SUMMARY :
Six marriages, six heartbreaks, one shared beginning.
In her forties – a widow, too young, too modern to accept the role – Becky Aikman struggled to make sense of her place in an altered world. In this transcendent and infectiously wise memoir, she explores surprising new discoveries about how people experience grief and transcend loss and, following her own remarriage, forms a group with five other young widows to test these unconventional ideas. Together, these friends summon the humor, resilience, and striving spirit essential for anyone overcoming adversity.
In her forties – a widow, too young, too modern to accept the role – Becky Aikman struggled to make sense of her place in an altered world. In this transcendent and infectiously wise memoir, she explores surprising new discoveries about how people experience grief and transcend loss and, following her own remarriage, forms a group with five other young widows to test these unconventional ideas. Together, these friends summon the humor, resilience, and striving spirit essential for anyone overcoming adversity.
Meet the Saturday Night Widows: ringleader Becky, an unsentimental journalist who lost her husband to cancer; Tara, a polished mother of two, whose husband died in the throes of alcoholism after she filed for divorce; Denise, a widow of just five months, now struggling to get by; Marcia, a hard-driving corporate lawyer; Dawn, an alluring self-made entrepreneur whose husband was killed in a sporting accident, leaving two small children behind; and Lesley, a housewife who returned home one day to find that her husband had committed suicide.
The women meet once a month, and over the course of a year, they strike out on ever more far-flung adventures, learning to live past the worst thing they thought could happen. They share emotional peaks and valleys – dating, parenting, moving, finding meaningful work, and reinventing themselves – while turning traditional thinking about loss and recovery upside down. Through it all runs the story of Aikman's own journey through grief and her love affair with a man who tempts her to marry again. In a transporting story of what friends can achieve when they hold each other up, Saturday Night Widows is a rare book that will make you laugh, think, and remind yourself that despite the utter unpredictability and occasional tragedy of life, it is also precious, fragile, and often more joyous than we recognize.
PARTICULARS OF THE BOOK :
Published by: Crown Publishing Group
Pages: 352
Genre: Non-Fiction, Women's
Author: Becky Aikman
Author's Website: Becky Aikman
ABOUT THE GROUP :
Meet the Saturday Night Widows: ringleader Becky, an unsentimental
journalist who lost her husband to cancer; Tara, a polished mother of
two, whose husband died in the throes of alcoholism after she filed
for divorce; Denise, a widow of just five months, now struggling to
get by; Marcia, a hard-driving corporate lawyer; Dawn, an alluring
self-made entrepreneur whose; husband was killed in a sporting
accident, leaving two small children behind; and Lesley, a housewife
who returned home one day to find that her husband had committed
suicide.
*NOTE: I was delighted to find this picture of the group on Becky's website!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR :
A graduate of the School of Journalism
at Columbia University, former reporter
for Newsday and writer and editor at
Buisness Week. She formed the Saturday
Night Widows with five other women who
lost their husbands at a young age. They
set out to reinvent themselves through
friendship, laughter and shared adventure.
Becky currently lives in New York City.
BOOK TRAILER :
THE DAME REVIEWS :
In 1983 I was widowed. A mother with three small children under the age of 9, I was completely devastated. I had been married at 19, and my husband was the center of my life. In those days, there were no other 32 year old widows that could be found. The only other widows our local hospice knew of or could help me connect with were 55 and older. I couldn't relate to them. I felt alone and desolate. There were literally no other young women around my age I came across or could find who could relate to my situation in years. And, believe me, no one around my age wanted to discuss being widowed with me! Friends and family soon wanted me to move on and "adjust."
When I heard of Becky's book , I was stunned. How could someone have found so many young widows in such a short distance?! I couldn't wait to get my hands on the book. After all these years, I still was longing to hear from other widows about their experiences.
"Saturday Night Widows" was such a comfort to me in many ways. While it read like an adventure story, it also brought up profound questions and answers. For me, it touched on feelings I had experienced and still have shadowings of 30 years after my young husband died of cancer. In many cases, I felt the sadness rise up again as I was reminded of things through the widows in the group, but this time there was affirmation and emotional release. I had moments of insight as well as laughter reading along with them.
I can testify to the validity of this small group and their work. What a beautiful friendship of women. What a spectacular support they gave to each other! Being widowed in isolation makes the process so much more painful, it seems. I commend Ms Aikman for the courage and the conviction it took to seek others out and to work on putting together and keeping her group moving in a positive direction.
This is a book so profound it will touch every woman's heart. Not just for the widowed; it reflects the central themes of courage and rejuvenation in all women's lives. It also tells of the kindness and nurturing qualities of those who reach out to others even in the midst of their own pain.
Being widowed is by far the most excruciating thing that's ever happened to me, both physically and emotionally. If Ms Aikman's book can shed light and encourage others to form such groups as hers, I believe it will soothe new widows in revolutionary ways. I wish I'd had such a support system of friends and widows in my day.
This is an exceptional book which I highly recommend to all women. You'll love the joy, the tears, and the strength you'll gain from the reading. I did.
5 stars Deborah/TheBookishDame
