To her friend, merry widow seems to be obsessed with herself

Eight months ago, after a brief illness, my 57-year-old friend's husband passed away. Their marriage had always been a bit rocky, and after his death we learned that he'd been involved in some questionable activities. Needless to say, her emotions ran the gamut from disbelief to anger to grief.

During this time, I was there for her to listen, care and encourage, and supported her decision to seek professional counseling.

But now I'm concerned she might be moving too quickly through this process. In the past five months, she's had cosmetic surgery, lost a lot of weight, traveled internationally and moved into a new home. My friend is an exceptionally bright woman, and far more capable than most. She tells me, "Life is short, and I've decided to be happy." She's excited about potential summer romances with men she's meeting online. Our conversations are now 95 percent about her: her new body, all the men who are smitten with her, how great her job is, her new house and how much fun she's having. She shows little genuine interest in my life, which I suspect she considers a bit boring.

While I'm truly glad she's not miserable, our time together has become intolerable. Her self-absorption and lack of insight into how others might react to so many radical changes so quickly are perplexing. I briefly expressed some of my concerns, but her response was, "Would you rather see me as a maudlin, grieving widow?"

Is it possible to power through so many life changes so quickly without collateral damage? And how can I handle my discomfort in spending time with her?

You can stop conflating your dismay about her rudeness with concerns about the appropriateness of her recovery.

She had her disbelief, anger, grief and counseling. Now, she's having a party. If that sums up her emotional progression accurately, then I don't have much to say about it - except, good for her.

If there's more to it, if she's suffering, unmoored, overcompensating and headed for trouble, then that's obviously a concern; laying on the distractions is one common response to grief. However, she hasn't asked you - or me - for an opinion. Until you see some sign that she's in trouble or you're invited to comment, your place is on the sideline.

Full disclosure: Her "lack of insight into how others might react to so many radical changes so quickly" is a quality I wish I could patent and sell. It's her body, passport, address and life; if only more people were willing to perplex their loved ones with a giddy burst of renewal.

When "she shows little genuine interest" in your life, on the other hand, that's not about the way she's conducting her recovery; that's about the way she's conducting her end of your friendship, and that is your business.

So the answer to your second question, how to handle your discomfort, is to treat it as separate from her merry widowhood. Accordingly, tell her of your frustration without editorializing on her boob job. As in: "I don't begrudge you your new life. It's just that when we talk about it to the exclusion of other things, I feel as if my life no longer matters to you."