Books

This award-winning guided journal is designed to be a useful, caring gift for those whose husband, wife, or life partner has died within the last year. Losing a spouse causes a special kind of heartbreak, loneliness, and devastation. Your future plans have irrevocably changed, and your partner isn’t there to help you adapt to this new chapter of life.

Because everyone mourns differently, guided journal writing is a useful tool for navigating the phases of grief in a personalized, private way. The Widow’s Journal is written in a frank yet hopeful style by lifelong journaler Carrie P. Freeman, PhD, a communication professor, who set out to write the kind of book she could have used when, just prior to her thirtieth birthday, she lost her own husband to cancer.

Unlike other bereavement books, The Widow’s Journal doesn’t tell you what to do, it isn’t a memoir or collection of other people’s stories, and it isn’t limited to any spiritual outlook. Instead, it asks you over 100 guiding questions (from the practical to the profound) that you can use to progress through the grieving process, culminating in a collection of your most useful insights for reflection. This paperback journal works like a guided diary or workbook, with beautifully decorated pages on which to write (and even color – songbird and nature theme).

Freeman’s thoughtful questions prompt you to reflect on your feelings, but more importantly, provide a gentle path toward productively coping with intense grief while making plans to build a meaningful new life.

• Winner of the Bronze Medal in the Independent Publishers (IPPY) book award category of Aging/Death & Dying for 2017 (this is the world’s largest book awards contest).
• Also, a Foreword Review’s 2015 INDIE FAB Book of the Year Award Finalist in the Grief & Grieving category.

The author’s book website is thewidowsjournal.com with a corresponding Facebook page for discussion, and a YouTube video for learning more about the book’s design and content.