Finding Comfort in Natalie Taylor’s “Signs of Life”

I read Natalie Taylor’s book Signs of Life the year before Mike died, never realizing what an impact it would have on me. 

It is about how Natalie, 24 and 5 months pregnant, became a widow after her husband died in a freak accident.  Her story is raw and honest about walking through the shock and pain of her husband’s death, being pregnant with her son Kai, and navigating the world as a single parent.  I found myself empathizing with her and cheering her on. 

After Mike died, I reread the book, and this time, I felt like it was a letter from a friend and a guidebook. I marveled at how Natalie managed to be a widow and a new mom, both emotionally taxing on their own.  Although my kids were older, I could relate to so much that she shared.

Mike was the better cleaner in our relationship.  It was hard to muster the energy to get things done after he died, from cleaning to cooking.  Natalie talked about walking over jam on the kitchen floor and how it was from a time when she was eating a peanut butter sandwich while getting Kai his bottle, and the jam fell on the floor.  She just hadn’t taken the time to clean it up because it wasn’t that important.  I related to that experience!   I, too, would walk over things on the floor and not be bothered by it. It gave me a feeling of validation that I needed.

Natalie shared many other observations and experiences related to what I was feeling or going through. Although the events might be different, the emotions were the same. I’d often talk to my son about something that Natalie said had happened to her or how she felt, always using her first name. A. would remind me that I didn’t know her.  It was true, but a kinship comes from walking on the same path with someone.