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Heartsick
Heartsick unpacks the destruction of love by following the true stories of three lives altered by a major heartbreak.
I wrote this book for the person who doesn’t want to be told that this too shall pass. Not yet. Who wants to sit with it. And see it for what it is. Who wants to know they’re not alone. That their pain is at once unique and universal. Belonging to them and everyone.
When we’re thrown into the chaos of heartsickness, we focus so much on the end. The fact we are now unloved seems so much more important than the reality that we once were.
This book was born in the hours I’ve waited for men to message me back and who never did…
In the years full of almost-relationships, I thought, “I cannot handle another rejection,” and then found myself turned down by someone I wasn’t even sure I liked. I wrote this book because I know what it is to feel fundamentally unlovable. I knew when I was looking for Ana, Patrick, and Claire that their stories had to be true, because within them would be nuances I’d never noticed before and realities I couldn’t have invented. I didn’t want to be limited by what I happened to know about love and loss. I wanted to learn from people as I wrote, injecting wisdom from different places and genders and ages into this book.
Weaving together these three true stories, Jessie Stephens captures the painful but wholeheartedly universal experience of heartbreak. Deeply relatable, addictive to the very last page, and powerfully human, Heartsick reminds us that emotional pain can make us as it breaks us and that storytelling has the ultimate healing power.
In the solitude that reading a book demands, one is forced to reflect on one’s own life. After all, every time we explore others, we’re mostly just exploring ourselves.
These are their stories―Ana’s and Patrick’s and Claire’s. But it is also my story and our story. I trust within it you will find echoes of yourself.
I wrote this book for the person who doesn’t want to be told that this too shall pass. Not yet. Who wants to sit with it. And see it for what it is. Who wants to know they’re not alone. That their pain is at once unique and universal. Belonging to them and everyone.
When we’re thrown into the chaos of heartsickness, we focus so much on the end. The fact we are now unloved seems so much more important than the reality that we once were.
This book was born in the hours I’ve waited for men to message me back and who never did…
In the years full of almost-relationships, I thought, “I cannot handle another rejection,” and then found myself turned down by someone I wasn’t even sure I liked. I wrote this book because I know what it is to feel fundamentally unlovable. I knew when I was looking for Ana, Patrick, and Claire that their stories had to be true, because within them would be nuances I’d never noticed before and realities I couldn’t have invented. I didn’t want to be limited by what I happened to know about love and loss. I wanted to learn from people as I wrote, injecting wisdom from different places and genders and ages into this book.
Weaving together these three true stories, Jessie Stephens captures the painful but wholeheartedly universal experience of heartbreak. Deeply relatable, addictive to the very last page, and powerfully human, Heartsick reminds us that emotional pain can make us as it breaks us and that storytelling has the ultimate healing power.
In the solitude that reading a book demands, one is forced to reflect on one’s own life. After all, every time we explore others, we’re mostly just exploring ourselves.
These are their stories―Ana’s and Patrick’s and Claire’s. But it is also my story and our story. I trust within it you will find echoes of yourself.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published March 30, 2021
407 people are currently reading
10972 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 586 reviews
August 17, 2022
Heartsick shares three stories about love, pain, and what happens in between. The book follows Claire, Patrick, and Ana in their separate relationships — The ups and downs, the elation and devastation. I felt very invested in these three stories and while I did not agree with all of their actions, I felt for each of them.
Author Jessie Stephens notes “I wrote this book for the person who doesn’t want to be told that this too shall pass. Not yet. Who wants to sit in it. Sit with it. And see it for what it is. Who wants to know they’re not alone. That their pain is at once unique and universal. Belonging to them and everyone.”
True heartbreak is an awful feeling but Stephens does a great job exploring it in Heartsick.
Author Jessie Stephens notes “I wrote this book for the person who doesn’t want to be told that this too shall pass. Not yet. Who wants to sit in it. Sit with it. And see it for what it is. Who wants to know they’re not alone. That their pain is at once unique and universal. Belonging to them and everyone.”
True heartbreak is an awful feeling but Stephens does a great job exploring it in Heartsick.
February 20, 2021
I absolutely inhaled this book within 2 days. A raw, honest and compelling biography about 3 different people entering into the perfect relationship, living through it, and then experiencing the devastating heartbreak when it ends. There are elements of all 3 people which we all identify with. I loved the diversity of the 3 relationships and think it was wonderful to have a male perspective and to have representation from the LGBTIQ community included. Very much for fans of Three Women... but even better as the emotions pack a punch.
July 10, 2022
Life is not about what could have been, but rather what is.
...all symbols of love functioning as it should.
Is it a curse to want it too badly?
...the roots of their suffering grow from the same soil. That their loneliness binds them, rather than isolates them, and isn't that the ultimate irony? That nothing makes us more human, more united with every person and every culture in every period in history than the emotion that tells us I am all alone.
But what 'should' be love, what makes us happy? Can there be two types of being in love, can you love more than one person at a time?
Author and Mamamia contributor has written about three real life people in various stages of their lives, in various forms of sexuality, in various forms of love and wanting.
They are sad stories, of wanting what they deserve, what they shouldn't want and what they can't have.
