It was a Sunday afternoon in the depths of winter (which is still hanging around deep into March) and I had read about 100 pages of Through The Widow’s Window by my dear friend, Linda E. Williams and even though the Patriots were on, I couldn’t put it down. I was immersed in her cocoon of grief, yet I was warmed, comforted, and encouraged. She gently depicted day to day living inside the shock of loss. Those of us who have experienced deep loss have much to learn from this story.
I love how her Catholic faith was real and even though so many Catholics denounce their faith because it is so ritualistic, Linda depicted God as a real being, beside her every step of the way, and did it without preaching or pontificating. When she says, “Dear Lord, I hope you know what you’re doing” it was so clear her relationship with God was personal.
In the second part of the book, Linda makes the shift into the next phase of her life so subtly that it was almost as quiet as the changing of the seasons. I wasn’t jolted or taken out of the story. Really nice transition.
That morning as I sat reading and transitioning with Linda, I could definitely see how this book would help someone cope with such deep loss. She modeled the handling of anger and portrayed the need to stay strong for her children, while all the time not denying what was churning inside of her. I think this piece of work is not just for widows, but can be a genuine comfort for anyone with the hole of loss in their heart.
Through The Widows Window crosses generations. We who were ten or more years younger than Linda and lived with the revolutionary ideas of the sixties, can find stability in this book. Just because actions and ideas are different from generation to generation, the human condition remains the same. Loss is loss in any era and hearts all bleed from it with the same color of red blood. Linda’s gentle words soothe those wounds that still may be so raw in the reader’s heart.
Can you tell I love the book? I have come to believe memoirs are the best self-help books. When I’m hurting and searching for answers in my own life, I would much rather read about how someone else dealt with things in real life, coping with jobs and children, rather than read a clinical self-help book. It just hits my heart in a real way. And now I’d like to share the “cover story” with you:
Cover design by yours truly – One day Linda and I were having lunch and she described to me what she saw outside “her widow’s window.” Immediately a soft scene in acrylic appeared in my head. One snowy morning I broke out my paint (an acrylic set I bought months ago and never opened) and before the storm had passed the scene was rendered to canvas. I added a cardinal for color. After Linda’s daughter saw the cover she asked about the cardinal and then told her mother that when she was a little girl her dad told her that whenever she sees a cardinal to know that he is with her. Linda never knew that. Some things are meant to be.
And so, as another day goes by, I urge you to download your copy of Through The Widow’s Window by Linda E. Williams, curl up in your easy chair and be prepared to be taken on this gentle journey that will surely enhance your life in some way, and…I have written.
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