There Are No Rules: A Young Widow's Perspective on the Early Stages of Grief

Life is unexpected, and in a moment, it can be shattered. This is a story and feeling all too real for author Britany Rivera, who became a widow and solo parent at the age of 31. One night, you go to bed as a young married couple; the next morning, you wake up labeled a widow. What does this mean for my life?

If you are a young widow looking for an honest perspective on the early stages of grief, desiring a raw depiction of what you may experience and searching for validation of your feelings and grief, There Are No Rules was written for you.

Written by a young widow and incorporating the perspectives of other young widows, this book is a new take on traversing grief. Not quite a memoir nor a self-help book or guided instruction on healing, this book will resonate with your current emotional state and help you understand the persistence of grief in your daily life.

The path of a young widow is daunting, as you have your whole life to rebuild ahead of you, yet you are grieving a loss of what could have been. You are now involuntarily single; you didn’t choose this path, but now you must walk it. And walk it you will.

For the most part, widows keep their pain and experiences to themselves unless talking with other widows. You may find yourself questioning the normalcy of your feelings and wondering if your emotions are beyond repair. Let go of your perceptions of how you should appear in widowhood; no one does widowhood gracefully, and even if they appear to on the outside, on the inside, they feel the same emotions you do. Not everything is going to be okay, and that is okay.

The indescribable pain you are feeling has the potential to one day be your greatest gift, but first you must traverse the early stages of grief to be able to comprehend the beauty that can come from unbearable loss.