These themes were depressing as the characters weren't happy where they were, and I found this made me sad and my mood was low listening to this. The writing was good, and the concepts interesting, but lots of people struggling and lots of depression. This is not a book to read for feeling good. The author was honest and did lay her heart on the line, this would have taken strength, tenacity and a huge dose of vulnerability.
It does cover the real issue of romantic relationship breakdown as being a significant factor to suicide, when peers and parents may not realise the seriousness of these feelings. This book shows this can also belong to men, too.
Only recommended if you feel you have the strength to do so. I'd say this is a 2.5 star rating for me, rounded down. I was looking forward to this book, but it did not end up being what I expected. Also, authors are not necessarily trained narrators, I think I am a little spoiled with amazing narrators lately.
...all symbols of love functioning as it should.
Is it a curse to want it too badly?
...the roots of their suffering grow from the same soil. That their loneliness binds them, rather than isolates them, and isn't that the ultimate irony? That nothing makes us more human, more united with every person and every culture in every period in history than the emotion that tells us I am all alone.
But what 'should' be love, what makes us happy? Can there be two types of being in love, can you love more than one person at a time?
Author and Mamamia contributor has written about three real life people in various stages of their lives, in various forms of sexuality, in various forms of love and wanting.
They are sad stories, of wanting what they deserve, what they shouldn't want and what they can't have.
These themes were depressing as the characters weren't happy where they were, and I found this made me sad and my mood was low listening to this. The writing was good, and the concepts interesting, but lots of people struggling and lots of depression. This is not a book to read for feeling good. The author was honest and did lay her heart on the line, this would have taken strength, tenacity and a huge dose of vulnerability.
It does cover the real issue of romantic relationship breakdown as being a significant factor to suicide, when peers and parents may not realise the seriousness of these feelings. This book shows this can also belong to men, too.
Only recommended if you feel you have the strength to do so. I'd say this is a 2.5 star rating for me, rounded down. I was looking forward to this book, but it did not end up being what I expected. Also, authors are not necessarily trained narrators, I think I am a little spoiled with amazing narrators lately.
July 21, 2021
Didn't love this. It wasn't hard to finish by any means, but the indifference I very quickly felt toward the characters didn't budge. I found Ana especially insufferable. Patrick was boring, and honestly, a low tier boyfriend. Claire's story was hard to read [listen to] at times - the pity and discomfort was overwhelming, even excruciating at times.
I enjoyed Stephens' personal essay on love and loss at the end moreso than the rest of the book. Upon reflection, the discomfort and lack of closure this book brings is probably what has (and will) set it apart from similar books (though apparently this is a piece of non fiction?). Once I got past that, I started to appreciate what she was trying to create - because relationship breakdowns are never as facile as we hope.
Perhaps I'd have enjoyed the book more if I had read it. Stephens' narration felt flat a lot of the time. The vibe was kind of..."I'm sat in my Year 11 English class and my teacher's asked me to read aloud Chapter 3 *sigh*".
I suspect this book would've ended sooner if these characters went to their local GP, got a referral and sought therapy, because they all definitely need it (Ana, I'm looking at you). 3.5/5
I enjoyed Stephens' personal essay on love and loss at the end moreso than the rest of the book. Upon reflection, the discomfort and lack of closure this book brings is probably what has (and will) set it apart from similar books (though apparently this is a piece of non fiction?). Once I got past that, I started to appreciate what she was trying to create - because relationship breakdowns are never as facile as we hope.
Perhaps I'd have enjoyed the book more if I had read it. Stephens' narration felt flat a lot of the time. The vibe was kind of..."I'm sat in my Year 11 English class and my teacher's asked me to read aloud Chapter 3 *sigh*".
I suspect this book would've ended sooner if these characters went to their local GP, got a referral and sought therapy, because they all definitely need it (Ana, I'm looking at you). 3.5/5
February 22, 2021
My choice of reading is fiction. Not normally non-fiction and definitely not what I see as self-help, yet, I spent the weekend reading this after being encouraged to read this by a colleague. I will totally admit it is not at all what I was expecting. I even had a few emotional moments as memories of my own painful, mostly forgotten (or purposely shut out) experiences that were so well described by Jessie with her characters' stories.
This is not your typical self-help book about how to get over a broken heart or how to get revenge or even worse "here are some platitudes that mean nothing at all so now buck up and get on with life". What Jessie has done is create a totally absorbing story of three people who are all different ages and in varying stages and situations in life and their very real experiences of heartbreak.
Most of the book is about Ana, Claire and Patrick and their stories but it is written so much like a fiction novel that I actually forgot I was supposedly reading a non-fiction/relationship book. It is only towards the end that Jessie pops in with her own voice and comments on love, being 'heartsick' and relationships.
There is nothing 'preachy' about this book. It doesn't give you a quick cure for that broken heart or how to find 'the one' etc etc etc. This is a book for all people of any age that helps the reader feel less alone in their experiences. It is a book about grief, loneliness, expectations, rejection and love, but mostly about being human
This is not your typical self-help book about how to get over a broken heart or how to get revenge or even worse "here are some platitudes that mean nothing at all so now buck up and get on with life". What Jessie has done is create a totally absorbing story of three people who are all different ages and in varying stages and situations in life and their very real experiences of heartbreak.
