cover image Innocent Spouse: A Memoir

Innocent Spouse: A Memoir

Carol Ross Joynt . Crown, $25 (288p) ISBN 978-0-307-59209-5

When a spouse dies, the one left behind usually is left to face the unknown, and in Joynt%E2%80%99s case "the unknown" included over three million dollars owed to the IRS, mortgages on properties she had thought they owned outright, and a Washington, D.C., restaurant, Nathan%E2%80%99s, that was a landmark to locals but a sinking money pit to the new widow. After her husband, Howard, died in 1997, Joynt struggled to keep her head above water, caring for their five-year-old son, continuing her career in journalism (she hosts the Q&A Cafe luncheon in D.C.), and taking on her new role as owner of Nathan%E2%80%99s while maintaining her "innocent spouse" status in her legal battle against the IRS. While Joynt%E2%80%99s case may be extreme and will most appeal to fans of Nathan%E2%80%99s restaurant, it is an honest telling of a woman betrayed by her husband whom she had loved and her determination to protect herself and her son. (May)