FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE—Toronto, ON, Thursday, February 19, 2026  — Following the February 2 release of her acclaimed grief memoir Habits of Widows, author, occupational therapist, and educator Rondalyn Whitney’s companion book, Lies in the Afterlife, will be published by Ingenium Books in April.

Where Habits of Widows chronicles the first 366 days after the sudden death of Whitney’s husband of three decades—examining grief through the lens of daily habits, routines, and occupational health—Lies in the Afterlife moves deeper into the absurd, disorienting terrain of life after loss. Sharp, irreverent, and darkly funny, the new book explores what Whitney calls the Afterlife: the lived reality of those left behind after a partner dies.

Blending narrative prose, poetic reflection, and professional insight, Lies in the Afterlife dismantles the platitudes, euphemisms, and cultural myths that surround grief. Whitney names the unspoken lies mourners are expected to accept—about healing timelines, resilience, loneliness, and moving on—and replaces them with language that acknowledges grief as a full-body, full-life disruption.

“Death is an insult just as powerful as a heart attack or a stroke,” Whitney writes. “And yet we leave people to survive it without a guide.” As in Habits of Widows, she draws on her background in occupational therapy to frame grief as an occupational disruption—one that affects cognition, the body, identity, and the most basic activities of daily living.

“Together, Habits of Widows and Lies in the Afterlife form a rare and complementary pair,” says Boni Wagner-Stafford, Ingenium Books publisher. “One is grounded in disciplined daily witnessing, the other in unflinching truth-telling. Read separately or together, they offer companionship, language, and validation to those navigating loss, and insight to anyone who wants to better understand what grief actually asks of the living.”

Lies in the Afterlife will be published by Ingenium Books in early April and is now available for preorder.

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