Most of the book is about Ana, Claire and Patrick and their stories but it is written so much like a fiction novel that I actually forgot I was supposedly reading a non-fiction/relationship book. It is only towards the end that Jessie pops in with her own voice and comments on love, being 'heartsick' and relationships.
There is nothing 'preachy' about this book. It doesn't give you a quick cure for that broken heart or how to find 'the one' etc etc etc. This is a book for all people of any age that helps the reader feel less alone in their experiences. It is a book about grief, loneliness, expectations, rejection and love, but mostly about being human
November 23, 2025
Heartsick by Jessie Stephens
★★★★
Heartsick follows three real people—Claire, Patrick and Ana. They each navigate the raw experience of heartbreak, revealing how love’s collapse can reshape a life. Through compassionate, novel-like storytelling, Jessie Stephens shows that emotional pain is both deeply personal and universally human.
I loved reading Something Bad Is Going to Happen, so picking this up was a no brainer. True to Jessie’s fantastic story writing ability, she convey heartbreak through three unique stories. I obviously favoured and connected with Ana’s story the most and connected deeply with her pain of motherhood and longing for a different life.
I sort of wished the stories were interconnected. I think that would have been really fun. But I did love how the books bounced between story and story. It was staggered with the different stages of heartbreak which I thought was very clever.
Gimme the next thing, Jessie writes please! I adore the way she writes and tells a heartfelt story!
💔📖🌧️✨
💭 Have you ever experienced heartbreak?
Pour a hot drink, it’s book talk time.
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★★★★
Heartsick follows three real people—Claire, Patrick and Ana. They each navigate the raw experience of heartbreak, revealing how love’s collapse can reshape a life. Through compassionate, novel-like storytelling, Jessie Stephens shows that emotional pain is both deeply personal and universally human.
I loved reading Something Bad Is Going to Happen, so picking this up was a no brainer. True to Jessie’s fantastic story writing ability, she convey heartbreak through three unique stories. I obviously favoured and connected with Ana’s story the most and connected deeply with her pain of motherhood and longing for a different life.
I sort of wished the stories were interconnected. I think that would have been really fun. But I did love how the books bounced between story and story. It was staggered with the different stages of heartbreak which I thought was very clever.
Gimme the next thing, Jessie writes please! I adore the way she writes and tells a heartfelt story!
💔📖🌧️✨
💭 Have you ever experienced heartbreak?
Pour a hot drink, it’s book talk time.
TikTok
April 27, 2022
"I want a book that puts words around how I'm feeling and doesn't try to make me feel something different"
Heart Sick is full of raw feelings, their souls and heart bare on the pages. I love the diversity and different perspective from male and female.
Release: June 2022
#Heartsick
Heart Sick is full of raw feelings, their souls and heart bare on the pages. I love the diversity and different perspective from male and female.
Release: June 2022
#Heartsick
December 5, 2022
I literally read this book in one sitting. These stories are so touching and relatable. So heartbreaking and deep. You'll feel touched by each one. I loved how it shows the stories of each from beginning to end and just pulls you in gripping your seat to see how each one plays out.
I won this from a Goodreads giveaway. All statements above are my true opinions after fully reading this book.
I won this from a Goodreads giveaway. All statements above are my true opinions after fully reading this book.
July 23, 2022
I loved every second of this
June 13, 2021
Three well written stories about relationship breakdowns. However, I cannot let go of this book’s non fiction classification status (OK - librarian disclaimer). I’m even annoyed to the extent I had to check the Dewey number - 306.73 (sexual relations/ dating behaviour). This is not non fiction - rather, here are stories based on real people. Fifteen pages of analysis at the back of the book do not justify this book’s inclusion on a NF shelf.
The front and back cover blurbs add even more to my angst: “remarkable longform journalism”, “a delight” and “grippingly told” - no, enough with the hype.
Let’s settle on - three very good short stories.
The front and back cover blurbs add even more to my angst: “remarkable longform journalism”, “a delight” and “grippingly told” - no, enough with the hype.
Let’s settle on - three very good short stories.
July 5, 2023
The author of the book found herself utterly bewildered when she was dumped by her boyfriend with no warning whatsoever and set about trying to 'rationalise' her experience by reading about similar cases. Finding no book that actually analysed the circumstances of love and the heartbreak that followed the loss of that love, she set about to write about it herself. But this is no fictional account - the book is the tale of three people, all of whom have opened their hearts and souls to the author in telling their own personal love-and-loss tales: what happened and how they coped (or failed to cope) in the aftermath of rejection:
'Claire' from Toowoomba flies to London to spread her wings and discover herself, accompanied by her best friend, Yazmin. Meeting Maggie, ironically introduced to her by Yazmin, she launches into a relationship that, despite warnings from Yazmin, results in marriage by civil ceremony and then the couple returning to Toowoomba - where the relationship crashes and burns;
'Patrick' from Perth has never had a girlfriend or a relationship. On a web design course at college, he meets Caitlin and falls for her completely. Surprised when his feelings are reciprocated, the couple launch on a loving relationship for several years, eventually getting engaged, until Caitlin suddenly calls a halt to things - leaving Patrick distraught and uncomprehending;
'Ana' from Sydney is married to Paul and has three children but has always felt drawn to Paul's friend Rob. Rob is married and now lives in Sri Lanka but regularly returns to Australia, where the couples get together. Ana realises that she has always dreamed of Rob and, although she loves Paul, the feelings are not quite the same. When Rob eventually leaves his wife, Ana finds that she cannot abandon her children or Paul - and is tortured by subsequent events.
