Midlife Orphan: Facing Life's Changes Now That Your Parents Are Gone

by Jane Brooks

The word "orphan" may make us think of a child--but even self-sufficient adults can feel the pain of "orphanhood" when their parents are suddenly gone. Complicating the natural mourning process is the fact that this loss often occurs in our thirties, forties, or fifties--as we are raising our own children, watching them leave the nest, and facing other adjustments in our lives, from our jobs to our marriages to our health. This thoughtful exploration...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0425166937
• ISBN13: 9780425166932
• Release Date: April 1999
• Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.1" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Excellent book

When I lost my mother very suddenly last year, I stumbled on this book. It was wonderful. It helped me deal with so many issues that I hadn't even thought of. I passed it on to my brother who then passed it to his wife when her mother died. My copy has been making the rounds and I suggest anyone who finds themselves a "Midlife Orphan" to buy it and read it.

A Label for the Feelings

In the blink of an eye, my world changed and I became a midlife orphan. My healthy mom unexpectedly died ten months ago. I thought it would still be OK because I had my dad, my world would stay the same because he was still with us. But five weeks later he unexpectedly died, I feel of a broken heart. I remember thinking it was now not OK - I was now an orphan. I found this book easy to read and contained many things I thought and felt. There is so little written on this subject, especially if your parents died within a short period of time. I was pleased to read about siblings and what goes on with them as well as the part on inheritance. The book validated my feelings. This sensitve topic could only be approached by someone who has lived it. Thank you Jane Brooks.

A must read

I am 48 and lost both my parents a year apart. This book has helped me far more than a counselor. The author totally understands the feelings of losing ones parents in midlife. This book is a must read for anyone who has lost a parent.

This book is a godsend.

I am moved by this book. I am an orphan, at the age of 49, I lost both parents this year 9 weeks apart. I never really grieved my mother the first to pass on. For taking care of my father whom had been ill for about ten years and thought he would go first. So this book makes me understand why I am feeling as I do. It has given me much insight. And I know I am not the only one, whom wonders and feels like this. I have siblings and it is hard to talk to them. This book lets me see things we never see or try not to. I purchased the books for all of us. I will read and reread it. And pass it on to friends, when their parents pass. As I was the first, to loose both. And I had called myself an orphan, just before my local paper ran the story, about the book. It is wonderful, and helpful a must read for any adult whom is orphaned. Thank You Jane Brooks.

This book changed my life.

From the stirring opening commentary to the dramatic close, Midlife Orphan is a godsend to any grieving middle-aged son or daughter. Almost like a roadmap, it guides the reader from issue to issue, giving coping stratagies and relating the tales of actual mourners who have had the experience of orphanhood. Not to be missed, it is a must for any adult facing life without his or her parents.