“There's a world of beauty packed inside Tidd's book...Her mettle: She pours the past seven years onto pages for all of us to read and learn from, particularly her "Tips for widow(er)s and those who support them." Her takedown of the empty platitudes we mutter to people who are suffering ("He's in a better place." "Everything happens for a reason.") should be required reading for all humankind...We'd all do well to follow her lead.” — Chicago Tribune
Just days before her 11th wedding anniversary, 31-year-old Catherine Tidd, a wife and mother of three children under the age of 6, was told that her husband had been in a serious accident. After crashing headlong into the side of a truck while riding his motorcycle to work, Brad Tidd was rushed to the hospital where complications from the crash led to his death. In one moment, Catherine’s entire life was thrown into chaos. The future they planned together was gone and there was no roadmap for how to grieve for her husband. In her search for a sympathetic voice in books and online, Catherine found that no one could quite relate to her experience.
Confessions of a Mediocre Widow is a look at her journey through the odyssey of losing a spouse and its many missteps, crying jags, fights, bouts of hilarity, and surprising insights. Catherine shares the story of how she honored her husband and herself, got her kids through the initial days (perhaps with more sugar and television than might’ve been necessary), and finally came to terms with her grief.
To broaden the dialogue and offer support to new widows, Catherine founded a website called “The Widdahood” and amassed a dedicated following on Facebook as the “Widow Chick.” In Confessions of a Mediocre Widow, Catherine hopes to share an unexplored side of widowhood, one rarely discussed in books—the perspective she wished she could’ve read when she first experienced her loss.
Catherine Tidd is a motivational speaker who focuses on “finding joy in an unexpected life” and thriving after loss. She is a contributing author to the Thin Threads anthology focusing on grief and renewal, Open to Hope: Inspirational Stories of Grief, Loss & Healing, and Open to Hope: Inspirational Stories for Handling the Holidays After Loss. She is a writer for The Denver Post’s Mile High Mamas and her work can also be found in the upcoming publication The Widow’s Handbook. Originally from Louisiana, Tidd currently lives in Colorado.
Published by Sourcebooks in January, 2014.
More praise for Confessions of a Mediocre Widow:
“With wit and good humor, Tidd looks back on the time immediately following her husband's death with charming self-deprecation at her seeming inability to be a good widow. Through this, she shows readers that there is no "right way" to grieve.” — Library Journal
“Heartfelt and surprisingly humorous memoir...an ultimately uplifting story, and thanks to Tidd's keen sense of humor her tale never becomes maudlin...Widowers and other readers will find inspiration and useful advice in her candid story.” — Publishers Weekly
“The life of a widow is ever changing and has some very odd "ticks" that come with it...and I feel like Catherine was able to get out on paper what all of us have felt at one moment or an other. This book is a must have for widows, particularly young widows; either in their first 6 months of grief or five years out.” — Susan Soares
“Emotional memoir...Tidd combines indignation and sarcasm with humility, and the result is a moving, helpful look at how to navigate the difficult times that come with tremendous loss.” — Kirkus Reviews
“This was the only helpful book that I have read about becoming and being a widow. I found myself laughing and listening to Tidd as I would listen to a friend telling her story; she has a voice that is compelling, a story that is real and a book that is an invaluable addition to grief memoirs.” — Bitter/Sweet
“An amazing book that I couldn't put down and I would recommend to anyone whether they have lost a spouse or not because she is straightforward yet humorous (my husband is dead and Keith Richards is alive?) about how her new life unfolded in the months and years following her husband's death.”
— Cry, Laugh, Heal