These are quite gripping tales, told alternately as each person tells their story, and it is hard to keep reminding yourself as you are reading that these are in fact 'true' stories and not fiction (although obviously only told from one person's perspective). The author ends by analysing many aspects of relationships which at first glance seem obvious but, when described in print, are quite eye-opening and the reference to younger male suicide rates being significantly influenced by relationship break-ups was quite shocking.
Overall, a very different read which I found interesting and engrossing - 8.5/10.
'Claire' from Toowoomba flies to London to spread her wings and discover herself, accompanied by her best friend, Yazmin. Meeting Maggie, ironically introduced to her by Yazmin, she launches into a relationship that, despite warnings from Yazmin, results in marriage by civil ceremony and then the couple returning to Toowoomba - where the relationship crashes and burns;
'Patrick' from Perth has never had a girlfriend or a relationship. On a web design course at college, he meets Caitlin and falls for her completely. Surprised when his feelings are reciprocated, the couple launch on a loving relationship for several years, eventually getting engaged, until Caitlin suddenly calls a halt to things - leaving Patrick distraught and uncomprehending;
'Ana' from Sydney is married to Paul and has three children but has always felt drawn to Paul's friend Rob. Rob is married and now lives in Sri Lanka but regularly returns to Australia, where the couples get together. Ana realises that she has always dreamed of Rob and, although she loves Paul, the feelings are not quite the same. When Rob eventually leaves his wife, Ana finds that she cannot abandon her children or Paul - and is tortured by subsequent events.
These are quite gripping tales, told alternately as each person tells their story, and it is hard to keep reminding yourself as you are reading that these are in fact 'true' stories and not fiction (although obviously only told from one person's perspective). The author ends by analysing many aspects of relationships which at first glance seem obvious but, when described in print, are quite eye-opening and the reference to younger male suicide rates being significantly influenced by relationship break-ups was quite shocking.
Overall, a very different read which I found interesting and engrossing - 8.5/10.
June 28, 2021
In Heartsick, longform journalism meets raw heartbreak in a profound and original way. Stephens unravels the beast that is heartbreak through the lives of three Australian lovers. She does so gently and empathetically, but does not shy from the complexity and contribution of each person to the breakdown of their relationship.
Stephens writes with such a realness and familiarity that, probably for the first time ever, I realised the paradox of the universality of individualised heartache.
This book provoked the thought that, despite heartbreak being a concept readily available in music, movies and discourse, "heartbreak does not seem to be a brand of grief we respect". I tend to agree that people rally around their broken hearted friends at the moment of impact, or after the "glow up", but largely don't know how to support them in the painful weeks and months afterwards as they process the grief.
I particularly loved the author's concluding notes, which points out the social conditioning that empowers women to experience heartbreak, but paralyses men from acknowledging, embracing, or communicating the ache they feel. My favourite quote is below:
"Men have no blueprint for how they are supposed to behave, no vocabulary for the pain they feel in their bodies. Women have been conditioned from childhood that we will have our hearts broken. It comes as a surprise for men, a dagger to the heart they don't expect to hurt so much. And we wonder why breakups are a risk factor in suicide for men. Perhaps because they are experiencing something painful, but have no words at their disposal to express it. This book is an attempt to put together a vocabulary, so that heartbreak can belong to men too."
I highly recommend this as an audiobook, and would love to see what Jessie Stephens writes in the future.
Stephens writes with such a realness and familiarity that, probably for the first time ever, I realised the paradox of the universality of individualised heartache.
This book provoked the thought that, despite heartbreak being a concept readily available in music, movies and discourse, "heartbreak does not seem to be a brand of grief we respect". I tend to agree that people rally around their broken hearted friends at the moment of impact, or after the "glow up", but largely don't know how to support them in the painful weeks and months afterwards as they process the grief.
I particularly loved the author's concluding notes, which points out the social conditioning that empowers women to experience heartbreak, but paralyses men from acknowledging, embracing, or communicating the ache they feel. My favourite quote is below:
"Men have no blueprint for how they are supposed to behave, no vocabulary for the pain they feel in their bodies. Women have been conditioned from childhood that we will have our hearts broken. It comes as a surprise for men, a dagger to the heart they don't expect to hurt so much. And we wonder why breakups are a risk factor in suicide for men. Perhaps because they are experiencing something painful, but have no words at their disposal to express it. This book is an attempt to put together a vocabulary, so that heartbreak can belong to men too."
I highly recommend this as an audiobook, and would love to see what Jessie Stephens writes in the future.
April 11, 2021
Heartsick put into words exactly the sensation of having love ripped away. The physical impact it has on your body. The devastating impact it has on your sense of self. Every painful swing it hits against your being. It vocalised that emotion over and over again, and every single time it felt like a fresh wound.
