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34th out of 40 books
—
9 voters
Saturday Night Widows: The Adventures of Six Friends Remaking Their Lives
by
Becky Aikman (Goodreads Author)
Six marriages, six heartbreaks, one shared beginning.
In her forties – a widow, too young, too modern to accept the role – Becky Aikman struggled to make sense of her place in an altered world. In this transcendent and infectiously wise memoir, she explores surprising new discoveries about how people experience grief and transcend loss and, following her own remarriage, for...more
In her forties – a widow, too young, too modern to accept the role – Becky Aikman struggled to make sense of her place in an altered world. In this transcendent and infectiously wise memoir, she explores surprising new discoveries about how people experience grief and transcend loss and, following her own remarriage, for...more
Hardcover, 352 pages
Published
January 22nd 2013
by Crown
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Six inspiring women determined to make lemonade when life handed them the bitterest lemons.
SNW is such an inspiring story. Witnessing these women deal with their loss as they navigate through their new life is amazing. All of them pillars of strength, determination and inspiration.
I loved the fact these women were hellbent on picking up the pieces and moving on as best they could under heartbreaking circumstances. Their pledge of freeing themselves from the past. Freeing themselves of grief thr...more
SNW is such an inspiring story. Witnessing these women deal with their loss as they navigate through their new life is amazing. All of them pillars of strength, determination and inspiration.
I loved the fact these women were hellbent on picking up the pieces and moving on as best they could under heartbreaking circumstances. Their pledge of freeing themselves from the past. Freeing themselves of grief thr...more
A Recommended Read. Becky Aikman has written a captivating tale that will resonate with anyone who has ever lost a loved one or knows someone who has. Saturday Night Widows is not a book about loss but a moving story of friendship. It is a beautiful novel about surviving devastating losses, moving past that heartache and embracing the future. To read my review in its entirety, please click HERE.
You can find my full review here: http://mimi-cyberlibrarian.blogspot.c...
Six women embark on a journey of discovery that ends with a trip to the exotic land of Morocco. They toast their journey, "To our dead husbands. We wouldn't be here if they hadn't died."
Becky Aikman, a New York newspaper reporter, was widowed in her forties when her husband Bernie died of cancer. Casting around for a way to deal with the overwhelming grief, she joined a traditional support group for widows only to find th...more
Six women embark on a journey of discovery that ends with a trip to the exotic land of Morocco. They toast their journey, "To our dead husbands. We wouldn't be here if they hadn't died."
Becky Aikman, a New York newspaper reporter, was widowed in her forties when her husband Bernie died of cancer. Casting around for a way to deal with the overwhelming grief, she joined a traditional support group for widows only to find th...more
Saturday Night Widows covers many of the struggles of being relatively young and widowed as experienced by someone who has lived the reality, from the viewpoint of one who needed to forge her own path to reclaiming life. Becky illustrates the emotional disjointedness of this lot in life as she is shunned by 'grief experts', then decides to take her own unique, but ultimately effective, approach to healing. She is joined by five other women who seem to share nothing in common but being widows, ye...more
Every memoir involves a little tragedy, but few involve it as in such an inspiring manner as Saturday Night Widows: The Adventures of Six Friends Remaking Their Lives. This book begins when its author, Becky Aikman gets kicked out of the local widows support group; her husband recently died, and she has had a hard time finding her place in the world of widows and widowers.
As a young widow, Becky can't seem to find anyone in a similar situation, and after exploring grief and healing, she becomes...more
As a young widow, Becky can't seem to find anyone in a similar situation, and after exploring grief and healing, she becomes...more
The book chronicles a year in the lives of six women, all widows, none of whom knew each other before their first meeting. Becky had tried to go to a widows support group a few months after her husband passed away from cancer, but was asked not to return. She thought their had to be a better way than the short experience she had there of focusing on one's grief, and began research on this type of loss.
She participated in a psychological study, and discussed current research with a couple of psyc...more
She participated in a psychological study, and discussed current research with a couple of psyc...more
I read this book much too soon in my widowhood, probably about 6 weeks out. This is not for the woman who is still dealing with insurance companies, hospitals and various aspects of being newly widowed. This is for the woman who is further down the road and is trying to figure out what comes next in her life.
The title says "...Adventures of Six Friends..." and that's a bit of a falsehood. None of these women knew each other prior to M'S Aikman's decision to research "young widows" and form a sup...more
The title says "...Adventures of Six Friends..." and that's a bit of a falsehood. None of these women knew each other prior to M'S Aikman's decision to research "young widows" and form a sup...more
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I was able to read Saturday Night Widows as an uncorrected Advanced Reader Proof. It's normally not the kind of book that I read, but I was immediately caught by the back cover blurb. I haven't lost my husband, we are still happily married, and I am at least (if not more than) half the age of the women featured in this book.
