Seven Days of Shiva - by Marc Gellman (Hardcover)

About the Book

The author searched deep into his soul to understand his wife's courage, and to find the answer: Can a forty-year marriage still have been magical, romantic, and filled with life, even with a thirty-year struggle with cancer?

Book Synopsis

An unforgettable true love story. A memoir of love and resilience, grief and loss, and forty-six years of puppy love told with humor, laughter, and tears.

Can an ordinary life be extraordinary? Through the eyes of Marc Gellman - what he calls his "Shiva Eyes" - the answer is yes. In this deeply moving and inspirational memoir, Gellman recounts the remarkable forty-six-year journey he shared with his wife, Barbara, from their teenage puppy love on a summer beach to the joys and challenges of a marriage that endured through every season of life.

Readers are invited into a story that is at once intimate and universal. A boy from Brooklyn meets a girl from The Bronx, and together they create a life full of laughter, devotion, and playful adventures. From the excitement of young love to newlywed life in New York City, from raising children in the suburbs to rediscovering each other as empty nesters, Marc and Barbara's story of their lifelong romance is a celebration of marriage, family, and parenthood.

Woven into their joy are the hills and valleys of real life. The unflinching struggle against illness, the heartbreak of loss, are the author's search for meaning through this memoir of strength in illness. With candor and warmth, Gellman reveals not only the strength of his wife's spirit but also the depth of their bond, uncovering layers of love he never fully grasped until facing their most difficult trials.

Both poignant and uplifting, this Jewish biography captures the timeless themes of resilience, devotion and healing. It's more than a romance. It's a moving story of love and loss that celebrates the beauty of ordinary days, the hope and healing through love, the resilience of partnership. And the promise made by a husband, "I will tell our story to the world; that every day we shared was special."

For readers of love, legacy, and loss and are drawn to inspirational romantic love stories, this book is a touching and timeless reminder that true love is found in life's simplest moments. This uplifting marriage memoir will make you laugh, cry, believe in love again, and linger in your heart long after the final page.

Review Quotes

Praise For: Seven Days of SHIVA: Forty-six years of puppy love

Reader reviews:

Can an ordinary life be extraordinary? It depends on the lens through which one views it. In the case of Marc Gellman, that lens is Shiva Eyes, and the life is the one he describes in his powerful and unforgettable memoir.

When reading a memoir, one should ask if there are any literary values in addition to the personal stories and sentiments. Writing about those who are dearest to you can be both rewarding and scary experiences for a writer. In this book the feeling is a great reward for the author and for us.

It is highly honorable that a partner and soulmate shares his reflections on their love and passages of life with mastery, beauty, and incredible passion.

Marc Gellman is an incredible storyteller. His honesty and ability to become vulnerable for his readers is outstanding.

This is a true one-of-a-kind Love Story. This book reveals the power of love between two teenagers that blossomed into a lifetime of respect, love, and like.

It's about life, and the funny and poignant moments that the author weaves into a compelling story spanning five decades.

This is a poignant, funny, and memorable recounting of two soulmates. Their initial love, growing together, and most of all, you will believe that true love does exist.

Oh, my goodness ... I laughed and cried and fell in love with this couple. They were made for each other.

In a world of so much disparity, it is wonderful to remember what the words love, and commitment really mean. Marc writes with great passion, detail, and flow.