I know that sounds somewhat traumatising to read again and again and again, but Jessie's ability to put this into words has a remarkable power to transform something that we inherently feel as 'lonely' into a universal state. Something to bond over, rather than isolate with.
The three stories tracked in this novel bring their own brand of pain (and hope) through their individual journeys. Pulling in elements from country Australia, central London and a Perth university, this book feels familiar in exactly the way you want it to as your pour over its pages.
The fact that this is Jessie Stephen's debut novel is insane. She is a true talent that portrays emotions on her pages in a brutally honest and beautiful way. This is just the start for Jessie, and I can't wait to read her next creation.
I know that sounds somewhat traumatising to read again and again and again, but Jessie's ability to put this into words has a remarkable power to transform something that we inherently feel as 'lonely' into a universal state. Something to bond over, rather than isolate with.
The three stories tracked in this novel bring their own brand of pain (and hope) through their individual journeys. Pulling in elements from country Australia, central London and a Perth university, this book feels familiar in exactly the way you want it to as your pour over its pages.
The fact that this is Jessie Stephen's debut novel is insane. She is a true talent that portrays emotions on her pages in a brutally honest and beautiful way. This is just the start for Jessie, and I can't wait to read her next creation.
January 5, 2022
I read this at the end of December, which was lucky because I think it might’ve just taken one of the top spots for my 2021 reads. Amazing 👏
The three stories in the book each had me so invested. I had to keep reminding myself these are real stories, because I was waiting for the justice to be dealt to the bad guys, or for the happy endings, but realised this is real life and we don’t always get that kind of closure. You follow each of the characters through the joys of finding love and the ecstasy they feel with the passionate lust of the honeymoon period, through to the ultimate heart break and end of the relationships (sorry, but I don’t think that’s a spoiler based on the name of the book 🤷♀️) . The emotions felt so raw and genuine, with Jessie so beautifully capturing what it feels like to suffer a loss of a significant relationship.
If you’re not a fan of nonfiction, I would still recommend giving this one a go, because it doesn’t read like a typical non-fiction book. It is three beautiful tales of love, beginning to end, and if you want a book that gives you all the feels (but without a perfect ending tied up with a bow), I would highly recommend!
The three stories in the book each had me so invested. I had to keep reminding myself these are real stories, because I was waiting for the justice to be dealt to the bad guys, or for the happy endings, but realised this is real life and we don’t always get that kind of closure. You follow each of the characters through the joys of finding love and the ecstasy they feel with the passionate lust of the honeymoon period, through to the ultimate heart break and end of the relationships (sorry, but I don’t think that’s a spoiler based on the name of the book 🤷♀️) . The emotions felt so raw and genuine, with Jessie so beautifully capturing what it feels like to suffer a loss of a significant relationship.
If you’re not a fan of nonfiction, I would still recommend giving this one a go, because it doesn’t read like a typical non-fiction book. It is three beautiful tales of love, beginning to end, and if you want a book that gives you all the feels (but without a perfect ending tied up with a bow), I would highly recommend!
May 6, 2021
Puerile and rather boring. Shallow characters. Who cares if she shaved her legs and what she wore and if she had make up on. I could only feel sorry for all of them
May 11, 2022
nothing helps but to be understood for a bit.
June 30, 2021
The writing style felt very current. Lots of short, pithy observations. The characters were well fleshed out with little details, quite poetic in their delivery. The book was an exercise in teasing apart the pain and self-destructive nature of breakups. Did I want to be immersed in all that? No.
Poor hapless Patrick, didn’t have a clue, Claire was robbed of her self-esteem and Ana just dug a bloody great hole for herself. She has the least of my sympathy. I really didn’t want to tease apart all the tawdry and excruciating details of their broken hearts. I understand that the author may have been doing it as some kind of therapy and I hope she can now move on and write about something good.
Poor hapless Patrick, didn’t have a clue, Claire was robbed of her self-esteem and Ana just dug a bloody great hole for herself. She has the least of my sympathy. I really didn’t want to tease apart all the tawdry and excruciating details of their broken hearts. I understand that the author may have been doing it as some kind of therapy and I hope she can now move on and write about something good.
August 28, 2021
I absolutely adored this book. It explores three very different accounts of what it feels like to find love, the struggle of maintaining it, and dealing with the outcome of losing it. To find all three protagonists felt the same sense of isolation and pain made me as a reader feel a lot less alone in my own experiences. Stephens’ final chapter bought me to tears for a good thirty minutes. Highly recommend for anyone who is looking to reflect on the intricacies of love and heartbreak.
May 10, 2023
"---heartbreak lives in all of us. Deeper in some than in others. It doesn't mean we don't love now. It just means we've loved before. And that comes with us wherever we go."
"Love is magic and heartbreak is the price we pay. If magic can strike once, it can and will strike again.
And the real magic happens when the person on the other end loves you back."
4.5 stars
"Love is magic and heartbreak is the price we pay. If magic can strike once, it can and will strike again.
And the real magic happens when the person on the other end loves you back."
