Living Without Him

Book excerpt: A year into their marriage, Minerva loses her husband to COVID-19, making her a widow at thirty-two and shattering her entire existence. The death triggers harrowing memories of past tragedies: the punishing death of her father, the unexpected deaths of her uncles soon after and her mother’s battles with mental illness—they all come together to haunt her, leaving her at a tragic crossroads. Who has she been all this while, and who is she now? Can she find it in herself to move on with her life? Should she? Alone and lost in the world, all she is left with is her relentless, all-consuming grief. Beginning with the tumultuous month when the virus seized her family and the subsequent struggle to save her husband, to going on a journey to unearth a long-buried part of herself that can, maybe, learn to live with all of it, Living Without Him is a deeply felt memoir about one woman’s search for meaning and purpose after tremendous loss and a heartfelt meditation on the unique shades of grieving and recovery.