Marian Fontana — A Widow’s Walk

Vanity Fair 0905

Publishers Weekly
August 1, 2005

September 11, 2001, was the eighth anniversary of Fontana's wedding to firefighter Dave-they had plans for a night on the town-and the second day of kindergarten for their son, Aidan. Dave’s last call to her was from the World Trade Tower site after the first plane crashed; he promised to call back in 20 minutes. “This is the worst day of my life,” he said. The first chapters of this book follow the grim days of waiting and hoping almost hour by hour, then chronicle the first few of an endless succession of wakes and funerals. Nothing about this widowhood was normal, including its morbid celebrity, the attention of Mayor Giuliani and Senator Clinton and the sometimes predatory media, and the gifts and perks showered on the families. Fontana quickly became a leader in the sisterhood of grieving women (Dave’s Brooklyn company, Squad 1, lost 12 men) and is now the president of the 9/11 Widows and Victims’ Family Association. Her book is far more personal than political, however, and Fontana’s keen eye and ear make for an absorbing account of the first year of coping with historic tragedy. Trained as a comedian and actress, she has been writing skits and monologues since graduating from the High School of Performing Arts, and her observations are colorful, often funny and sometimes merciless. With its built-in drama and pathos and excellent pacing, this book should bring Fontana to the attention of talk shows nationwide. Agent, Susan Golomb. (Sept.)

People Magazine 2005

Kirkus Review
July 1, 2005

Fontana tugs at the heartstrings in this engrossing, inspiring 9/11 memoir. The author married firefighter Dave Fontana on September 11, 1993, and they were supposed to spend their eighth wedding anniversary toddling hand-in-hand through the Whitney Museum. But Dave never made it home that day; he died at Ground Zero. Marian mourned, gave countless interviews to reporters, planned Dave’s wake, wrote his eulogy and conferred with other widows. Gradually, she became a skilled political organizer, founding the 9-11 Widows’ and Victims’ Families Association. She used her newfound media cachet to educate people about the lousy wages firefighters are paid and to weigh in on the debates surrounding compensation to victims’ families. She met with mayors and senators, and she now serves on the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation's Family Advisory Committee. Fontana is a good writer, with an ear for phrasing and a focus on small, poignant details: We see her plucking strands of salt-and-pepper hair from Dave’s hairbrush, because she needs a sample of his DNA and brushing her teeth with his toothbrush, “secretly pretend[ing] I was being kissed.” An impassioned, non-manipulative memorial, timed to coincide with the fourth anniversary of 9/11.

About A Widow’s Walk

“Gripping. Fontanta's firefighter husband died in the World Trade Center, Her narrative skill draws the reader in.”

—The Washington Post

“Deeply affecting, terribly poignant memoir.”

—John Marshall, The Seattle Post-Intelligencer

“Marian Fontana has written a spectacularly beautiful, insightful, and wrenching memoir detailing the year that followed her personal, and collective, tragedy.”

—Parent + Teacher Exchange

“Fontana’s own story is one of almost unbearable grief, slow recovery, and, ultimately, personal growth. She is a graceful writer, and the book is emotional without being maudlin.”

—David Pitt, Booklist

“A 9/11 widow's remarkable memoir makes a much-covered public event into a riveting private narrative...."A Widow's Walk," manages to make an exhaustively covered public event into a riveting private narrative. Fontana, who's written and performed comedy, has a sharp eye for detail and filled her account with rich characters, vivid scenes and a vast range of emotions. There's her desperate, volcanic heartbreak, of course, but she's also a keen recorder of the nuances of human feeling and behavior; she even gives her sorrowful story unexpected flashes of irreverent humor.”

—Cathleen McGuigan, Newsweek

“Fontana's keen eye and ear make for an absorbing account of the first year of coping with historic tragedy....With its built-in drama and pathos and excellent pacing, this book should bring Fontana to the attention of talk shows nationwide.”

—Publisher's Weekly

"Intelligent and insightful, honest and humorous."

—Anne Neville, The Buffalo News

In her courageous book, A Widow's Walk, Marian Fontana, brings us into the life of a firefighter's wife, and shows us a mother’s love that transcends all hurt, and a widow’s love that preserves the memory of her husband Dave—as beautiful a husband and father as can be found. This book is a homage to him, and to all those who lost their lives at the World Trade Center. There is literary greatness in this book which even the best of today’s fiction cannot stand up to….We see a woman who resolves to bring the 9/11 families together to protect their interest—the country's interest—in preserving the honor that accompanied our greatest tragedy. There is no better way to mark that honor than to read this story."

—Dennis Smith, author of Report From Ground Zero

“A Widow’s Walk is not only a deeply moving portrait of familial grief, a tribute to the firefighters who died on 9/11, a call to action for justice for those most affected by the tragedy, and an insider’s bracing take on the political machinations that followed, but also, a snapshot of our country at a time of crisis. The miracle of Fontana's tale is that it is somehow funny —painfully funny—and true-to-life, and redemptive. It makes you wonder how we, as a nation, have gone so long without this book.”

—Elissa Schappell, author of
Use Me and The Friend Who Got Away

“More than a chronicle of grief, more than a tale of how tragedy prompted courageous activism, A Widow’s Walk is a love story. How sweet and wonderful that Marian Fontana introduces us not just to the hero firefighter that perished in 9/11, but also to the loving husband, doting father, and steadfast friend that Dave Fontana so clearly was.”

—Philip Van Munching, author of
Boys Will Put You On A Pedestal

“A memoir remarkable for its keen, close descriptions and characterizations, its humor and strength, and its great, hope-filled heart.”

—Elle magazine (September)

“But more than anything, Fontana exhibits in her writing and through her dedication and work with the 9/11 Widows and Victims Family Association an indestructible spirit and a deep love for one of the many men who gave everything they had.”

—Helen Ubinas, Herald News

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