4.5 stars
June 10, 2025
Kind of like watching the Titanic knowing that the boat sinks, this book tells the story of three relationships that you know won’t survive the book. Felt like it was pressing a bruise inside my heart.
November 15, 2024
The highlight of this book was the epilogue. It was actually quite powerful and was essentially what I expected the whole way through the book. I found the three stories not really to be all that compelling - particularly Anna. Not sure if I loved the idea of following the idea of a woman cheating on her husband and then labelling it 'heart break.' Patrick’s was probably the most interesting of the lot, but again I didn’t really take too much from their stories and these could have been conveyed each on 2 pages..
Some great quotes in the epilogue though..
“Life is not about what could have been, but rather what is.”
“And isn’t that the ultimate irony? That nothing makes us more human, more united with every human.. than the very emotion that tells us; I am all alone..”
“You think on the day the whole world falls apart,the colour of the sky will change. But it doesn’t. It stays blue and your phone continues to vibrate, and you take the dog from a walk just like any other day..”
“We say things like “it wasn’t meant to be” or “everything happens for a reason” or “time heals all wounds” which all mean nothing, some of which aren’t even moderately true and the last which sends the message “I’ll let you get on with it then.”
"The world is full of people who put themselves back together. Love is magic and heartbreak is the price we pay. If magic can strike once, it can and will strike again."
Some great quotes in the epilogue though..
“Life is not about what could have been, but rather what is.”
“And isn’t that the ultimate irony? That nothing makes us more human, more united with every human.. than the very emotion that tells us; I am all alone..”
“You think on the day the whole world falls apart,the colour of the sky will change. But it doesn’t. It stays blue and your phone continues to vibrate, and you take the dog from a walk just like any other day..”
“We say things like “it wasn’t meant to be” or “everything happens for a reason” or “time heals all wounds” which all mean nothing, some of which aren’t even moderately true and the last which sends the message “I’ll let you get on with it then.”
"The world is full of people who put themselves back together. Love is magic and heartbreak is the price we pay. If magic can strike once, it can and will strike again."
December 16, 2021
As Stephens herself explains, this is a much-needed and super overdue book. For anyone who has experienced heartbreak, “Heartsick” will surely be a comfort. Through the three stories Stephens has chosen, there is enough that is universal to feel real empathy.
Having said that, the stories themselves weren’t, perhaps, as insightful as I might have hoped, in that the protagonists don’t do a heap of self-reflection during or after their relationships fall apart.
But, making up for this is Stephens’ brilliant essay “On Romantic Rejection” at the end of the novel. Here, her writing is at its best. I found the rest of the novel a bit “journalistic” (I might have expected too much from the prose after Lisa Taddeo’s ‘Three Women’) but in the essay, Stephens writing is erudite and expressive. The quotes she has chosen would have been such a comfort in times of heartbreak, as opposed to the quotes that do get thrown at you (“plenty of fish in the sea”, “never liked them anyway…” etc.).
I’d love to know how these three protagonists are going now. Perhaps a little update would be reassuring to know that there can be hope on the horizon!
Having said that, the stories themselves weren’t, perhaps, as insightful as I might have hoped, in that the protagonists don’t do a heap of self-reflection during or after their relationships fall apart.
But, making up for this is Stephens’ brilliant essay “On Romantic Rejection” at the end of the novel. Here, her writing is at its best. I found the rest of the novel a bit “journalistic” (I might have expected too much from the prose after Lisa Taddeo’s ‘Three Women’) but in the essay, Stephens writing is erudite and expressive. The quotes she has chosen would have been such a comfort in times of heartbreak, as opposed to the quotes that do get thrown at you (“plenty of fish in the sea”, “never liked them anyway…” etc.).
I’d love to know how these three protagonists are going now. Perhaps a little update would be reassuring to know that there can be hope on the horizon!
July 3, 2021
I found myself soaked in the grief and loneliness of heartache. There were periods where this book felt cliched, but Heartsick ended up gripping me with its raw emotion. This book has me at a loss of words for the experience of following the stories of Ana, Claire and Patrick. All three characters were connected by the universality of heartbreak, yet could only feel absolutely alone in the depths of their pain. Ana’s affair with Rob was a reminder that a loss for someone who was never yours in the first place, can be just as painful as a more acceptable relationship breakdown. The trivialisation we place on the shattering experience of heartbreak was confronted by the naked vulnerability of both Claire and Patrick’s experiences. Heartsick is perfectly ended with the essay by Stephens, On Romantic Rejection. Heartsick was a wonderful read honouring the universality of romantic loss, and just how significant a role it plays in our lives.
September 27, 2021
Ahh the sting of heartbreak. Heartsick is longform journalism that is written and flows like the magic of fiction. This book follows the true stories of Claire, Patrick and Ana, as we watch them fall in love, and eventually witness the fall out when the universe has other plans. Three very different people and three different stages of life, all alike in the debilitating suffering of romantic rejection.
The book ended, and all I wanted was closure for our three protagonists, for them to have their happy endings. But that’s the thing about heartbreak isn’t it? No matter how much we want the story to go on, it doesn’t.
I put this book down feeling some of that well known sting, Stephens reminding me of what it is to feel heartsick. Raw, captivating, and fiercely relatable, Heartsick should be on everyone’s list.
