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The Widow's Guide to Dead Bastards
The Widow's Guide to Dead Bastards | Jessica Waite
5 posts | 1 read | 6 to read
A widows life is turned upside down when she uncovers the truth about her late husband in this lyrical, witty, and deeply moving memoir of tragedy and betrayal. In the midst of mourning her husbands sudden death, writer Jessica Waite discovered shocking secrets that undermined everything she thought she knew about the man shed loved and trusted. From uncovered affairs to drug use and a pornography addiction, Waite was overwhelmed reconciling this devastating information with her new reality as a widowed single mom. Then, to further complicate matters, strange, inexplicable coincidences forced her to consider whether her husband was reaching back from beyond the grave. With her signature candor and unflinching honesty, Waite details her tumultuous love story and the pain of adjusting to the new normal she built for herself and her son. A riveting, difficult, and surprisingly beautiful story, The Widows Guide to Dead Bastards is also a lyrical exploration of grief, mental health, single parenthood, and betrayal that demonstrates that the most moving love stories arent perfecttheyre flawed and poignantly real.
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review
TheKidUpstairs
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Pickpick

I'm between a pick and a so-so, but I'll give it the higher rating because it may not be the book's fault.

Upon the sudden death of her husband, Waite discovers his affair(s), porn addiction, and time spent with escorts. This leads her on a complicated journey through her grief, which she recounts here with opened and candor.

I appreciated the raw nature of her story, and the ups and downs of her healing journey, but.... cont'd

TheKidUpstairs But I also had difficulty truly connecting with Waite. There is a good chance that this is down to the audio narration. Waite is a Canadian, living in Calgary, and the narrator didn't pronounce words like toque and ALBERTA properly. It was jarring, and i think really contributed to my disconnect from the emotional world of the book. So maybe if you're Canadian, stick with the written word for this one! 1mo
suvata Stacked 1mo
LeahBergen And I‘m assuming she didn‘t pronounce Calgary like a local, either. 😆 (Calgree) 1mo
56 likes4 stack adds3 comments
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TheKidUpstairs
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Dear Audiobook Narrators,

Thank you for all you do, love your work. HOWEVER, if you are going to be narrating a book written by a Canadian, please please PLEASE learn how to pronounce common Canadian words, like TOQUE. It is not "toke" (as used in the tagged), nor is it "toe-kway" (as used in Eight Bears).

Signed,
A frustrated Canadian listener

mcctrish Good lord! 1mo
BkClubCare Ha! You just had me fallin‘ down a 🐇🕳️ ! Seems American and Canadian are more similar than British? 🤪 1mo
MemoirsForMe Oh my! 🫣 1mo
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TheKidUpstairs @mcctrish it got worse. She mispronounced Alberta. Much of the book is about Waite's life in Calgary, and she mispronounced ALBERTA. 1mo
mcctrish How? Like instead of Al-berta it‘s Alber-Tah ? My mind is scrambling now (edited) 1mo
TheKidUpstairs @mcctrish it was like "Uhl-BEAR-Tuh" I had to listen to it twice before I realized what she was saying 1mo
mcctrish Oooo like the commercial for Alberto VO5 hair stuff in the 70‘s/80‘s 🤣🤣🤣 1mo
48 likes7 comments
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TheKidUpstairs
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My next listen. How can you not want to pick it up with a title like that?

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Megabooks
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While I‘ve still read more nonfiction this year, fiction is continuing to trend upward for me. I‘ve also been listening to a lot fewer audiobooks. I‘m about to podcast it while I make dinner. New thing for me!

BarbaraBB I love podcasts, but they‘re addictive 2mo
Megabooks @BarbaraBB totally. I‘ve listened to The Dream seasons 1 and 2 by this author. It was cool because the book and podcasts covered slightly different material. 2mo
Megabooks @BarbaraBB And also the funny Sounds Like a Cult by this author. (edited) 2mo
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Megabooks @BarbaraBB and then the podcast version of this book, but so far no real new info, so I may try another one. (edited) 2mo
Megabooks @BarbaraBB also thinking about starting Scamfluencers, but I‘m also very tempted to use my Spotify audiobook borrow to read 2mo
BarbaraBB Oh wow this all sounds so good! Thanks! If I could recommend one podcast, listen to this one: https://www.westcorkpodcast.com/ 2mo
56 likes6 comments
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Megabooks
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Now that the storygraph has square graphics, I‘ll share August‘s here! Both the tagged and Boyne‘s Water were excellent! Boyne‘s Earth is on my TBR for this month.

Megabooks @Chelsea.Poole have you read this memoir? 2mo
BarbaraBB I bought Water too, of course! 2mo
squirrelbrain I loved Earth and Water - I just got the ARC of Fire! 2mo
Chelsea.Poole No, I haven‘t even heard of this one, thanks for the tag. I‘ll look it up. Also, I adore John Boyne but I haven‘t read these! 2mo
Megabooks This is an interesting memoir, too. I‘m really appreciating these focused ones rather than more sprawling life accounts. (Just realized I forgot to tag you in this comment @Chelsea.Poole !) (edited) 2mo
50 likes5 comments