Tips from Widows

‘This is a wonderful, beautiful little book. It is like a quiet, wise friend, full of comfort and practical counsel, when your world has collapsed or changed beyond recognition. It is like a crib sheet of how to cope; it is as helpful to friends of widows as to the widows themselves, and it is written from experience, which is the bedrock of reliable advice’ Joanna Lumley When Jan Robinson's husband died suddenly and unexpectedly, she had the idea of asking any other widows, whenever and wherever she met them, for two tips about how to deal with widowhood – anything that came to mind, whether it was what to do or what not to do, however seemingly unimportant. That is how Tips from Widows started. Grief is an unmanageable emotion and the form it takes is unique to every woman whose husband or partner has died. There are no set rules about coping with loss. Some people struggle with it for years and maybe never get over it. Others manage to move on. This book makes no claim to be an authority on how to cope as a widow, nor does it set out to offer a thorough analysis of widowhood. It is, quite simply, tips from widows. You may be alone in your boat on the ocean, but Tips from Widows will help you to recognise that other boats are out there too.

A wonderful, beautiful little book, Tips from Widows is a book which will do for widowhood what Mrs Beeton did for cooking, I wish this book had been available when my husband died thirteen years ago, A neat, comforting pocket book on a subject most of us still want to tiptoe around … It’s that gentle someone who sits you down and shows you how to reply to the messages that flood in following a death … A practical guide – and all the more moving for its breathtaking pragmatism … Tips From Widows deserves a wider readership than widows. Many of those I wanted to give it to are not recently widowed: my mother and father, friends who have lost parents, divorcees. Almost anyone, in fact, could benefit from reading this book, since almost all of us are at risk, at some point, of losing a loved one, The book’s charm lies in its slightness. Robinson has an unassuming tone. She never presumes to dispense knowledge, only to share wisdom … In a funny way, the tips are the least of this book; it is the sharing of experience that weighs more … The book’s real kindness … is simply to give widowed readers the chance to spend time in the company of others in the same situation

Jan Robinson began collecting advice from widows after her husband died. Six months later, she decided to turn this into a book and sell it through her website. She has four children and lives in London. www.tipsfromwidows.co.uk