By Himself

by Van Den Hoonaard, Deborah

• ISBN13: 9781442641099
• ISBN10: 1442641096
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2010-04-30
• Publisher: Univ of Toronto Pr

Summary

What happens when older men become widowers? Popular books, movies, and television present widowers as lost and unable to cope or care for themselves. These stereotypes do not encapsulate the experiences of real widowers, how their daily lives change, and what being a widower means to individuals in both sociological and practical ways.By Himself is based on in-depth interviews with twenty-six widowers over the age of sixty living in the United States and Canada. Using these interviews, Deborah K. van den Hoonaard explores masculine identity and traces the stories that widowers tell about their wives' illnesses and deaths. She also focuses on the widowers' changed relationships with their children and friends, as well as with women, and details the men's encounters with tasks such as housework and cooking. An eminently readable and accessible book, By Himself sheds new light on the social meaning of being a widower.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. xi
Introduction	p. 1
Introduction	p. 3
Masculinity and Older Widowers	p. 17
Experiencing the Unexpected	p. 29
Becoming a Widower	p. 31
Early Days of Widowhood	p. 48
Negotiating Relationships with Others	p. 63
Widowers' Relationships with Their Children	p. 65
Women in the Lives of Widowers	p. 84
Relationships with Friends	p. 107
Experiencing Everyday Life	p. 121
Everyday Life in and out of the House	p. 123
Cooking and Housework	p. 148
Conclusion	p. 161
Appendix: Interview Guide	p. 169
Notes	p. 171
References	p. 177
Index	p. 189
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