Dr. Joyce Brothers wrote a book called "Widowed", about her own experience of losing her husband:

From Publishers Weekly:

Having for years advised women on how to face widowhood or other grievously damaging emotional experiments, popular psychologist Brothers ( What Every Woman Should Know About Love and Marriage ) here recounts how she rebuilt her own life after briefly considering suicide upon the 1989 death by cancer of her husband of 39 years. Accepting pain, the author asserts, is the first step toward healing. And although she describes the generally recognized stages of mourning, Brothers emphasizes that the intensity and duration of each stage vary greatly with the individual. Of particular interest to widows are her astute reflections on sex and remarriage based on candidly recalled incidents of her own widowhood, and practical tips on how to "join the parade of life again." This is a self-help guide of inestimable value.

Sounds like a pretty good read to me, ladies.....Joe...:-)

Thanks for doing the research. Perhaps we have some writers in DS group to write one as well....I'll be looking into them.

I love writing, so I thought of doing it myself. However, I'm not that good. Maybe one day. I did post a short story on here right after my husband passed.

Hi! Since my husband passed 3 months I have read several books on 'Grief' and /or widowhood. They have helped me immensely. I will try to remember the titles:

From One Widow to Another : very, very good
Widows Wear Stilettos: pretty ok
Prayers for Those Who Grieve: very uplifting & encouraging

I read more and tomorrow, I will post the titles of the others I read.
I am also re-reading an excellent book: Heaven by Randy Alcorn

I have found the reading helps me deal with my situation and realize others are in this same situation and what has helped them.

I have the book Joe mentioned: 'Widowed" by Dr. Joyce Brothers, it looks great, but I haven't started it yet. It got good reviews ... I agree Joe, it looks pretty good.





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I'm not sure what kind of books you are looking for but if you want books on grieving, these are titles of books I have:

"Grief and Sexuality, life after losing a spouse" by Rachel Nafziger Hartzler
"Seven Choices, finding daylight after loss shatters your world" by Elizabeth Harpe Neeld.
"Widows wear Stilettos" by Carole Brody Fleet
"Getting to the other side of grief" by Susan J. Zonnebelt-Smeenge, Robert DeVries
"Widow to Widow" by Genevieve Davis Ginsburg
"I'm grieving as fast as I can" by LInda Feinberg
"Finding your way after your spouse dies." by Marta Felber

"Grief and Sexuality" has a section that lists many other books for widowed people. I attended a weekend retreat where this author, Rachel Hertzler, was the facilitator. She was widowed for 10 years and is a Mennonite pastor. Her book is the findings of a questionaire/research she conducted of grieving people, sexual desires and spirituality. It's helpful for those who want to know how others actually handled the desire "to know and be known" by another person. She shares the results of her study. If you find a retreat she is conducting, it is well worth the money and time for Christian widowed persons.

The other books are written by widows, some of whom are counselors as well. My favorites are "Widow to widow" which also list other books for widows and "I'm grieving as fast as I can".

The book by CS Lewis - " A Grief Observed" is not written by a woman, but is a very very good book. CS Lewis writes of his experiences with losing his wife. He is also a Christian writer.

I found all of them online. Hope this is helpful.

I'm reading a sample of the Widow's Might and it's actually about American widows in the 18th and 19th century. It's interesting, but not a religious book at all.

I found books on grief very helpful in knowing that I wasn't ''crazy''!! A friend gave me ''Widow Wears Stillettoes'' which I found uplifting and more in tune with a younger widow's perspective, but I read it when I wasn't ''ready''. The classic is On Grief & Grieving by Elizabeth Kubler-Ross was recommended by Hospice. Later in my journey, I read ''Unfinished Business"" and "Healing Grief'' by James VanPraagh - many people reject his pop culture, Ghost Whisperer thinking, but it gave me hope. ''I'm Grieving As Fast as I can'' was good too, and ''Out of the Canyon'' by Art & Allison Daily. I have to check out Dr. Joyce Brothers. Thank G-d for the library - my favorite place.

I really enjoyed Joan Didion's "The Year of Magical Thinking". Some of the books that I bought I have not even finished - not making myself go through books that don't speak to me (including some of those that others on this site have found valuable - we are all individuals). "Beyond Grief" and "How to Go on Living When Somebody You Love Dies", which are more general and not specifically about widowhood, were also useful to me.

