When Baer’s husband receives a fateful diagnosis, the news of his medical condition disrupts the couple's lives amid “chaos and shattered dreams.” While they hope to beat the odds, her husband’s wish for normalcy conflicts with Baer’s fears for the present and the future. Miraculously, Baer’s husband lives four more years beyond the initial short-term life expectancy. Yet, while Baer is grateful for this extra time, she also dreads the inevitable. These few years she has left with her husband are riddled with uncertainty as she laments the ways “stretching and shaping of sorrow can take such an emotional toll on the body.” And even in the end, she never fully escapes her anguish as she searches for the will to go on.

In this memoir, Baer expertly traces the tumultuous journey of dealing with a loved one’s terminal cancer and navigating the deep and painful trajectory of grief. Broken into two parts, Baer’s slim book is an honest and compassionate testament to the abysmal moments when we lose the ones we love. Part one recounts Baer’s process through all of the highs and lows of grieving as she examines the joys, fears, pain, and kindness she encounters. In part two, Baer shares some of her written poems in response to this weighty period of her life.

Though there are many books that tackle this important topic, Baer approaches the material from that of the survivor who still mourns this terrible loss in the wake of her husband’s death. But the key, according to Baer, is endurance. Her assessment of what it takes to find the strength to confront and pull through this profound ordeal is candid and constructive. In this survival guide for healing, Baer leaves readers with comforting messages of hope as they dare to face such bereavement themselves.

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