BLAZE OF SUNLIGHT

A widow herself, Faith Baldwin writes of the blanks and voids that over-whelm a wife who suddenly loses the husband she loves and, in building up the happiness that Rose and Mark had known, emphasizes the problem of making a return to an acceptance of life without him. With their children Debbie and Tim, their commuting-distance house, and their friends, Rose and Mark have found content, have been part of others' lives and maintained their own loving association. When Mark dies after an automobile accident Rose retreats, refuses everyone's attention and wants no part of life. It takes her children's upsets, work at the hospital and some bad moments that she is part of when other things happen to friends to pull her up -- and out of the dark tunnel she has entered. The lesson of acceptance, the sensitivity to a suffering with and for people, and the need of others here escapes the mawkish to present a more personable side of what happens to many. Especially for women.