The idea of this memoir is that it revolves around six women, who are "recently" widowed (within the last 5 years) and are considered "young" widows (thirty to fifty-six). Th...more
The idea of this memoir is that it revolves around six women, who are "recently" widowed (within the last 5 years) and are considered "young" widows (thirty to fifty-six). Th...more
At first glance, this would seem a book solely for widows trying to recover from the loss of their husbands - But, the more I read it the more I found there was great information for widowers and even married people if they love their spouse. The book is about 6 widows who reject traditional group therapy which is usually somber with each person sharing their stories of loss and struggle. These 6 women including the author take a much more proactive approach as apparently modern psychologists se...more
...one of them is a beautiful series of Chinese watercolours of lotus blossoms. She chose them because they bloom even in the mud.
The above is a quote from, and an excellent representation of Saturday Night Widows. When I first heard of it, I knew I had to read it, and I'm so glad I did, because it is without a doubt the sweetest and most poignant book I've read in a long time.
Becky Aikman lost her husband to cancer and afterwards had to reinvent herself as "the dreaded W-word"... a widow. Only...more
This wonderful story is testament to the healing powers of friendship when life deals a cruel blow. In this memoir, six women come together after losing their husbands to have fun, laugh, share new experiences, and discover how to move forward with their lives. Much of my pleasure in the book was in following these vividly drawn characters through their highs and lows, as they struggle to come to terms with their loss, and experience the excitement (and complication) of forming new relationships...more
Not being a widow, I wondered if I would find this book enjoyable, or far from my wheelhouse--by far it is the former. Becky Aikman writes a powerful memoir of six women who have been dealt one of life's cruelest emotional blows, the untimely death of a partner. Having been disinvited from a widow support group, Becky decides to create her own that focuses on getting to happy rather than remaining grief-stricken. The guidelines are that they are to meet monthly on Saturday (a typical 'date night...more
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Becky Aikman was in her 40s when her husband Bernie died of cancer. She tried going to a widow's support group, but she was the youngest in the room (by a lot) and the experience was a lot more depressing than she wanted it to be, so she decided to start her own group. She finally found five other women (friends of friends or acquaintances). The experiences are all different (some of the deaths were sudden, some weren't, and the women had been widows for different lengths of time) but they quick...more
I was unaware that this book was a memoir until nearly halfway through my reading. I had been admiring how realistic the author was making the characters sound. (Now I know how she did this!) I greatly enjoyed Aikman’s writing style. While a book about young widows could be a real downer, she managed to focus on the uplifting and positive sides of this experiment, but still maintained a balanced and natural perspective, including both humorous and serious feelings. I am amazed that she found the...more
SATURDAY NIGHT WIDOWS was very well written and is perfect for those women who are experiencing this terrible part of life as well as anyone who needs a lift. It may even help you know how to help someone in this situation.
Becky had the right idea about being a widow...do not sit around and dress in black and mourn. Meet other women who share the same grief as you do, and when you meet, bring out the joys of life instead of constantly dwelling on the past. The six friends in this book helped eac...more
Becky had the right idea about being a widow...do not sit around and dress in black and mourn. Meet other women who share the same grief as you do, and when you meet, bring out the joys of life instead of constantly dwelling on the past. The six friends in this book helped eac...more
I chose "Saturday Night Widows" because one of my dear friends lost her husband two years ago. She has twins to raise. She was left with enough money not to go to work, which would have thrown their family more out of balance.
"Saturday Night Widows" takes a group of women, all of them with education and means, to reveal and share their stories. The Saturday night talk-support grows from meetings to adventures. The women work through their issues of grief by leaning on one another's shoulders, la...more
"Saturday Night Widows" takes a group of women, all of them with education and means, to reveal and share their stories. The Saturday night talk-support grows from meetings to adventures. The women work through their issues of grief by leaning on one another's shoulders, la...more
I really enjoyed reading this book, to my surprise. I didn't think I would be able to relate to the people in this book and it actually took me to near the end to realize I was reading nonfiction. I hadn't looked carefully at it before starting. I thought it was a really good story about how people deal with grief and starting over. I liked the idea that women could bond over a tragedy and not have their stories be tragic. I enjoyed the different personalities of the women. I also appreciated th...more
Saturday Night Widows by Becky Aikman is one of the most powerful, touching books I have read in a long, long, while! I wasn't sure if this book would really resonate with me as I am not a widow and haven't experience profound loss recently. I couldn't be more wrong. The main message that I got out of this book was the powerful effect and results that can happen when women truly support other women. I find this book to be unique in the world of memoirs, sharing six life stories instead of just o...more
Becky Aikman has done an impressive job of capturing the experience of being widowed at a younger age - I just finished the book, close to the 4th anniversary of my husband's death at 49. I can't speak for how this book would be for an average reader, but for me it was one of the better books I've read on what it's like to be a widow right now. She quotes from some great research out there about grieving (George Bonanno at Columbia among them - his book The Other Side of Sadness is excellent), b...more
When I first saw this book as a recommendation I thought it might be fun to read a book about a group of women that band together to move towards better times. I was unaware that this was a non-fiction (Memoir mean anything to you? Apparently, not to me) work and was completely surprised (I don’t know why since the word, “Widows” is in the title) how much of the book concentrated on death. I thought I was going to be entertained by silly woman stories of how everyone lived happily ever after. I’...more
This book sounded more interesting than it really was. It’s a bit awful to say that about a memoir, but it’s one of those books that has been done over and over until it loses meaning.
