From the author of A Widow's Words, comes the second book in the series of poetry and essays about grief. A Widow's Words, Year Two explores coping with life as a widow following the first anniversary of a spouse's death and how grief continues to impact the ability to move on and survive life alone.

A Widow's Words, Year Two: Grief, Reflection, Prose, Poetry, and Hope is a selection of poems and essays that explore navigating life's journey after the death of a spouse. The tasks have been completed, paperwork filed, and a new journey has begun. But the impact of grief is still powerful and affects most aspects of life.

Coping with grief triggers, re-socializing as a single person, handling stressors and emergencies alone, deciding when to remove the wedding ring, surviving holidays and birthdays, and the strenuous effort of attempting to adapt to life without a partner are all familiar issues to anyone who has lost a spouse. The author examines these issues and how it feels to continue to grieve in a world that expects one to already have "moved on," but how glimmers of hope may also begin to shine through the pain.

From A Widow's Words, Year Two:

LIFE IN YEAR TWO

I'm used to life without you
I've made all new routines
The quiet house seems normal now
My life's gone on, it seems

I function out in public
Can hold my tears inside
No longer overcome with sobs
Seeking a place to hide

I'm used to traveling on my own
And tables set for one
And you not with me on the beach
To watch the setting sun

I live a single lifestyle
A woman on her own
No more joint decisions
I do it all alone

And, yes, I've coped with everything
The house and all the chores
My groceries get delivered
(I still hate going to stores)

A year since I've been with you
A year alone in bed
A year of conversations
Held only in my head

There's no one here to kiss me
When I awake each day
It's lonely on the weekends
Without you here to play

So, yes, I've gotten used to it
I've done it for a year
That doesn't mean I like it
It's dull without you here

I'm used to life without you
I'm used to life alone
And, oh, to have you back with me
I'd give all that I own