Episode #7: Widows
“How could this happen to ME after seeing YOU go through this?”
Alvina asks Grace this question while trying to comes to terms with her husband’s cancer diagnosis. Grace had lost her husband to a similar type of cancer years before. This episode is a heavy one. They will share their love stories, how they coped as care-givers, and how they grieved their late husbands.
Alvina admits that this particular episode was going to be like a therapy session. It’s always good to re-visit some memories from the past to have a good cry.
Here are a few photos from Grace’s wedding day to Robert:
Grace Lin and Robert
The Book Friends Forever at Grace’s wedding.
Grace begins the episode with sharing her own love story with Robert. They met while Grace was working at a children’s book store in Cambridge, MA. He was diagnosed with Ewing Sarcoma and they fought this battle together for 5 years before he passed away in 2007 at age 35.
Alvina met Greg in 2007 through a Craig’s List personal ad. (Yes-they used to have those!). She will share their love story too which involved a wonderful marriage in her parent’s backyard. Greg was diagnosed only six months after they got married with Synovial cancer. He lost his battle with the cancer three years later.
Both Robert and Greg had different ways of dealing with their death. Grace explains that Robert was in denial about it, where as Alvina talks about Greg accepting it so much that he wanted to go travel around Europe at the end of his life. Afterwards, it seemed like they both needed a re-birth and that is how they dealt with some of their own grief. They feel lucky that they had creative careers that “saved their souls”.
Alvina is grateful for dear family, friends and even the kindness of strangers and appreciating what a difference that makes in a difficult time.
Grace is so grateful for all her family and friends during and after Robert’s death. She is also grateful for the gift that came from that time; understanding just how short life is and that it’s never worth worrying so much about the small stuff.
