Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
47th out of 80 books
—
84 voters
The Alchemy of Loss: A Young Widow's Transformation
by
Abigail Carter (Goodreads Author)
Like A Year of Magical Thinking, this powerful and touching book is both an inspirational read and a comfort to those who are looking for help in overcoming loss.
The phone rang. It was my husband Arron telling me that he was at Windows of the World in the World Trade Center. “There’s been a bomb!” he said. I had been preparing my six-year-old daughter for her second day of...more
The phone rang. It was my husband Arron telling me that he was at Windows of the World in the World Trade Center. “There’s been a bomb!” he said. I had been preparing my six-year-old daughter for her second day of...more
Hardcover, 304 pages
Published
March 25th 2008
by McClelland & Stewart
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
168)
September 11, 2001 changed Abigail Carter's life forever. In the space of one morning she became a widow, the single mother of two small children and she claimed an unwanted spot at the center of a national tragedy. Though she looked for a book that would tell her that her grief and rage were a natural part of the grieving process, she never found exactly what she was searching for.
Shortly after the second anniversary of 9/11 she sat down and started to write, pouring out the changing difficulti...more
Shortly after the second anniversary of 9/11 she sat down and started to write, pouring out the changing difficulti...more
A searingly honest account of the devastation felt in a single family after 9/11. I don't usually read these kind of stories but i was given a copy by a rep and thought I'd try it out. I had tears welling up in the first few chapters as the devastation of losing her husband and being left with two small children slowly breaks over Abigail.
Occasionally i was irritated with her responses to things but as I thankfully have never been through something so awful, I have no real concept of how grief c...more
Occasionally i was irritated with her responses to things but as I thankfully have never been through something so awful, I have no real concept of how grief c...more
I don't know quite what to say about this book. The subject matter - a young mother widowed in the wake of 9/11 - is a testament to not only the lives lost that day, but the lives left behind. Ms. Carter writes about her own evolution as a wife, a mother to two children who at the same time don't undertand and understand too much about that day, and a human being, through the principles of the book "After the Darkest Hour," about the spirtual transformation following tragedy. That she could open...more
Although Abigail Carter wrote this book as way to deal with the overwhelming grief she experienced after the death of her husband, Arron, in the World Trade Center attacks on September 11, 2001, the book would be helpful for anyone who is or has experienced a sudden and terrible loss.
From back cover:
"Abigail Carter had it all - a full life with a successful career and a caring husband, and a beautiful young son and daughter. But when her husband died in the World Trade Center on September 11, 20...more
From back cover:
"Abigail Carter had it all - a full life with a successful career and a caring husband, and a beautiful young son and daughter. But when her husband died in the World Trade Center on September 11, 20...more
I love writing that comes from the gut, that is unflinchingly honest, not trying to hide. Kudos to Carter for accomplishing that with "The Alchemy of Loss". Widowed young, she doesn't fall into the trap of portraying her husband who was killed in the 9/11 terrorist attack as perfect, and I appreciate that. Her journey along the continum of grief is eloquently described, and exposes her strengths as well as her weaknesses, which is after all what we are looking for in a memoir.
As a personal friend of the author, I found this to be a very insightful and raw glimpse into Abigail's process after learning of her husband's death in one of the twin towers on 9/11. I think it takes a lot of courage to write such a book, and I am sure that her writing this book has helped many people who grapple with grief, and especially a sudden death.
It's very honest and emotional and hard to put down in a watching-a-car-crash kind of way. It was interesting to put a more human face to the 9/11 tragedy. I would recommend to those who enjoy biographies / memoirs or anyone who has suffered a major loss or is close to anyone who has.
So sad but so insightful and helpful for understanding the grief process in very pragmatic terms. While I am not an 9/11 widow, this book helped me to understand the ways I have been feeling in the last almost two years and how grief can take it toll on all aspects of your life, especially if you don't make room for it.
I'm torn about reviewing this book. It was hard to get through, and at times I was very irritated with the cadence of Abigail Carter's writing and the way she portrayed almost everyone in her life. I can understand why this book was important for her to write and appreciate much of her journey, but I really struggled to connect with her.
I chose this book to read on 10 September 2012 without having any idea of the storyline at the time (I still don't know how to view the book details on my kindle, so I only see the title). I soon read that the author, Abigail Carter, had lost her husband in 9/11. As a widow of two young children myself, I found I related to this story in so many different ways. Though I don't see this as a story of transformation as the title suggests, Abigail writes about her long journey through shock, grief a...more
not your typical 9/11 story in that not only did abby write about her loss but how her feelings and her grief experience can inspire so many. beautiful and inspirational.
I really liked the way this book was written, it has a very catchy style that really rubs off on you. I'd find myself picking up the book and not wanting to put it down. However, whether from this or that, after I put down the book for a spell, I had a hard time finding the incentive to pick it back up again. While not an altogether happy book, I found it to be satisfying, and the ending left me feeling as if something intangible inside me had been resolved.
Dec 01, 2008
Candice
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Young widows & widowers; those interested in the private, personal effects and legacy of 9/11
A memoir written by a young 9/11 widow, it covers both the first year of grief and up through four years (or so) after 9/11. See my detailed review here.
So, I'm going to stop reading this. Yes, I am chickening out a little bit, but this book is SO SAD, and I've only read 3 chapters. I am sure it all turns out to be a beautiful experience for her in some way, but I'm checking out on this one.
this is a story of a journey through widowhood even though i am sure none of you are widows it is still an interesting book becuase it is based on my family and ow my dad died. my mommy wrote it!
Apr 06, 2008
Foreign
added it
Australia: Vanessa Radnidge
May 22, 2013
Cat
marked it as to-read
May 09, 2013
Eli Hastings
marked it as to-read
Apr 20, 2013
Iroulito91
marked it as to-read
Mar 29, 2013
Radhika
marked it as to-read
Mar 06, 2013
Christina
marked it as to-read
Feb 01, 2013
|8|
marked it as to-read
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Abigail Carter was born in Philadelphia and raised in Toronto, Canada. With her husband Arron Dack, she lived in London, Brussels and Boston before settling in Montclair, NJ. Abigail began writing at the age of 38 as a form of catharsis after her husband’s death in the World Trade Center on September 11th, 2001. Her work has been published in SELF magazine, and online at MSN.com. Before she began...more
More about Abigail Carter...
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
Oct 10, 2008 09:18pm