March 10, 2020

Black Widow


"The Jews have shivah plates and seven days of mourning, whereas we have two days of intensely focused pain and chicken." ~ 47%

Columnist Leslie Gray Streeter found love in her late thirties. She is Christian and black; Scott was Jewish and white. They fell in love, moved in together, got married and started the process of adopting Brooks, a lovely baby boy. Out of nowhere, Scott had a fatal heart attack at the young age of 44. Life flipped upside down!

My heart goes out to anyone who lost a spouse. I cannot imagine having your soulmate taken unexpectedly. Instead of letting grief take over, Leslie took a different approach to widowhood. From planning a Jewish funeral while being a black Baptist to adopting a son alone and finding hope. This nonfiction book is the story of dealing with loss and celebrating life.

I give a lot of credit to James Patterson. He is one of my favorite authors. So when he offers a blurb, I believe it. According to Patterson, Black Widow is a portrait of widowhood that "will make you laugh and cry, sometimes on the same page." And by gosh, he was right! Leslie Gray Streeter writes about losing her husband in a very candid funny way. It is sad but also really, really funny. Black Widow is the literary example of laugh so you won't cry.

Leslie Gray Streeter talks about her unexpected widowhood like readers are a best friend. She gives it to us straight and holds no thought back. From the first page, it is a no judgment, sympathetic zone. I wanted to reach through the pages to hug her and Brooks but also share a chuckle. It takes a strong brave woman to put her honest feelings to paper. I am not a widow, yet I still found Black Widow to be helpful. I guarantee it is like no other widowhood journey book; hence, I will recommend to any widow I come across because it is that damn good!

Happy Pub Day, Leslie Gray Streeter! Black Widow is now available.

Disclaimer: An advance copy was received directly from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions are my own and would be the same if I spent my hard-earned coins.

Title: Black Widow: A Sad-Funny Journey Through Grief for People Who Normally Avoid Books with Words Like "Journey" in the Title
Author: Leslie Gray Streeter
Published: March 2020
Pages: 272
Edition: Galley
Challenge: Popsugar—A Book with More Than 20 Letters in its Title
Rating: 🖤 🖤 🖤 🖤 🖤

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