How to Talk to a Widower by Jonathan Tropper

If you haven’t heard of Jonathan Tropper yet, trust me, you will. In his new novel, Jonathan Tropper gives us a young, slim, sad man with angst galore, full of wicked grief, guilt and other near-paralyzing issues. In short, he is a perfect character for great fiction.

Doug Parker is a widower at 29, and after a year of grieving for his wife Hailey, he is resisting pressure from friends and family to move on with his life. Not that he is content. On the contrary, Doug is wallowing in his grief, drunk most days, and living off the casseroles brought by neighborhood housewives. Just a few years earlier, he was single, living in the city, and hating his dead end job. He never expected to meet a slightly older woman like Hailey, or to have her give him a chance, or to get married and move to the affluent suburb where he now resides in her home. He never expected to be a step-father to a teenager. And having adjusted to all of these unexpected changes in his life, he didn't expect Hailey to get on an airplane and never come home.

Doug can't hide out forever. Hailey's teenage son Russ is causing some trouble at school. Doug's twin sister Claire is causing some trouble at home. A neighborhood housewife is causing some trouble in bed. Doug reluctantly reenters the dating scene, but he just wishes that more women knew HOW TO TALK TO A WIDOWER.