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Biography & Autobiography Personal Memoirs

Never Better

Two Kids, Their Dad, and His Wife's Ghost

by (author) Gonzalo Riedel

Publisher
Dundurn Press
Initial publish date
Feb 2024
Category
Personal Memoirs, Death, Grief, Bereavement, Medical
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9781459750395
    Publish Date
    Feb 2024
    List Price
    $23.99
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9781459750418
    Publish Date
    Feb 2024
    List Price
    $11.99

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Description

His wife died before their second son turned one. How can he keep her memory alive when there’s so much he wants to forget?

There was a time before his wife got sick when Gonzalo could think about other things. They had full lives where death didn’t factor. Where humour was more than a coping mechanism. Life wasn’t all about treatments and recovery, or the emptiness he felt when she died.

They had kids together. Young kids. Less than a year after their youngest was born and suddenly he was strapping them both into their car seats to drive to their mother’s funeral.

He used to think he was the glue holding the household together. It didn’t take long for him to realize how wrong he’d been. A grieving husband is in no condition to raise kids alone. There were times when he wanted to toss himself into a raging river that would suck him under and bash his skull on the rocks. That’s always an option for another day. For now, he’ll just squash those feelings and drive the kids to daycare.

Does it get easier? Of course. But not right away. They say that hope only comes at the end of a long dark journey, but that isn’t entirely true because the journey never really ends. But that means there’s good news: hope is everywhere you look.

About the author

Gonzalo Riedel is an author and playwright, as well as the former editor of Juice, the University of Winnipeg's literary journal of fiction and poetry. He received his M.A. in creative writing from Concordia University in Montreal. He currently lives in Winnipeg with his wife and son. 

Gonzalo Riedel's profile page

Editorial Reviews

Funny, honest, and hopeful...a glimpse into the messiness of parenting amidst grief.

MITCHELL CONSKY, author of Home Safe