It started out with potential. The writing was fresh and at least the first chapter is interesting, bringing something new to the table. The idea of a woman wanting to revolutionize the way we look at loss and death and widowhood definitely caught my attention. The problems started a bit later, when the writer int...more
It started out with potential. The writing was fresh and at least the first chapter is interesting, bringing something new to the table. The idea of a woman wanting to revolutionize the way we look at loss and death and widowhood definitely caught my attention. The problems started a bit later, when the writer int...more
I didn't care for the book. I guess it hit home too much, going through all the stages of falling in love, the hard work involved in a relationship and then the loss. How do you go on after that? People tell you they understand, but do they? It's like, time heals everything, does it?
The book tells the story of six marriages, their trials and tribulations, their losses and how they began again.
One widow, Becky, was too young to be a widow. You're never too young to be a widow or widower. The youn...more
The book tells the story of six marriages, their trials and tribulations, their losses and how they began again.
One widow, Becky, was too young to be a widow. You're never too young to be a widow or widower. The youn...more
This may not seem like beach reading, but I am almost euphoric about finding this book -- I keep having little Eureka! moments, like "Yes! I felt exactly the same way!" and "Oh my gosh, me TOO!"
And now I look like a lobster from the back, because I was so busy reading that I forgot to turn over.
And now I look like a lobster from the back, because I was so busy reading that I forgot to turn over.
This is a great story about the enlightenment and growth of 6 women who suffered a premature loss and managed to get to a happier point. Their monthly meetings consisted of creating new and unusual experiences. The group bonded over lingerie shopping, a cooking class, a spa weekend and an adventure in Morocco. Interspersed with the story of the group, the author shared her own story and reported on modern research about the grieving process.
One of the most surprising things to me was that by th...more
One of the most surprising things to me was that by th...more
This book is definitely for anyone who loved Let’s Take the Long Way Home. The narrative is different but you go on this journey with six very different women. They discover the inner strength they each possess. Each woman finds the strength in friendship to give them the courage and confidence to be true to themselves. The upside of early widowhood – a second chance. Theme of learning to love again and know you do not have to let go of one love to love another.
There is humor – they invite a gr...more
There is humor – they invite a gr...more
The author puts together a support group of young widows. She decides to do this after being kicked out of a clinical grief therapy group that in her opinion turned into a “Who’s Most Pitiful” contest and full of older widows who she couldn’t connect with. The goal of her newly formed group is to share feelings, have lots of laughs, go on adventures, and reinvent themselves. We learn their stories and how differently they handle their emotions in dealing with their respective tragedies. Early on...more
Written as a memoir, it reads like the best kind of girls group novel, which I do mean as a compliment. Becky is in her forties when her husband dies of cancer. Not expecting him to die, she is almost paralysed by his passing and finds herself quite lost. Going to a widows group, she finds herself unable to fit in and is in fact kicked out. So she decides to gather her own group of similar aged women, recently widowed.
This book, is then their stories. Stories about their marriage and children, a...more
This book, is then their stories. Stories about their marriage and children, a...more
This is actually a great book about friendship and the role other women have in helping us in life's struggles. There is a reason people with more social connections tend to live longer. Social contact and shared experiences help reduce stress and restore joy after life's hard knocks. A century ago when life expectancy was shorter and people in a community knew each other, someone to lean on and talk to in hard times would have been easier to find. These women made their own community, and grew...more
Although being a widow is something you can't understand unless you are one, Saturday Night Widows gives us a glimpse of what it means to lose your spouse. You would assume that this would be a devastatingly sad read. While there are sections that will break your heart the overall message is a positive one.
I loved these women. I was rooting for them throughout their journeys. They face financial issues, heartache and archaic ideas about how a widow should act. They do so with such grace and fort...more
I loved these women. I was rooting for them throughout their journeys. They face financial issues, heartache and archaic ideas about how a widow should act. They do so with such grace and fort...more
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Author of Saturday Night Widows: The Adventures of Six Friends Remaking Their Lives. Becky is a graduate of the School of Journalism at Columbia University. She was a writer and editor for Business Week and a reporter for Newsday.
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“...I often wondered about the definition of home. Is it the place where you live, or is it the place where the people you love reside?...”
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