Winston allows Sophie life after widowhood: The novel almost indiscernibly turns into a gentle romantic comedy and a quirky portrait of life in an artsy small town. But it's her difficult relationship with psycho teen punker Crystal, to whom she becomes a Big Sister, that mysteriously brings her at least a few steps out of her grief. Sophie decides to ease her grief, or at least her loneliness, by moving in with her best friend Ruth in Ashland, Oregon. After the death of her computer programmer husband, she reexamines her life as a public relations agent in money-obsessed Silicon Valley. The Christmas season especially terrifies her: 'I must write a memo to the Minister of Happier Days requesting that the holidays be cancelled this year.' But widowhood also forces her to do something very sane. That's on one of the rare occasions when she bothers to get out of bed.

I just got used to the idea of being married.' Sophie's young widowhood forces her to do all kinds of crazy things-drive her car through her garage door, for instance. 'How can I be a widow?' Sophie asks at the opening of Lolly Winston's sweet debut novel, Good Grief. Sophie Stanton's reaction is one of pure bafflement. 'synopsis' may belong to another edition of this title. Still, Sophie proves that with enough humor and chutzpah, it is possible to have life after loss. But instead of the way it's depicted in the movies, with a rugged Sam Shepherd kind of guy finding her, Sophie finds herself in the middle of Lucy-and-Ethel madcap adventures with a darkly comic edge. In a desperate attempt to reinvent her life, Sophie moves to Ashland, Oregon. Soon, she's not only lost her husband, but her job and her waistline as well. Downing cartons of ice cream for breakfast, breaking down in the produce section of supermarkets, showing up to work in her bathrobe and bunny slippers. Alas, Sophie is more of a Jack Daniels kind. In an age where women are expected to be high-achievers, Sophie desperately wants to be a good widow - a graceful, composed Jackie Kennedy kind of widow. In this 'funny, fresh, and utterly believable' New York Times bestseller, a young woman struggles to build a new life after the death of her husband ( Publishers Weekly).ģ6-year-old Sophie Stanton loses her young husband to cancer.

Good Grief by Lolly Winston