In a work unlike anything she's written before, National Book Award winner Joyce Carol Oates unveils a poignant, intimate memoir about the unexpected death of her husband of forty-six years and its wrenching, surprising aftermath.
"My husband died, my life collapsed."
On a February morning in 2008, Joyce Carol Oates drove her ailing husband, Raymond Smith, to the emergency room of the Princeton Medical Center where he was diagnosed with pneumonia. Both Joyce and Ray expected him to be released in a day or two. But in less than a week, even as Joyce was preparing for his discharge, Ray died from a virulent hospital-acquired infection, and Joyce was suddenly faced - totally unprepared - with the stunning reality of widowhood.
A Widow's Story illuminates one woman's struggle to comprehend a life without the partnership that had sustained and defined her for nearly half a century. As never before, Joyce Carol Oates shares the derangement of denial, the anguish of loss, the disorientation of the survivor amid a nightmare of "death-duties," and the solace of friendship. She writes unflinchingly of the experience of grief - the almost unbearable suspense of the hospital vigil, the treacherous "pools" of memory that surround us, the vocabulary of illness, the absurdities of commercialized forms of mourning. Here is a frank acknowledgment of the widow's desperation - only gradually yielding to the recognition that "this is my life now."
Enlivened by the piercing vision, acute perception, and mordant humor that are the hallmarks of the work of Joyce Carol Oates, this moving tale of life and death, love and grief, offers a candid, never-before-glimpsed view of the acclaimed author and fiercely private woman.
"My husband died, my life collapsed."
On a February morning in 2008, Joyce Carol Oates drove her ailing husband, Raymond Smith, to the emergency room of the Princeton Medical Center where he was diagnosed with pneumonia. Both Joyce and Ray expected him to be released in a day or two. But in less than a week, even as Joyce was preparing for his discharge, Ray died from a virulent hospital-acquired infection, and Joyce was suddenly faced - totally unprepared - with the stunning reality of widowhood.
A Widow's Story illuminates one woman's struggle to comprehend a life without the partnership that had sustained and defined her for nearly half a century. As never before, Joyce Carol Oates shares the derangement of denial, the anguish of loss, the disorientation of the survivor amid a nightmare of "death-duties," and the solace of friendship. She writes unflinchingly of the experience of grief - the almost unbearable suspense of the hospital vigil, the treacherous "pools" of memory that surround us, the vocabulary of illness, the absurdities of commercialized forms of mourning. Here is a frank acknowledgment of the widow's desperation - only gradually yielding to the recognition that "this is my life now."
Enlivened by the piercing vision, acute perception, and mordant humor that are the hallmarks of the work of Joyce Carol Oates, this moving tale of life and death, love and grief, offers a candid, never-before-glimpsed view of the acclaimed author and fiercely private woman.
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Used availability for Joyce Carol Oates's A Widow's Story
See all available used copies of this book at: Abebooks UK or Abebooks US
Hardback Editions
October 2011 : Hardback
| Title: A Widow's Story Author(s): Joyce Carol Oates ISBN: 1-4458-5766-9 / 978-1-4458-5766-4 Publisher: Windsor Availability: Amazon Amazon UK More details... |
May 2011 : Hardback
| Title: A Widow's Story: A Memoir (Thorndike Biography) Author(s): Joyce Carol Oates ISBN: 1-4104-3692-6 / 978-1-4104-3692-4 (USA edition) Publisher: Thorndike Press Availability: Amazon Amazon UK More details... |
March 2011 : Hardback
| Title: A Widow's Story: A Memoir Author(s): Joyce Carol Oates ISBN: 0-00-738816-0 / 978-0-00-738816-5 (UK edition) Publisher: Fourth Estate Availability: Amazon Amazon UK More details... |
February 2011 : Hardback
| Title: A Widow's Story: A Memoir Author(s): Joyce Carol Oates ISBN: 0-06-201553-2 / 978-0-06-201553-2 (USA edition) Publisher: Ecco Availability: Amazon Amazon UK Amazon CA More details... |
Paperback Editions
March 2012 : Paperback
| Title: A Widow's Story Author(s): Joyce Carol Oates ISBN: 1-4458-5767-7 / 978-1-4458-5767-1 Publisher: Paragon Availability: Amazon Amazon UK More details... |
February 2012 : Paperback
| Title: A Widow's Story: A Memoir Author(s): Joyce Carol Oates ISBN: 0-00-738817-9 / 978-0-00-738817-2 (UK edition) Publisher: Fourth Estate Availability: Amazon Amazon UK More details... |
February 2012 : Paperback
| Title: A Widow's Story: A Memoir Author(s): Joyce Carol Oates ISBN: 0-06-202050-1 / 978-0-06-202050-5 (USA edition) Publisher: Ecco Availability: Amazon Amazon UK More details... |
March 2011 : Paperback
| Title: A Widow's Story: A Memoir Author(s): Joyce Carol Oates ISBN: 0-00-738818-7 / 978-0-00-738818-9 (UK edition) Publisher: Fourth Estate Availability: Amazon UK More details... |
Other Editions
March 2011 : Kindle edition
| Title: A Widow's Story: A Memoir Author(s): Joyce Carol Oates Publisher: Fourth Estate Availability: Amazon UK More details... |
February 2011 : Kindle edition
| Title: A Widow's Story: A Memoir Author(s): Joyce Carol Oates Publisher: HarperCollins e-books Availability: Amazon Amazon UK More details... |
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