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by Jessica Waite
A widow's life is turned upside down when she uncovers the truth about her late husband in this lyrical, witty, and deeply moving memoir of tragedy and betrayal.
In the midst of mourning her husband's sudden death, writer Jessica Waite discovered shocking secrets that undermined everything she thought she knew about the man she'd loved and trusted. From uncovered affairs to drug use and a pornography addiction, Waite was overwhelmed reconciling this devastating information with her new reality as a widowed single mom. Then, to further complicate matters, strange, inexplicable coincidences forced her to consider whether her husband was reaching back from beyond the grave.
With her signature candor and unflinching honesty, Waite details her tumultuous love story and the pain of adjusting to the new normal she built for herself and her son. A riveting, difficult, and surprisingly beautiful story, The Widow's Guide to Dead Bastards is also a lyrical exploration of grief, mental health, single parenthood, and betrayal that demonstrates that the most moving love stories aren't perfect—they're flawed and poignantly real.
"Essayist Waite debuts with a bracing account of her husband's sudden death and the secrets she unearthed after he was gone. With startling compassion and surprising wit, Waite shows how such an understanding might be achieved. This stirring study of loss and forgiveness isn't easily forgotten." —Publisher's Weekly (starred review)
"A complex memoir about mourning, mental illness, and shocking revelations. […] A candid, raw chronicle of bereavement." —Kirkus Reviews
"Jessica Waite's The Widow's Guide to Dead Bastards is a hell of a ride. By turns emotional, hilarious, and always very, very human, Waite gives readers access to the secrets that spilled into her lap after her husband's untimely death. Waite masterfully sets an example of how we might honor and cherish departed loved ones who enriched, damaged, and marked our lives forever. You will stay up all night reading this gem." —Christie Tate, New York Times bestselling author of Group
"Jessica Waite masterfully weaves the truth of a life and a marriage, taking the reader on an unflinchingly raw journey of love, loss, betrayal, and re-emergence. She bravely explores the complexities of the relationship contracts that bind us—for better or for worse—and in human and spirit form. The Widow's Guide to Dead Bastards is a gorgeous triumph, a starkly honest and deeply nuanced account of one woman's journey that will inspire all." —Peggy Fitzsimmons Ph.D., author of Release: Create a Clutter Free and Soul Driven Life
"Propulsive, wild, supernatural and human on the best level, Jessica Waite's The Widow's Guide to Dead Bastards tackles marriage, grief, betrayal and reconciliation with heroic dedication, sharp wit and an indelible spirit. A memoir that tests the limits of the human heart, and elevates the form with rousing success. I couldn't put it down." —Ali Bryan, award-winning author of Coq and The Crow Valley Karaoke Championships
This information about The Widow's Guide to Dead Bastards was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Jessica Waite never realized she was a latchkey kid because she lived so close to her smalltown library. Now, she leads people to heal through writing and mentors incarcerated writers through the Hero's Journey Prison Writing Project. She's an award-winning essayist who lives in Calgary, Alberta on Treaty 7 territory, in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies.
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