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How does a woman pick herself up and keep going when her husband takes his own life? That is the plight of Latimer in this poignant memoir about life after her husband’s suicide. The title itself is a stark reminder that life goes on, even through deep mourning, and survivors are tasked with the responsibility to keep everything moving. In addition to losing her soulmate, Latimer loses her partner, the person who would take care of things around the house and pay the bills. More than just tending to a broken heart, the author must also tend to water line leaks and a broken furnace. Readers are with Latimer as she figures out how to be a sole homeowner and do things like selling the second car that she no longer needs, things that her husband would have taken care of. And through it all, as she finds help through a Survivors of Suicide Bereavement support group, Latimer begins to find herself again.
Latimer’s story is one that is often unspoken, and it is both heartening and tragic to read her story. She is a journalist by trade, and her book turns her sight inward as she explores this unfathomably difficult time in her life. The last chapter is about the “What if” game that people so often play with themselves: What could I have done to make things different? What if I did this . . . or that? Ultimately, Latimer comes to the conclusion that “What’s past is past. . . . Now I have to get on with my life. I’ve tried to do that as best as I can.”