The Widower

"Not once have I said I’m a widower. It still feels
like a suspicious and stigmatized marital status
What if you pretended nothing ever happened… not even your
wife’s death?"

At nearly forty, the unnamed protagonist of The Widower is
riding high: a structured life, two children, and a clear path to
becoming a partner at his Big Four firm. But when his wife dies
suddenly, his world collapses. Rather than face grief—and risk
derailing his career—he chooses denial. He doesn’t tell his boss.
He doesn’t tell his kids. He doesn’t even fully tell himself.

Through a dryly funny, sharply written journal addressed to his
therapist Paul (whom he may or may not be paying), we watch
this man spiral—fueled by cold corporate pressure, a bossslash-
ex-lover, curious children, and a client with a disturbing
connection to his past. As his façade starts to crack, so does his
sense of self.

A novel that balances emotional depth with biting wit, it
asks: when everything falls apart, will you keep pretending—
or finally choose to feel?