While Notre Dame Burned: A Memoir of Love, Loss and Learning to Live Alone

Sometimes world events mirror our own lives and become forever connected to our private histories. As Notre Dame burned, as its spire collapsed into the flames on that April day in 2019, Barbara’s world was falling apart too. Her husband was slowly dying in a hospital room nearby. The two disasters, international and personal, would forever be linked for her. She couldn’t understand how either was happening. Just as the stones of the cathedral looked impervious to fire, her handsome, healthy husband had seemed immune to disease. In order to process her personal anguish and confusion, she began to write. The narratives, essays and poems collected here tell her story of living through the months of her husband's illness and the year that followed his death.
Through her personal journey, she is speaking for all of those who have lost a loved one and are learning to live their lives without that person. Barbara’s telling of her story is especially appropriate for these times since so many families have faced the sudden loss of a loved one due to Covid-19. Those grieving will recognize the multiple shades of emotion expressed in these honest pieces. They will know that they are not alone in their anguish and struggles to endure and survive their own bereavement.