
As the pages continued to turn, the author
later referred to the main character no longer as A.J., but as Artis. It was
then that I realized Un-Remarried Widow
wasn’t fiction or autobiographical fiction, but a memoir. (Actually, the book’s
title is, in fact, Un-Remarried Widow: A
Memoir, but in my defense, the words, “a memoir,” are written very, very
small.)
Anyway, the phrase, un-remarried widow (URW)
is a military designation for the wives of soldiers who are killed in action. Un-Remarried Widow is Artis Henderson’s heartbreaking tale
of her romance with a Miles, a pilot just like dear old dad, Miles’s deployment
to the Middle East, his death, and Artis’s life after the loss. It’s a pretty
powerful story.
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Artis Henderson |
While Henderson’s writing contributes to the
ease by which the pages turn, her story is the attraction. Henderson
begins in 2004 before she met Miles as she speaks to "Psychic Suzanna" in
Tallahassee, Florida. As psychics are (apparently) apt to do, Suzanna predicts
with astonishing accuracy the unlikely path that Artis’s will take. From there,
Henderson takes the reader on a journey through time. She travels back to her father’s death two
decades earlier in the Piper Cub crash and back to the first decade of the of the millennium when
Artis and Miles marry, Miles is deployed to the Middle East and is killed when the Apache helicopter he
piloted crashes during a sand storm. Throughout, Henderson skillfully examines the ironies
and parallels that occur in life, the devastating void left by the death of a
loved one, and the ways that those who remain behind learn to cope.
While this is The Single Father’s
Guide Blog, my instinct to pick up a copy of Un-Remarried Widow at BEA was a good one. The military aspect of
the story appeals to men, while the romantic side will interest female readers.
Particularly helpful for anyone who has experienced the loss of a loved one is
Henderson’s description of coming to terms with Miles’s death and the decisions
she made to create for herself a happy, fulfilled, and productive life.
Un-Remarried
Widow
ends as it began, with Henderson speaking to a psychic about her future. Just
as she did when her life as a young adult was filled with promise and hope, she
is once again at a starting point in her life. Henderson’s a little older and
she’s a little wiser. She still holds her love for Miles with her, but she is
once again encouraged by the prospect a new beginning.
Un-Remarried
Widow
will be available in stores in January 2014. I’ll be more than a little surprised
if this not the choice for more than one high-profile book club and on several bestseller lists. PRE-ORDER Un-Remarried Widow: A Memoir HERE!
1 comment:
I just finished the book this week. I was very impressed with it too.
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