Me for You

Winston (Good Grief) again explores how the bereaved can manage life when a spouse dies, this time from the male perspective. Rudy Knowles, 54, wakes up to discover that his middle-aged wife, Bethany, has died in her sleep. The life he cobbles together after her death—playing piano in a Nordstrom’s store; visiting with his adult daughter, CeCe, and his granddaughter, Keira—implodes as the one-year anniversary of his wife’s death approaches. Additionally, a budding friendship with Sasha, a Nordstrom employee who enjoys Rudy’s music and companionship, leaves him feeling both hopeful and guilty about having a new relationship with a woman. Complicating matters, a detective seeks Rudy out, claiming Bethany may have been murdered by a co-worker at her hospital pharmacist job. Depression finally hits Rudy hard and, at CeCe’s suggestion, he admits himself to the psych ward of the local hospital to get his life back on track. The author understands how grief connects people (Sasha has her own loss) and how life’s problems cause some to lose their footing. Winston injects humor into a tough subject and makes a strong case for honoring the departed by making the most out of life, in this nonsentimental and uplifting story about how to navigate through grief. (Mar.)