It Must Have Been Moonglow
Reflections on the First Years of Widowhood
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- USD 11.99
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- USD 11.99
Publisher Description
In December 1998, after fifty-six years of marriage, Phyllis Greene went from being part of the lifelong unit of "Phyllis and Bob" to being just plain Phyllis.
To deal with her feelings, she began keeping a journal. Unable to find books with a personal perspective on widowhood, she realized her own reflections could speak to the thousands of women like her, each one with very different yet very similar day-to-day experiences. It Must Have Been Moonglow chronicles the emotional roller coaster of her first years alone in a collection of brief essays, like diary entries, that capture the sadness, the humor, and the triumphs all widows encounter.
She writes about the challenges presented by a quiet, empty house and how best to fill the hours. "Your heart may feel like stone, but your mind needs to keep going,"she says. With wit and insight, she muses about the logistics of an evening out with a group of single, older women, none of whom drive very well; about handling the check when going to dinner with a couple; about marketing for one; and about the miracle of friendships on the Internet and the blessings of family.
It Must Have Been Moonglow is an intimate, candid, and engaging memoir, not about grief but about inspiration and strength.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
When she was in her 80s, Greene's husband of 56 years, Bob, died. These plainspoken and unassuming ruminations on her first two years without him are based on a journal she began three weeks after his death. Greene does not claim to have any perspective on widowhood other than the purely personal; she writes of her memoir, "t is helping me even as I hope it helps those who might read it." She shares how she coped with sleepless nights, making decisions by herself, traveling alone and simply missing Bob's companionship, covering specifics like being a single party guest and deciding what to do with Bob's antique gun (she sold it). Energetic and optimistic, Greene eventually found solace in friends, family and volunteer work. "Your heart may feel like stone," she writes, "but your mind needs to keep going." She also discovered the pleasure of using a computer and joining an online book discussion group. Shortly after Bob died, Greene's heart condition worsened, forcing her to get a pacemaker. She describes muddling through that frightening experience with the help of her brother and children, but without the husband who had been the most important person in her life. (On sale Sept. 25)
