---
product_id: 32299626
title: "In a Dark Wood: A Memoir – A Widower and New Father's Poignant Journey Through Loss, Guided by Dante and Family"
price: "€ 25.57"
currency: EUR
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 9
url: https://www.desertcart.it/products/32299626-in-a-dark-wood-a-memoir-a-widower-and-new
store_origin: IT
region: Italy
---

# In a Dark Wood: A Memoir – A Widower and New Father's Poignant Journey Through Loss, Guided by Dante and Family

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## Description

In a Dark Wood: A Memoir – A Widower and New Father's Poignant Journey Through Loss, Guided by Dante and Family [Luzzi, Joseph] on desertcart.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. In a Dark Wood: A Memoir – A Widower and New Father's Poignant Journey Through Loss, Guided by Dante and Family

Review: A Terrific Account of One Man's Search for For His Humanity - When Joseph Luzzi lost his wife and almost his new borne daughter in a sudden accident his world fell apart. Using a topic he teaches in college, Dante's "Divine Comedy" he paralleled his search towards (for want of a better word) personal salvation. Along the way he discusses in unflinching terms his relationships with his family, his child, his past life, and how he has to look into his own soul to find what matters. And he writes well! I have heard the author speak in several online lectures, and he knows how to communicate. This is an intense read and can be personally disturbing, but ultimately it gives hope to all of us.
Review: Like other reviewers - There are few books that stay with me after I have read the last word. In a Dark Wood is one of them that did. When I first discovered this book, I was skeptical. Mr. Luzzi is a Yale graduate and professor of Italian Studies at Bard College. I feared that his book was going to be a dry, academic study of Dante and Death. But my fears were unfounded. Except for a few passages that went on longer than I think they needed to, the book was down-to-earth and accessible. Like other reviewers, I found the non-chronological order jarring, but maybe that was the way Mr. Luzzi was thinking and reacting at that time in his life—with scattered memories of searing grief mixed with the joy that Dante’s Inferno, tennis, great literature and art brought to his life. His editor did not seem to find the shifts in time problematic enough to merit changing. But I personally would have preferred to have read the events in chronological order, being more interested in the journey of grief than the often long passages of academic reflection. But that’s just me. Mr. Luzzi’s memoir of grief was striking in its honesty and bold in its reflection of the emotional and physical needs of a man who has lost his partner to tragedy. At first I was put off by what Mr. Luzzi himself later describes as selfish, self-absorbed reactions to his horrendous loss. For me, the story got good during the last 50 pages or so when he began to reclaim his role as a father. The passages where he describes the hair-pulling, nerve-wracking moments when he and his new partner, Helena, had to endure the understandably frustrating tantrums of a toddler being uprooted from the only home she had known were poignant and heart wrenching. Any parent will relate to how difficult, yet how important, those moments are in a family’s life. Ultimately, Mr. Luzzi came to understand how important his daughter was to him, which is the cathartic point of healing for not only him, but his daughter as well. I highly recommend this book to all those who are grieving the loss of a loved one. As Mr. Luzzi came to understand, it was this incredibly difficult event in his life that finally led him back to the man he always wanted to be: a writer for the masses rather than the elite; a father and family man rather than a bachelor. I wish Mr. Luzzi and his family continued love and healing, strength which they can now pass onto others who are suffering loss and heartbreak in their own lives.

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | #134,665 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #251 in Author Biographies #433 in Political Leader Biographies #2,736 in Memoirs (Books) |
| Customer Reviews | 4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars (115) |
| Dimensions  | 0.72 x 5.31 x 8 inches |
| Edition  | Reprint |
| ISBN-10  | 0062357522 |
| ISBN-13  | 978-0062357526 |
| Item Weight  | 8.6 ounces |
| Language  | English |
| Print length  | 320 pages |
| Publication date  | June 14, 2016 |
| Publisher  | Harper Perennial |

## Images

![In a Dark Wood: A Memoir – A Widower and New Father's Poignant Journey Through Loss, Guided by Dante and Family - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41IEY-d5U4L.jpg)
![In a Dark Wood: A Memoir – A Widower and New Father's Poignant Journey Through Loss, Guided by Dante and Family - Image 2](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81LkiOldzuL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A Terrific Account of One Man's Search for For His Humanity
*by A***R on February 12, 2022*

When Joseph Luzzi lost his wife and almost his new borne daughter in a sudden accident his world fell apart. Using a topic he teaches in college, Dante's "Divine Comedy" he paralleled his search towards (for want of a better word) personal salvation. Along the way he discusses in unflinching terms his relationships with his family, his child, his past life, and how he has to look into his own soul to find what matters. And he writes well! I have heard the author speak in several online lectures, and he knows how to communicate. This is an intense read and can be personally disturbing, but ultimately it gives hope to all of us.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Like other reviewers
*by S***R on July 16, 2015*

There are few books that stay with me after I have read the last word. In a Dark Wood is one of them that did. When I first discovered this book, I was skeptical. Mr. Luzzi is a Yale graduate and professor of Italian Studies at Bard College. I feared that his book was going to be a dry, academic study of Dante and Death. But my fears were unfounded. Except for a few passages that went on longer than I think they needed to, the book was down-to-earth and accessible. Like other reviewers, I found the non-chronological order jarring, but maybe that was the way Mr. Luzzi was thinking and reacting at that time in his life—with scattered memories of searing grief mixed with the joy that Dante’s Inferno, tennis, great literature and art brought to his life. His editor did not seem to find the shifts in time problematic enough to merit changing. But I personally would have preferred to have read the events in chronological order, being more interested in the journey of grief than the often long passages of academic reflection. But that’s just me. Mr. Luzzi’s memoir of grief was striking in its honesty and bold in its reflection of the emotional and physical needs of a man who has lost his partner to tragedy. At first I was put off by what Mr. Luzzi himself later describes as selfish, self-absorbed reactions to his horrendous loss. For me, the story got good during the last 50 pages or so when he began to reclaim his role as a father. The passages where he describes the hair-pulling, nerve-wracking moments when he and his new partner, Helena, had to endure the understandably frustrating tantrums of a toddler being uprooted from the only home she had known were poignant and heart wrenching. Any parent will relate to how difficult, yet how important, those moments are in a family’s life. Ultimately, Mr. Luzzi came to understand how important his daughter was to him, which is the cathartic point of healing for not only him, but his daughter as well. I highly recommend this book to all those who are grieving the loss of a loved one. As Mr. Luzzi came to understand, it was this incredibly difficult event in his life that finally led him back to the man he always wanted to be: a writer for the masses rather than the elite; a father and family man rather than a bachelor. I wish Mr. Luzzi and his family continued love and healing, strength which they can now pass onto others who are suffering loss and heartbreak in their own lives.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Read this moving memoir
*by E***B on June 25, 2025*

Super memoir by excellent writer who suffered almost unspeakable situation and how he emerged strengthened. Readers and Romantics will love it.

## Frequently Bought Together

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*Product available on Desertcart Italy*
*Store origin: IT*
*Last updated: 2026-01-25*