Me, again. I just went to Amazon.com to order Joyce Brothers' book and they had these other selections, none of which I have seen personally or even gone to the reviews to check out:
Widow to Widow (already mentioned; I didn't enjoy or finish this one myself, but many have found it useful)
The Death of a Husband: Reflections for a Grieving Wife
Being a Widow
Getting to the Other Side of Grief: Overcoming the Loss of a Spouse
For Widows Only!
I'm Grieving as Fast as I Can (this one sounds promising and I will look into it in case it answers society)
Hello From Heaven!
When a Man Faces Grief/A Man You Know is Grieving

I bought several copies of Elisabeth Kubler Ross's book on Grief and Grieving. I highly recommend it and gave a copy to each of our children.
I HATED "Getting to the other side of grief; overcoming the loss of a spouse" by Susan Zonnebelt-Smeenge and Robert De Vries. Sorry - "overcoming" there is no overcoming and I found De Vries to be pompous and over bearing.
I am going to look for Dr Joyce Brothers book for my Kindle.
Blessings to us all as we navigate this awful journey. And thanks to all for your suggestions.

I'm not big on "self-help" books so have skipped many of those--probably my loss.

Joan Didion's "Year of Magical Thinking" was incredibly brilliant and moving.

CS Lewis "A Grief Observed" is a classic and articulates a lot of what I was feeling, especially about disliking God in regard to losing what was most precious to me.

Jonathan Tropper--"How to Talk to a Widower" (fiction) Reccomend.

Currently reading--Lolly Winston--"Good Grief" (fiction) Recommend.

I'm enjoying reading fiction, and have discovered some other titles. It somehow seems more approachable for me than "how to" books.

In the beginning when I had trouble reading (actually lasted quite a long time), I lost myself in movies about loss and grieving. There's an older Canadian TV series called "Dead Like Me" that was incredibly comforting in a dark humor sort of way.

Thanks for sharing some more books. I appreciate all of the suggestions.
Here are the books I've read (In addition to the ones I already listed in previous post:

How To Go On Living When Someone You Love Dies
A Time to Grieve
Grieving For Dummies
Life After Loss
From One Widow to Another
The Promise of Heaven
Seven Choices: Finding Daylight After Loss Shatters Your World

I've liked some better than others, but it seems I get something beneficial from each one.

I hope the library will have some of the one's you've all recommended. Thanks very much Truhal for this subject!!

Yeah - I remember that ''fog'' of not being able to read. Even the newspaper was too much for me - couldn't concentrate at all on anything. Glad that's gone.

Someone on this site recommended Elizabeth-Kubler-Ross's book On Grief and Grieving. I wholeheartedly recommend this. I am still reading it. One of the things mentioned is that Acceptance does not mean you have to like the situation, you just have to acknowledge and accept the "new normal". Something along those lines. I found that helpful.

Yes, I am a writer and I am writing a book on my husband's death. It's a very powerful and vulnerable time in my life and writing helps me to process these feelings and understand the experience.

Thank you for this topic. I am looking forward to reading some of the recommended books.
Hugs

Here are some books that I have found helpful. I just ordered a couple more, but have not received them yet.

ON GRIEF and GRIEVING (Kubler-Ross & Kessler) This was the first book I read and it really helped me understand grief and that I was not crazy for all the different ranges of feelings going on inside of me.

Understanding Your Grief (Wolfelt) I am still reading and working my way through this book. I also have the companion journal that goes with it and am finding that the book and journal are helping me move towards my grief instead of running away from it.

I Wasnt Ready To Say Goodbye: surviving, coping & healing after the sudden death of a loved one (Noel & Blair) Even though this book says Sudden death, I have found if very helpful. More information from those who have experienced death first hand.

A TIME TO GRIEVE (Staudacher) I love the short meditations in this book.

What Can I do? Ideas to Help Those Who Have Experienced Loss (Glanz) I found this little gem at the Goodwill of all places and it has been very helpful to me at different times. There are poems, messages, and quotes throughout that seem to help comfort me. It has also given me ideas for how to get through some difficult anniversary dates and ideas to reach out to others who have experienced loss.

FW