When Becky Aikman's husband dies and leaves her a widow in her 40s, she joins a grief support group to help her through her loss. But as the youngest participant in what seems like a wallowing contest, Becky concludes that what she needs is to shed her gloom and cheer up. When she voices this goal and is met with skepticism, then asked to leave the group, Aikman (writer and editor for BusinessWeek and Newsday) sets out to start her own widows' support group devoid of tissue boxes, folding chairs and mental health checklists. After putting word out, she and five other recent widows, ranging in age from 39 to 57, agree to meet once a month on a Saturday night to do something "fun," sharing in cocktail parties, cooking and fitness classes, visits to spas and museums, lingerie shopping and, ultimately, a trip to Morocco.
Saturday Night Widows is an unflinchingly honest, spirited memoir that details the revelations and escapades of these women, collectively and individually, over the course of one year. As each widow begins to put the pieces of her life back together, personal stories that bring tears and laughter, healing and hope emerge in the safe solidarity of the group. In the end, Aikman and her friends triumph over loss by supporting each other as they each chart a new course, determined to live abundant, healthy, happy lives despite the pain of grief. --Kathleen Gerard, blogger at Reading Between the Lines