Melissa Gould on Her New Book "Widowish"

“Becoming widowed in midlife is so unsettling, and so traumatic, and I think it’s so important that people relieve themselves of any expectations of how they should be grieving.”

— Melissa Gould

I had such a great discussion with Melissa Gould for this episode. Melissa is the author of the brand-new memoir Widowish, in which she shares with us her journey to becoming a young widow, and her life in the years since. It was so fun to talk with Melissa about her book, and discover the similarities – and differences – in our experiences.

Some topics Melissa and I discuss include:

• Melissa’s new memoir, Widowish … and why she named it that;

• Her husband Joel’s diagnosis of multiple sclerosis, and their years of dealing with that;

• The odd symptoms he came down with several years later, and the three weeks he was in the hospital before he died;

• Melissa’s reflections on her first months as a widowed person and widowed parent;

• Feeling like she couldn’t relate to other widowed people at first;

• Starting to write about her experience as a widow a few years later, and realizing how healing it was for her;

• Pulling together a group of younger widowed people for social gatherings;

• Beginning to date the neighborhood guitar teacher, who would become her new love; and

• Melissa’s reflections on starting a new love in midlife, and how it can be different from love the first time around.

I hope you enjoy my discussion with Melissa Gould.

Links & resources for this episode

• Widowish: A Memoir, by Melissa Gould - Amazon.com | Bookshop.org

• Article: My Husband Died and All I Got Was This Sweatshirt

• Article: My Boyfriend Is Not My Best Friend

• Widowish.com

More links for listeners

• Download: Kids & Grief: What You Need to Know

• Article: I’m a Widowed Mom: Here Are My 3 Tips for COVID-19 Widows

• Book: Widowed Parents Unite: 52 Tips to Get Through the First Year, from One Widowed Parent to Another

Thank you sponsors & partners:

Help Texts - Grief support text messaging service. Tips and support delivered all year long, personalized based on your loss. Listeners get $10 off: https://helptexts.com/jennylisk

BetterHelp - Talk with a licensed, professional therapist online. Get 10% off your first month: betterhelp.com/widowedparent

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