Carole Brody Fleet Happily EVEN After
Becoming widowed while on a honeymoon.
Breaking the news of a parent’s imminent or sudden death to young children;
The unique grieving process one encounters as the “Married Widowed”; so defined as one who is dealing with a spouse’s ongoing serious illness or infirmity over a period of many years and whose role has shifted from spouse to include full-time caregiver. We see this situation happening more and more; especially as our troops return home from war with traumatic and / or catastrophic injuries.
Omtimes: What inspired you to write “Happily EVEN After…”
Carole: My agent! I had made a passing remark about all of the letters that I receive on a daily basis that many times ask the same questions-questions about money, children, emotions, family challenges, dating, love-you name it and I’ve likely seen it. Other letters begin with a prelude akin to, “I know that I’m the only one in this situation…” and whatever the situation was, I had seen numerous other letters from others in the identical situation; yet the authors of these letters were convinced that they were each all alone. My agent listened for a few minutes and then announced, “That’s your next book.”
Omtimes: What inspired you to begin writing for the widowed in the first place – after all, it’s not the happiest subject in the world.
Carole: Five years after becoming widowed, it occurred to me that there might be others looking for the same sort of support for which I had been looking years earlier. At the time, I certainly had no idea how many people are affected by widowhood – and remember, this was prior to 9/11, the ensuing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the tragic tsunami of 2004 and Hurricane Katrina. Sadly, by 2005, the widowhood community had grown dramatically and at that point in time, it was still largely overlooked and underserved.
When I began writing “Widows Wear Stilettos…”, in 2005, I had no idea that what was originally intended to be one book was actually going to grow into everything that has resulted. I had no idea that one moment at my late husband’s funeral would eventually become books, a CD and a support organization for the widowed all over the world. At that terrible season in time, I was just a wife and mother who had lost her husband after a horrific two-year illness (Lou Gehrig’s Disease) and had absolutely no idea what to do or where to turn next. Quite simply I couldn’t find the help and support that I needed when I needed it.
