Paris Without Her

“When Curtis brings his private mourning rites and memories to Paris to mix them with newfound commitments and hopes, it’s a matter of life and death . . . His extremely long walks have an element of magical thinking, as if pounding this pavement as centuries of poetic flâneurs did before him might break down the iron doors of isolating grief and let in a new future . . . And he does discover and collect his own out-of-the-way marvels and curiosities, described in entrancing prose for readers who by then may be cheering on this lonesome, wounded, somewhat awkward knight of love and grief.” —Francisco Goldman, The New York Times Book Review

“Affecting, heartfelt . . . Curtis spotlights the pair’s tremendous meals, semi-comic traffic mixups and a memorable stag hunt . . . He shows their bonds deepening as the years of their marriage accrued, along with their beloved visits abroad.” —Sharyn Vane, Austin American-Statesman
 
“A tender and clear-eyed recollection of their best and worst times . . . Curtis returns to the city that he and Tracy loved together and learns to embrace its bounteous life on his own.” —Joyce Sáenz Harris, The Dallas Morning News

“An aching memoir of life as a widower . . . Though readers will feel Curtis’ pain, they will also share his joy—and perhaps relief—at being in a place both beautiful and anonymous. ‘Paris was not at all hostile, but Paris didn’t care whether I was there or not,’ he writes, finding comfort as a stranger in places both familiar and unknown. For those suffering from bereavement, a candid, moving book of commiseration and encouragement.” —Kirkus Reviews

“This captivating book will delight readers by sweeping them from locale to locale within the City of Light. Curtis’s personal anecdotes and historic tidbits are written with a genuine tenderness and journalistic eye throughout . . . Although slated as a memoir, this touching work is just as much a love story and travel diary.” —Kelly Karst, Library Journal