The Hot Young Widows Club: Lessons on Survival from the Front Lines of Grief

Terrible, Thanks for Asking podcast host McInerny (No Happy Endings) offers advice on dealing with grief in this slim, wise volume. After her husband Aaron died of brain cancer at 35, McInerny, then 31, and a fellow widow founded the club of the title, and McInerny’s brash brand of grieving without apology inspired her, at the suggestion of a friend, to start podcast and a nonprofit, Still Kickin, dedicated to providing support and services for those in grief. With such tips as creating “an incomplete list” of things that feel normal for the grieving person (wearing your dead husband’s socks, fighting over the wording of an obituary) and how to set boundaries (feel free to ghost, be upfront about your emotions), she provides comfort for those who have lost a loved one. In the latter half of the book, McInerny turns her attention to those surrounding the grieving person. She outlines easy ways to comfort someone experiencing grief: it’s helpful to say the grieving person’s name and to have a mental list of things to talk about (she provides a conversation template for readers who are lost on what to say). McInerny’s simple and effective advice will be valuable for anyone who has survived a loss. (Apr.)