Book Description:
In December 1998, after fifty-six years of marriage, Phyllis Greene went from being part of the lifelong unit of "Phyllis and Bob" to being just plain Phyllis.

To deal with her feelings, she began keeping a journal. Unable to find books with a personal perspective on widowhood, she realized her own reflections could speak to the thousands of women like her, each one with very different yet very similar day-to-day experiences. It Must Have Been Moonglow chronicles the emotional roller coaster of her first years alone in a collection of brief essays, like diary entries, that capture the sadness, the humor, and the triumphs all widows encounter.

She writes about the challenges presented by a quiet, empty house and how best to fill the hours. "Your heart may feel like stone, but your mind needs to keep going,"she says. With wit and insight, she muses about the logistics of an evening out with a group of single, older women, none of whom drive very well; about handling the check when going to dinner with a couple; about marketing for one; and about the miracle of friendships on the Internet and the blessings of family.

It Must Have Been Moonglow is an intimate, candid, and engaging memoir, not about grief but about inspiration and strength.

From the Back Cover:
"In an effort to chart my own road to acceptance (I think it is there, somewhere ahead), I began to keep a journal on December 31, three weeks after my husband’s death. Now, as I look back, I wonder if I have walked a mile or one hundred, if I am out in front or lagging way behind, if there is a "norm," and might it help me, and if there are others who may read this who would share my journey as I go? I would welcome the company."

About the Author:
Phyllis Greene is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Wellesley College. She has had a lifelong involvement in her community, having served as chairman of the board of trustees of Franklin University as well as chairman of the Columbus Metropolitan Airport and Aviation Commission. She is the mother of Bob Greene, the syndicated columnist and author; D. G. Fulford, author and journalist; and Tim Greene, a real estate executive. She lives in Columbus, Ohio.

Review From Publishers Weekly:
When she was in her 80s, Greene's husband of 56 years, Bob, died. These plainspoken and unassuming ruminations on her first two years without him are based on a journal she began three weeks after his death. Greene does not claim to have any perspective on widowhood other than the purely personal; she writes of her memoir, "[i]t is helping me even as I hope it helps those who might read it." She shares how she coped with sleepless nights, making decisions by herself, traveling alone and simply missing Bob's companionship, covering specifics like being a single party guest and deciding what to do with Bob's antique gun (she sold it). Energetic and optimistic, Greene eventually found solace in friends, family and volunteer work. "Your heart may feel like stone," she writes, "but your mind needs to keep going." She also discovered the pleasure of using a computer and joining an online book discussion group. Shortly after Bob died, Greene's heart condition worsened, forcing her to get a pacemaker. She describes muddling through that frightening experience with the help of her brother and children, but without the husband who had been the most important person in her life. (On sale Sept. 25)Forecast: Given that elderly, widowed women outnumber widowed men by three to two, according to the author, this book is commercially promising. Middle-class widows with grown children (Greene has three) who had long, happy marriages will be her primary readers; a six-city author tour should help her reach them.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.