Relocation by choice. Retirement by accident. Widowed by surprise. Oh. I’m a Widow chronicles my journey after the year in which these life-changing events occurred. At sixty-seven, my husband died soon after we’d moved to the Washington D.C. area for my career-capping job. On the day he died I had no family or friends nearby and no professional engagement. The book recounts the steps I took, the help I found, and the emotional and practical struggles I encountered as I built a new, full life. It presents essays written over years, some published in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Grieving, Loss and Healing, in Contagious Optimism and in its sequel, 10 Habits of Truly Optimistic People, and in print and online journals. Unlike most books on widowhood, this is more about living than grieving.Written in a conversational voice, the book offers practical, empathetic support to widows. After losing someone close, Oh. I’m a Widow aims to help readers recover, rebuild, and realize a full new life.