Beverly knows she's lucky-born beautiful, meeting the love of her life at fifteen, marrying him at eighteen, and now celebrating thirty-six years of marital bliss. But then George dies suddenly, and the ground beneath her drops. With every vestige of joy now engulfed in grief, she must somehow navigate the world as a single woman for the first time in her life.
A memoir that reads like a novel, Act II: The Unpredictable Adventures of a Widow is a stirring account of widowhood that follows Beverly as she faces the alarming realization that she has scant financial resources; attempts to live happily in a couple-oriented society; survives a harrowing, life-threatening experience; and braves the strange new world of modern dating and sex.
A candid combination of triumphs and mishaps, her story portrays, with compelling insight, that life is full of surprises, for better and worse, and that love can outlast grief.
About the Author: Psychologist John D. Drake, PhD, is the author of nine books, including the award-winning best seller Downshifting. The founder and CEO of one of the world's largest human resources firms, he sold Drake Beam and Associates Inc. (now DBM Inc.) to establish a mental health center and another firm of organizational psychologists. Now "retired," he focuses on writing when he's not enjoying family time with his wife and four sons.
Beverly K. Ostler is a widow, actress, model, mother of three sons, and founder of a modeling agency for seniors. Previously, she and her husband transformed a 150-year-old Vermont farmhouse into an inn, which she managed while he was employed with the famous Maria von Trapp. Coached by Helen Travolta, Ostler has acted in numerous plays, including her leading role as Emily in Wilder's Our Town. Now living in Florida, she enjoys volunteering at her local art museum and hospital.
