Commentary on the Book So Far

But I’ve received one opinion of particular interest, from an acquaintance in California who lost her spouse just two weeks before reading my book. She said she loved it!

I admit that an acquaintance “loving it” isn’t exactly a thorough critique, nor a wholly objective one. But this friend is a woman who knew her husband since they were thirteen years old. Neither one had dated more than one or two other people before marrying each other. They’d been an item for 60 some-odd years! And they were one of those couples who did almost everything together, having jointly run more than one business and having even shared most of their leisure pursuits. Proverbially speaking, Patty and Ernie were “joined at the hip.” So, perhaps I can be forgiven for deriving some encouragement from Patty’s admittedly brief assessment.

So, at this point reviews from strangers are nonexistent, and those from grieving surviving spouses who are friends and acquaintances are few and far between. But I’ve noticed something significant that I hadn’t expected.

As I am in my mid-60s, lately I have encountered a fair number of people who have recently lost their spouses, and several others who expect to suffer such a loss in the near future due to terminal illness. When I have mentioned my inspired optimism after losing Sam, and my having written a book about it, it has never failed to pique the interest of the survivor or survivor-to-be.

In every case, the person’s reaction was something like, “I must read this book! Is it available yet? How can I order a copy?”