Extra Support for Widows and Widowers on Valentine’s Day
By: Allison Gilbert
I’ve learned over time that Valentine's Day is particularly charged for widows and widowers, just as Mother’s Day and Father’s Day are often so challenging for individuals, like me, who’ve lost their parents.
Losing a life partner is wrenching but learning how others have coped with a similar experience helps. That’s why I’m highlighting two books worth knowing about right now: Laura Fahrenthold’s The Pink Steering Wheel Chronicles: A Love Story, and Donald Rosenstein and Justin Yopp’s The Group: Seven Widowed Fathers Reimagine Life. Each book digs meaningfully into the experience of losing a spouse (Laura’s husband died suddenly at home in New York; Rosenstein and Yopp oversee support groups for widowed parents in North Carolina) and provides much-needed solace and practical guidance.
I also invite you to watch the recording of my sad-funny conversation with Leslie Gray Streeter who discusses the loss of her husband and getting back into the dating world.
Finally, as always, there’s a community ready to support you on the For Grief private Facebook page. We hope you’ll join us.
Allison Gilbert is the author of numerous books, including the forthcoming biography of Hearst newspaper columnist Elsie Robinson, to be published by Seal Press, an imprint of Hachette Book Group, in August 2022. Her latest book, Passed and Present: Keeping Memories of Loved Ones Alive, reveals creative ways to remember family and friends we never want to forget.
To mark the 20th anniversary of 9/11, Allison is executive producer of two film projects in collaboration with the 9/11 Memorial & Museum: a documentary called, "Reporting 9/11 and Why It Still Matters,” and a 20-part series, "Women Journalists of 9/11: Their Stories.” Featured journalists include Tom Brokaw, Savannah Guthrie, the New York Times’ Maggie Haberman, NPR’s Linda Wertheimer, and 60 Minutes' correspondent and anchor Scott Pelley, and many others.
Please take a moment to follow her on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. She’s everywhere as “agilbertwriter."