Jill Smolowe is the author of the memoir An Empty Lap: One Couple's Journey to Parenthood and co-editor of the ;anthology A Love Like No Other: Stories from Adoptive Parents. An award-winning journalist, she has been a foreign affairs writer for Time and Newsweek, and a senior writer for People, where she currently specializes in crime stories. Her articles and essays have appeared in numerous publications and anthologies, including The New York Times, The Boston Globe, The Washington Post Magazine, Adoptive Families and the Reader's Digest “Today's Best NonFiction” series. For more on Jill, visit ;http://www.jillsmolowe.com/
“Forget everything you've heard about the grieving process. Jill
Smolowe's memoir about the death of her husband and other close
family members—and her eventual true-life happy ending—upends
conventional wisdom, providing a new narrative for grief. By turns
humorous, matter-of-fact, and wise, Smolowe does not shy away from
uncomfortable moments. But she also emphasizes moments of grace
with an eloquence that will take your breath away. As she probes
deeper into her own feelings and motivations, she's never maudlin
or histrionic. You'll feel like you're in the company of a wise,
funny, rigorously honest and yet compassionate friend. I found
myself in tears several times—and I also found myself cheering her
on. Her insights about grieving, and moving beyond grief, should be
required reading for all humans. I loved this book.”
—Christina Baker Kline, author of the New York Times bestseller
Orphan Train
“This is an absolute must-read for people struggling with
loss.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Surprised by her resilience after a series of losses—including the
death of her beloved husband—People writer Smolowe has written an
uplifting memoir about grieving and moving on.”
—People
“Jill is not only a fabulous writer but she discovers in the midst
of her sorrow, her insuperable losses, that she has enormous
reserves of strength. Hearing about grief from the inside gives me
a better notion of how to respond to it.”
—Rick Hamlin, Executive Editor, Guideposts
“No one would envy Smolowe’s ordeal. But the way she handled it and
writes about it? Very much so.”
—New Jersey Monthly
“Jill Smolowe has written a moving memoir of loss—and also a
uniquely uplifting one. Emphasizing the resilience, not the grief
(though she portrays both with a novelist’s eye for detail and ear
for dialogue), she offers essential insights for those who have
lost people they love, or know others who have, or will one day
find themselves in one or the other of these positions—in other
words, for every one of us. Exploding many truisms about dealing
with death and illness, this book provides insight for navigating
the perilous path between saying too much or too little, and
concrete suggestions by which the bereaved, and those who care
about them, can move beyond the ritual 'Let me know if there is
anything I can do.'”
—Deborah Tannen, author of the New York Times bestseller You Just
Don’t Understand
“Many accounts of grief are called 'brave' and 'unsparing,' but
Four Funerals and a Wedding truly is those things. It's the first
account from the silent majority who respond to loss not with
paralyzing sorrow but with remarkable strength. Jill Smolowe
challenges orthodoxies surrounding bereavement and shows how man
does not just endure, but prevails.”
—Ruth Davis Konigsberg, author of The Truth About Grief
“Jill Smolowe has written an amazing book. What makes the book
amazing is that it is not maudlin or sad or sappy. I heartily
recommend Four Funerals and a Wedding. Especially since, if you
haven’t yet had to personally deal with grieving a loved one—you
know your time will eventually come.”
—Anne Holmes, National Association of Baby Boomer Women
“Magnificent ... an exquisitely honest book.”
—Newark Star-Ledger
“There are so many who would benefit from Smolowe's emotional
intelligence, warmth and wisdom.”
—Dr. Lloyd Sederer, Medical Director, NY State Office of Mental
Health, Huffington Post
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