Barbara Kretchmar

Barbara Metsky Kretchmar, a New York City native, graduated from Hunter College High School, Harpur College (S.U.N.Y. at Binghamton) and Syracuse University College of Law. She was widowed in 1990 at 46 years old with two young sons, 13 and 11. She wrote this book to help and hopefully inspire all women, whoever they may be, who are facing the challenges of widowhood.

The widows Barbara introduces you to in this collection of 25 personal stories are of all ages, from diverse ethnic, racial, religious, educational and economic backgrounds, who became widows under different circumstances and whose personal stories greatly differ. They include women who were widowed as young as twenty-one and women widowed in their sixties, widows with children and without, women whose spouses died after a prolonged Illness and women whose spouses died suddenly. Each of these women has suffered the pain of widowhood. Each has survived it in her own way, by finding her own sources of support and resources to move forward with her life.