
SELF-HELP ORGANIZATIONS AND READINGS
Biography
Campbell, Scott
