“Following the death of her husband, Jack, author and life coach Suesse found herself navigating the alien landscape that she now describes as “Planet Widow.” Unsure how to escape the emotions and situations that were so incredibly foreign and overwhelming, she began to deal with this as she had with most turmoil in her life: by writing it down. As her striking first line suggests—“The fact that I am writing this introduction is proof that people can and do survive loss”—keeping extensive journals offered Suesse the opportunity to discover her place in this new landscape. Notes From Planet Widow documents her explorations as she faced grief and found it within herself to chart a course to someplace wholly new. She highlights key lessons and what it took to learn them, like how essential it is to assemble a team to help take on the new burdens she found herself facing, and the value of taking time to stop and fully feel your feelings, allowing body and mind to process the loss.

Excellent prose carries the reader through, rich in metaphor and symbolism help capture the mental state of the author as she navigates a grief that readers may not be intimately familiar with, but may relate to the grieving they have experienced. Suesse is especially engaging on the tricky topic of shifting one’s perspective while enduring grief, opening up to being curious about the future, all while still allowing yourself to be angry—and daring to analyze that anger’s true roots. In addition to her own practices and hard-won insights (“The first order of business is to stop negative momentum”), Suesse peppers in wisdom from all manner of philosophers and writers.

Ideal for people who are navigating profound loss, Notes From Planet Widow offers welcome comfort, polished writing, clear-eyed guidance, and—by its very existence—heartening proof that we do survive grief … and even can thrive in the wake.”

Takeaway: Personal experience combines with selected wisdom to help anyone processing loss.

—Book Life Reviews