The book ended, and all I wanted was closure for our three protagonists, for them to have their happy endings. But that’s the thing about heartbreak isn’t it? No matter how much we want the story to go on, it doesn’t.
I put this book down feeling some of that well known sting, Stephens reminding me of what it is to feel heartsick. Raw, captivating, and fiercely relatable, Heartsick should be on everyone’s list.
November 3, 2022
Honestly my favourite part of this was the essay “On Romantic Rejection” right at the very end, after the epilogue, when it was just Jessie talking. That’s what moved me the most.
This book taught me that heartbreak is literally the exact same for everyone. I read it going “yup. yup. uh huh.” It felt like my chest was being squeezed because it was all so very ~relatable~.
It’s very Three Women structurally - a neutral observation. I did love Three Women.
I like reading nonfic about love and relationships so I liked reading this book. I think it was well done. I was jarred (in the best, most fitting way) by the loose ends and touched by the familiarity.
3.75
This book taught me that heartbreak is literally the exact same for everyone. I read it going “yup. yup. uh huh.” It felt like my chest was being squeezed because it was all so very ~relatable~.
It’s very Three Women structurally - a neutral observation. I did love Three Women.
I like reading nonfic about love and relationships so I liked reading this book. I think it was well done. I was jarred (in the best, most fitting way) by the loose ends and touched by the familiarity.
3.75
February 15, 2023
This book hurts so much!!!!
Although it's non-fic it reads like the most beautiful novel and I loved and hated all of the people as if they were my friends. I found myself throwing the book down at some points because I just COULDN'T with some of the decisions that were made
Although it's non-fic it reads like the most beautiful novel and I loved and hated all of the people as if they were my friends. I found myself throwing the book down at some points because I just COULDN'T with some of the decisions that were made
June 20, 2022
First, let me say thank you to GoodReads for winning this ARC printed book as a giveaway on the app as well as Henry Holt & Co. (@HenryHoltBooks) for providing said title!
As well as a big thank you to NetGalley for the audioARC.
Both of these were in exchange for an honest review.
Heartsick is a Non-Fiction work that follows three individuals (Claire, Ana, and Patrick) who are willing to divulge their personal experiences with love, love loss, and ultimately feelings of being unlovable. JS reveals the heartache, the tiny actions each day by our loved ones that ooze rejection, how love can suddenly disappear from one and not the other, and that love doesn't make any since. Through steady progression, JS allows the reader to truly dig into the lives and experience their losses. No one is exempt from love's loss and everyone has to face one of two options. Acceptance and healing past those damaging relationships or denial and avoidance. JS wrote this book for individuals who just want to dwell in that loss and know they are not alone.
After first reading this title and then listening to the audiobook version (read by JS herself), I came away with two very different opinions. Both of which I'll get into here shortly, but I also must state that, for me, this title had a HUGE negative trump card.
I.e., trump card... Within the Introduction, JS writes that the three individuals providing the information have holes or gaps in their recollections and that she filled said gaps with fictional material. Not outlandish material, I assume, probably material that is well deduced and close to correct. But yet "fictionalized to varying degrees". However, this title is categorized as Non-Fiction/Self Help. To me, this is the equivalent of a "little white lie". And while the LWL is not devastating in itself, the tremendous doubt it carries with it is.
That said, let's break down the two ARC versions. Plainly put, I DNF'd the printed book version. After reading the tidbit about the LWL, I was second-guessing everything. I'm not a normal reader of anything non-fiction and I just couldn't justify the time spent reading a Self-Help when I couldn't actually apply it to my life nor take anything away from it for future happiness. Rating: 0/5 stars
The audiobook I did finish. By JS reading her own book (with a lovely Aussie accent), she was able to emphasize where she wanted the reader to focus for the development of the title. I also had a little bit of an attitude adjustment and simply listened as if this title were a FICTIONAL piece. With those two changes, the story came alive and I could identify with the characters and what they were going through. In the end, I took away an okay fiction story with a good self-reflection ending and hope for a more positive future within a relationship. Rating: 3/5 stars
Those two opinions leave me in a very conflicted status as to whom or if I would recommend this book to others. After taking almost two weeks to write this review, I will leave that decision to this answer. IF I am in a conversation that is leading toward the contents of this book AND the other person in said conversation could benefit from it, THEN yes, I would recommend it. Otherwise, no, I will not freely and of my own accord bring it up to recommend.
As well as a big thank you to NetGalley for the audioARC.
Both of these were in exchange for an honest review.
Heartsick is a Non-Fiction work that follows three individuals (Claire, Ana, and Patrick) who are willing to divulge their personal experiences with love, love loss, and ultimately feelings of being unlovable. JS reveals the heartache, the tiny actions each day by our loved ones that ooze rejection, how love can suddenly disappear from one and not the other, and that love doesn't make any since. Through steady progression, JS allows the reader to truly dig into the lives and experience their losses. No one is exempt from love's loss and everyone has to face one of two options. Acceptance and healing past those damaging relationships or denial and avoidance. JS wrote this book for individuals who just want to dwell in that loss and know they are not alone.
