A stunning, emotional memoir about one woman’s struggle with grief, acceptance and the life beyond both.

Cheryl Krauter’s husband, John, died suddenly of a stroke one night in their home. Having only recently recovered from a bout of breast cancer that almost took her own life, Cheryl is devastated and overwhelmed by the loss.

A few months later, while her world is still in upheaval, Cheryl is shocked to discover that John has won a raffle for an all expenses paid fly fishing trip that he had always wanted to go on. When he was alive, John was an avid fly fisher and although, in the beginning of her marriage Cheryl wasn’t too keen on the sport, she began enjoying it as therapy while recovering from cancer.

Knowing that her husband had always said he wanted his ashes scattered in a fly-fishing stream, Cheryl decides to go on the prized trip in order to fulfill that final wish for the man that she loved. What follows is a touching and sometimes downright funny trip into the wilds of Montana that any memoir-lover will enjoy.

Cheryl Krauter’s writing is marvelous. As an avid Buddhist, she shares many quotes and meditations from her religion as well as quotes from famous authors, musicians, and other sources.

The book is divided into two parts, the first of which gives more of a background on John and Cheryl’s life together. The second contains most of her fly-fishing adventure in Montana.

This was both a poignant and beautiful book and one that I know I will remember for a long time to come. Cheryl’s take on grief and healing are so universal that anyone can relate to them and she writes with the conviction of a woman who has been through the worst and come out the other side.

‘Odyssey of Ashes: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Letting Go,’ by Cheryl Krauter is both a reflection of the author’s life with her husband, and a moving story about finding her way through life after his death.

John Krauter died suddenly of a stroke in their home, leaving his wife with not only the trauma of having witnessed his death but also the grief of facing life without him. As Cheryl is learning to navigate the choppy waters of life on her own, she soon learns that John has won a once in a lifetime fly fishing trip via a raffle.

John was an avid and passionate fly fisherman and Cheryl is a fan of the sport, herself after using it as a form of therapy while recovering from breast cancer. Though she enjoys the sport, Cheryl is initially hesitant to take advantage of the trip, but eventually she decides to go, bringing her husband’s ashes with her to spread over the river.

The second section of the book, which features Cheryl recalling the trip, is irreverent, funny and touching. Everything from the format of this book, to the sections where the author talks about her son, her life with her husband and the different fly-fishing trips that they took works together to create a stunning memoir.

Cheryl Krauter’s writing is beautiful. Through the flashbacks to her life with her husband, she makes an effort to remember him for who he was in life, and not just talk about how he died. This is an excellent memoir for anyone who has lost someone close to them, or who has experienced grief. I could see this being very healing for many readers. I found this memoir both comforting, and enlightening and Cheryl’s remembrances made me remember some of the special people in my own life.

What a raw and intimate story of loss and grief, of letting go of what must move on while holding on to the essential self and discovering a resilience rooted in vulnerability. Reading this memoir of widowhood as a recent widow myself my emotions are still riding the turbulent currents of her story as I try to sort out the mix and mingle of my own emotions from hers.

She answered one of my burning questions tho. How long? Forever. Grieving is not a task that has a definitive end like making a meal or writing a book. It is as much a lifetime commitment as the marriage itself was. Grief is transformative and as it transforms you and your life the experience of grief itself will transform. Grief is like the weather and rivers--wind and water rushing over landscapes at times turbulent and stormy and other times placid but always a part of the landscape of your soul. And never the same two minutes in a row let alone two days.

Cheryl Kruater plays with the extended metaphors of the River and the Weather throughout Odyssey of Ashes. Having lived the life of a student of fly fishing for the duration of her marriage to an avid fly fisherman, she has a visceral understanding of both rivers and weather. She knows in her pores and her bones what it feels like to be buffeted by the wind or the waters of the stream while standing beside or in it. Now she takes that understanding and imbues her memoir of sudden widowhood with images and emotions evoked by her intimate relationship to river landscapes as she stands in her new personal landscape buffeted by the brutal winds of grief.

And then as she went in her husband's place on the guided tour of Montana rivers he won in a raffle half a year after his death, the interplay between that metaphor and the actual rivers and weather began to work healing magic on her grief, transmuting it into something she could carry into her future instead of fearing being carried off by currents of consuming loss.

In having the courage to share this intimate memoir, Cheryl Krauter has contributed no small gift to fellow grievers. I can testify to that having found comfort and hope in reading it as I approach the end of my first year of widowhood.

Odyssey of Ashes was a beautiful and powerful book about grief. I've read dozens of books about grief over the years, but very few deal with sudden death in the honest and vivid way Cheryl describes. From my own experience with sudden death, I valued that Cheryl didn't sugarcoat the horrors and challenges of the aftermath of sudden death (keeping in mind, of course, that each experience with death is different). There are many moving moments in the book and I don't want to spoil anything, but the chapter about her journey with releasing John's ashes was so beautiful.

We interviewed Cheryl for the The Curiosity Hour Podcast (episode 192) and she talked about process for creating the book, sudden death, her mourning journey, the role of meditation in her life, and her work in humanistic psychology. She was vulnerable and so wise in talking about the topic of the aftermath of death; a topic that sadly so many of us can relate to experiencing. But even for those who haven't yet experienced the death of a loved one, this book can help bring insight into the experience.
https://soundcloud.com/thecuriosityhourpodcast/s10-e192-cheryl_krauter
(also available free on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, Soundcloud, TuneIn, iHeartRadio, Stitcher, Podbean, Overcast, PlayerFM, Castbox, and Pocket Casts).

Note: I voluntarily requested, read, and reviewed this book. Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sending me a temporary digital advance reading copy/advance review (ARC) galley of this book in exchange for an honest review. As always, my opinions are my own and do not represent my co-host or the podcast. I request, read, and review many books prior to publication to explore possible future guests for the podcast. I wish we could interview the author of every one of these books because I'm so impressed by the creativity, thoughtfulness, and wisdom shared through the temporary books I get through NetGalley.

One of the luckiest people, to read it before it's actual release, an amazing story, it's the first memoir I've ever read in life and privileged enough to read life long lesson in my young age, Cheryl's first book I've read and to be very honest, I cried whenever her character did , the way she's written it is splendid and the way she dealt with the loss, I felt it. This book will be something extremely precious to me and the way she connected the nature with her inner battles and learnt lessons from it.

This book has taught me much more than, I've ever thought will , to be honest I've never heard of fly fishing before it, the innumerable precious memories that she spent with her partner all of sudden became a memory. The way she compared a time machine with her memories hit me , and with innumerable quotes, I was confused which one will hit you hard so , I decided not to include the quote , I want you to read the story yourself and feel it.

Because, I don't support spoilers

Krauter pens a loving, tender journey on letting go. Her husband John died abruptly and the memoir is a telling of how she handled it and the aftermath. Much of the book revolves around fishing, her husband’s passion. She also includes flashbacks to their relationship. I thought one of the most poignant parts was her releasing of his ashes. Loss is always difficult and Odyssey of Ashes marks one woman’s journey of letting go, moving on, but not forgetting.

This one was so good! I was shocked at the beginning that we actually got all this information of her husband's death, but I think it really opens you up to see how she was feeling during those moments. I have recently experienced some grief, as many of us have over the past year. I just liked reading Cheryl's story and felt really connected to her the whole time. I liked how she learned again how to live and laugh at herself. I thought it was extremely brave of her to take on that fishing trip.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for gifting me an ARC of this beautiful book!