I’m slowly getting back into reading more, so I was really excited to read this book of poetry, The Birth of a Widow, by Kathie Giorgio. Kathie did a blog tour with WOW! Women on Writing, so be sure to check out all the stops in the tour (and, shameless plug, find out more about WOW blog tours to have your book featured too).
Before we get to my review, here is more about Kathie’s book, The Birth of a Widow:
Sixty-six days after Kathie Giorgio’s husband was killed when he was struck and run over by a passenger van while walking to his bus stop, Kathie’s grief broke out unbidden into poetry. For the year after his death, she wrote the poems as they arrived. An intimate study of traumatic loss, Giorgio exposes the full depth of grief’s sadness, anger, and confusion.
Now for my review:
What a touching book! Kathie walks us through her grief as a widow with such poetic eloquence. Her location, the coast of Oregon, immediately set me into a sense of place. Mainly because I’ve visited the area many times before, and it’s tumultuous and dramatic seeming at times. The Oregon coast doesn’t give off those classic tourist-y vibes as California beach towns often do.
Her poems and some essays reflect the complexities of grief, memory, loss, and, most of all, love. More than the writing, which is excellent, I so appreciate that Kathie brings us close to her grieving process. I especially loved the poem “Last Scrap” where she talks about donating her husband’s jackets. She says, “…I’m letting them keep someone else warm instead. You would like that.” She describes her longing for him and her missing him. There are also a lot of struggles with God.
It’s a touching book as much as it is also sad. But I know grief is so complicated. And if you are struggling right now, I definitely recommend Kathie’s book, The Birth of a Widow.
About Kathie Giorgia
Kathie Giorgio is the author of seventeen traditionally published books: eight novels, two story collections, an essay collection, and five poetry collections. Her new novel, Unique In All The World, will be released in February 2027. She’s been nominated for the Pushcart Prize in fiction and poetry and awarded the Outstanding Achievement Award from the Wisconsin Library Association and the Eric Hoffer prize for fiction, among others.
Giorgio is also the founder and director of AllWriters’ Workplace &Workshop LLC, an international creative writing studio offering online and on-site courses and workshops for all genres and abilities, as well as coaching and editing services.
Find the author at:
Website: www.kathiegiorgio.org
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kathie.giorgio.5
Instagram: @kathiegio1 https://www.instagram.com/kathiegio1/
Twitter/X: @kathiegiorgio https://x.com/kathiegiorgio
Purchase a copy on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Bookshop. Or add it to GoodReads to save for later.