After first reading this title and then listening to the audiobook version (read by JS herself), I came away with two very different opinions. Both of which I'll get into here shortly, but I also must state that, for me, this title had a HUGE negative trump card.
I.e., trump card... Within the Introduction, JS writes that the three individuals providing the information have holes or gaps in their recollections and that she filled said gaps with fictional material. Not outlandish material, I assume, probably material that is well deduced and close to correct. But yet "fictionalized to varying degrees". However, this title is categorized as Non-Fiction/Self Help. To me, this is the equivalent of a "little white lie". And while the LWL is not devastating in itself, the tremendous doubt it carries with it is.
That said, let's break down the two ARC versions. Plainly put, I DNF'd the printed book version. After reading the tidbit about the LWL, I was second-guessing everything. I'm not a normal reader of anything non-fiction and I just couldn't justify the time spent reading a Self-Help when I couldn't actually apply it to my life nor take anything away from it for future happiness. Rating: 0/5 stars
The audiobook I did finish. By JS reading her own book (with a lovely Aussie accent), she was able to emphasize where she wanted the reader to focus for the development of the title. I also had a little bit of an attitude adjustment and simply listened as if this title were a FICTIONAL piece. With those two changes, the story came alive and I could identify with the characters and what they were going through. In the end, I took away an okay fiction story with a good self-reflection ending and hope for a more positive future within a relationship. Rating: 3/5 stars
Those two opinions leave me in a very conflicted status as to whom or if I would recommend this book to others. After taking almost two weeks to write this review, I will leave that decision to this answer. IF I am in a conversation that is leading toward the contents of this book AND the other person in said conversation could benefit from it, THEN yes, I would recommend it. Otherwise, no, I will not freely and of my own accord bring it up to recommend.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 18, 2023
"But if they'd spoken - asked questions beyond the rudimentary - they would have learned that the roots of their suffering grow from the same soil. That their loneliness binds them rather than isolates them. And isn't that the ultimate irony? That nothing makes us more human, more united with every person and every culture in every period of history, than the very emotion that tells us: I am all alone."
This book provides a deeply vulnerable look at grief and heartbreak in a world that prefers to focus on the shiny things; the people who only get better after a break up or the one's who have their life together. I commend Ana, Patrick and Claire for their honesty in recounting their stories of love and grief, there was no sugar coating just vulnerability and uncomfortable truth. It is a human desire to peak behind the curtain of someone else's life and these stories really bare it all for us to see in all the messiness.
Jessie is an excellent writer, I was engaged with her writing and found this book to be compulsive to read. I appreciate the analysis of love and grief and the rejection that everyone has felt at some moment in their lives. I also appreciate that these stories weren't tied up neatly, it made them feel natural and realistic. This isn't a happy book, but I think it's one that everyone needs at some point in their life. A reminder that we aren't as alone as we all think we are.
This book provides a deeply vulnerable look at grief and heartbreak in a world that prefers to focus on the shiny things; the people who only get better after a break up or the one's who have their life together. I commend Ana, Patrick and Claire for their honesty in recounting their stories of love and grief, there was no sugar coating just vulnerability and uncomfortable truth. It is a human desire to peak behind the curtain of someone else's life and these stories really bare it all for us to see in all the messiness.
Jessie is an excellent writer, I was engaged with her writing and found this book to be compulsive to read. I appreciate the analysis of love and grief and the rejection that everyone has felt at some moment in their lives. I also appreciate that these stories weren't tied up neatly, it made them feel natural and realistic. This isn't a happy book, but I think it's one that everyone needs at some point in their life. A reminder that we aren't as alone as we all think we are.
June 15, 2024
REVIEW FOR FUTURE ME WHEN I FORGET THAT I EVEN READ THIS BOOK:
If you were the kind of person who read physical books and highlighted quotes and passages that you loved, this entire thing would have been covered in fluorescent ink.
The quote: “It’s rare in life that you know how much you’re enjoying something at the precise moment you’re enjoying it. Happiness is something more often felt in retrospect – a sensation you later ascribe to memories.”
If you were the kind of person who read physical books and highlighted quotes and passages that you loved, this entire thing would have been covered in fluorescent ink.
The quote: “It’s rare in life that you know how much you’re enjoying something at the precise moment you’re enjoying it. Happiness is something more often felt in retrospect – a sensation you later ascribe to memories.”
August 4, 2021
3.5 stars for three sad stories of flawed relationships that don't end well. This is non-fiction that reads like fiction as it is so richly descriptive. The story reminds me that the heart wants what the heart wants and it can so easily overide logic and reason.
Besides 3 exquisitely told personal stories of heart break, Jessie Stephens provides some insightful comments about the grief of lost love. The scary statistics of heart break and its relationship with suicide really gave me pause. Emotional pain is not something to be trivialised even though people fall in and out of love all the time. For some, it can be very hard to heal the loss.
Besides 3 exquisitely told personal stories of heart break, Jessie Stephens provides some insightful comments about the grief of lost love. The scary statistics of heart break and its relationship with suicide really gave me pause. Emotional pain is not something to be trivialised even though people fall in and out of love all the time. For some, it can be very hard to heal the loss.
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