**Diane Rehm** is best known as the beloved host of WAMU's _The Diane Rehm Show_, but she is also the author of a memoir, _On My Own_. **Robin Young**, co-host of WBUR's _Here & Now_, joins her in a discussion of her book. When Rehm's husband, John, passed away from Parkinson's Disease, she found herself "on her own" after fifty-four years of marriage. She struggled to create a new life within her new reality, learning how to cope with emotional and practical issues by herself while holding on to her memories of him. Rehm's memoir describes her experiences as well as those of some recently widowed friends of hers, exploring a variety of reactions to the death of a spouse. Beyond telling the story of her forging a new life on her own, she discusses the meaning she has found in advocating for the "right to die" movement in honor of her husband's unnecessarily prolonged suffering prior to his death. The book is both practical and inspiring, offering comfort for the recently bereaved and hope about the possibilities that remain to each of us as we deal with our inevitable mortality. (Photo: [Jay/Flickr](https://www.flickr.com/photos/jaypcool/1441098866/in/photolist-3cm1ub-6gM9E3-6gM9CG-6gGXVZ-6gGXXK-ayHx7v "Diane Rehm"))
