by Karen R. Post ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 30, 2013
Not a comprehensive manual on end-of-life issues, but a decent reference for couples, especially valuable for older readers...
Part checklist, part memoir, this nonfiction book offers practical advice to help prepare for the loss of a spouse.
When Post learned that her husband had a terminal illness, both of them felt blindsided by the news. In their struggle to cope with his diagnosis and quick decline, they avoided talking about the practical, day-to-day issues of life without a partner. After he passed away, she regretted not having those conversations—particularly when the toilet flooded and she realized she didn’t know where to find the water shut-off valve. To prevent other couples from experiencing the same frustrations amid their heartbreak, Post wrote this book, her debut, which offers general advice and lists alongside entries from her journal and her personal recollections of her husband’s final months. The book engages readers from the beginning, especially in the introduction, where Post warmly invites readers to “use the ideas in this book as your permission and your incentive to approach these subjects with your partner.” She goes on to discuss financial assets and liabilities, wills, estate planning, funerals, burials, hospice care and more, including the emotional challenges of living without a spouse. Post writes in a friendly, conversational tone that makes difficult topics seem less overwhelming. However, a few sections rely more on anecdotes than facts, making the book feel less like a guide and more like a memoir—a style that may win over some readers while alienating others. Many of Post’s stories and comments are geared toward senior citizens, and a handful of her suggestions appear a bit dated, from Chapter 3’s gender-specific breakdown of unfamiliar household tasks (home maintenance for widows, cooking for widowers) to the chart of average funeral costs last updated in 2009. But while Post’s specific experiences may not be universally relatable, they could prove quite comforting to readers going through a similar situation.
Not a comprehensive manual on end-of-life issues, but a decent reference for couples, especially valuable for older readers and caregivers.Pub Date: Oct. 30, 2013
ISBN: 978-1490575452
Page Count: 164
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Dec. 10, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Share your opinion of this book
by Cheryl Strayed ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 1, 2015
These platitudes need perspective; better to buy the books they came from.
A lightweight collection of self-help snippets from the bestselling author.
What makes a quote a quote? Does it have to be quoted by someone other than the original author? Apparently not, if we take Strayed’s collection of truisms as an example. The well-known memoirist (Wild), novelist (Torch), and radio-show host (“Dear Sugar”) pulls lines from her previous pages and delivers them one at a time in this small, gift-sized book. No excerpt exceeds one page in length, and some are only one line long. Strayed doesn’t reference the books she’s drawing from, so the quotes stand without context and are strung together without apparent attention to structure or narrative flow. Thus, we move back and forth from first-person tales from the Pacific Crest Trail to conversational tidbits to meditations on grief. Some are astoundingly simple, such as Strayed’s declaration that “Love is the feeling we have for those we care deeply about and hold in high regard.” Others call on the author’s unique observations—people who regret what they haven’t done, she writes, end up “mingy, addled, shrink-wrapped versions” of themselves—and offer a reward for wading through obvious advice like “Trust your gut.” Other quotes sound familiar—not necessarily because you’ve read Strayed’s other work, but likely due to the influence of other authors on her writing. When she writes about blooming into your own authenticity, for instance, one is immediately reminded of Anaïs Nin: "And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” Strayed’s true blossoming happens in her longer works; while this collection might brighten someone’s day—and is sure to sell plenty of copies during the holidays—it’s no substitute for the real thing.
These platitudes need perspective; better to buy the books they came from.Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-101-946909
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Aug. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2015
Share your opinion of this book
More by Cheryl Strayed
BOOK REVIEW
edited by Cheryl Strayed
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
by Glennon Doyle ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 10, 2020
Doyle offers another lucid, inspiring chronicle of female empowerment and the rewards of self-awareness and renewal.
Awards & Accolades
Likes
26
Our Verdict
GET IT
New York Times Bestseller
IndieBound Bestseller
More life reflections from the bestselling author on themes of societal captivity and the catharsis of personal freedom.
In her third book, Doyle (Love Warrior, 2016, etc.) begins with a life-changing event. “Four years ago,” she writes, “married to the father of my three children, I fell in love with a woman.” That woman, Abby Wambach, would become her wife. Emblematically arranged into three sections—“Caged,” “Keys,” “Freedom”—the narrative offers, among other elements, vignettes about the soulful author’s girlhood, when she was bulimic and felt like a zoo animal, a “caged girl made for wide-open skies.” She followed the path that seemed right and appropriate based on her Catholic upbringing and adolescent conditioning. After a downward spiral into “drinking, drugging, and purging,” Doyle found sobriety and the authentic self she’d been suppressing. Still, there was trouble: Straining an already troubled marriage was her husband’s infidelity, which eventually led to life-altering choices and the discovery of a love she’d never experienced before. Throughout the book, Doyle remains open and candid, whether she’s admitting to rigging a high school homecoming court election or denouncing the doting perfectionism of “cream cheese parenting,” which is about “giving your children the best of everything.” The author’s fears and concerns are often mirrored by real-world issues: gender roles and bias, white privilege, racism, and religion-fueled homophobia and hypocrisy. Some stories merely skim the surface of larger issues, but Doyle revisits them in later sections and digs deeper, using friends and familial references to personify their impact on her life, both past and present. Shorter pieces, some only a page in length, manage to effectively translate an emotional gut punch, as when Doyle’s therapist called her blooming extramarital lesbian love a “dangerous distraction.” Ultimately, the narrative is an in-depth look at a courageous woman eager to share the wealth of her experiences by embracing vulnerability and reclaiming her inner strength and resiliency.
Doyle offers another lucid, inspiring chronicle of female empowerment and the rewards of self-awareness and renewal.Pub Date: March 10, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-9848-0125-8
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 21, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2020
Share your opinion of this book
More About This Book
PROFILES
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Hey there, book lover.
We’re glad you found a book that interests you!
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Don’t fret. We’ll find you.