When Your Spouse Dies

Writing about her own journey as a widow, Cathleen Curry helps others deal with theirs. She establishes eight practical guideposts for getting through the first year and deals with a variety of topics including the stages of grief for adults and children, the expressions of mourning, loneliness and sexuality, financial priorities and planning, good health practices, and the importance of spiritual growth to the healing process.

Cathleen Curry was born in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, attended colleges in the Midwest, married a farmer, and raised nine children on their farm. After her husband died and her children were on their own, she went back to school and graduated from Briar Cliff College in Sioux City, Iowa, with a bachelor’s degree in theology. Curry has worked for Catholic Family Services and volunteered her time and talents to Beginning Experience, a weekend program for the widowed, divorced, and separated. In 1988 she became an oblate of St. Benedict at Blue Cloud Abbey in South Dakota.