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How to Fall Apart: From Breaking Up to Book Clubs to Being Enough - Things I've Learned About Losing and Finding Love
'Honest, vulnerable and empowering' Angela Scanlon
'Poignant, profound, and moving, I have no doubt that this beautifully written book will comfort anyone who is in the process of falling apart' Louise O'Neill
'Liadán Hynes writes with so much heart. Her story will help shine a light during uncertain, painful times. After reading, you'll be ready to heal' Cecelia Ahern
When journalist and podcaster Liadán Hynes's marriage ended, it felt like a loss: of her best-friend, and of the happy ending she had envisaged on their wedding day. In the months that followed, she had to adjust to a different future - as a single mum juggling work and managing a home -- without someone to share the ups and downs of the everyday.
Here, in this honest, poignant and beautifully written memoir, she gives an account of her experience.
From navigating Friday-night dinner parties and Saturday nights alone on the couch, to counselling and having more gurus than is sensible, How to Fall Apart is a story of one woman who discovered the value of different kinds of love and, in doing so, found herself: single, stronger and surrounded by love.
'Poignant, profound, and moving, I have no doubt that this beautifully written book will comfort anyone who is in the process of falling apart' Louise O'Neill
'Liadán Hynes writes with so much heart. Her story will help shine a light during uncertain, painful times. After reading, you'll be ready to heal' Cecelia Ahern
When journalist and podcaster Liadán Hynes's marriage ended, it felt like a loss: of her best-friend, and of the happy ending she had envisaged on their wedding day. In the months that followed, she had to adjust to a different future - as a single mum juggling work and managing a home -- without someone to share the ups and downs of the everyday.
Here, in this honest, poignant and beautifully written memoir, she gives an account of her experience.
From navigating Friday-night dinner parties and Saturday nights alone on the couch, to counselling and having more gurus than is sensible, How to Fall Apart is a story of one woman who discovered the value of different kinds of love and, in doing so, found herself: single, stronger and surrounded by love.
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Published April 1, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
May 20, 2023
I could not get into this book at all, I did not connect with the author at all.
August 26, 2020
The end of a marriage can be many things - a heartbreak or a relief, a betrayal or a mutual decision, a long time coming or a total shock. No one goes into a marriage hoping that it will end, but unfortunately for many of us that is what happens. It is what is happening to me, and of course I've turned to books to find solace, advice and guidance. I found all those in How To Fall Apart.
Liadan Hynes is a journalist who has written about her life as a single mother following the end of her marriage. In this book she takes us back to the time of her break up, how she made it through the fog and sharing the lamps that lit the way until she was able to see her path more clearly.
I drank this book up, I read it in a day. Liadan's writing is so personable, so open and just so easy to connect with. Although this is based on her own experience, the emotions and struggles she went through are fairly universal - my situation is different in that my marriage hasn't ended mutually (it ended due to infidelity) and yet I could still identify with all of the feelings. And with that foundation, as the book turned to the things that did (or didn't) help in the healing process, I trusted that these are also fairly universal. There are, of course, things that Liadan had access to which are not within the reach of every individual - life coaches, yoga courses, even private therapists which could be beyond many budgets...I know they are out of mine! But even in these, I really took a lot just from the insight she gained and shares with the reader.
And in that insight I really appreciated how this isn't just a book for those left floundering after a relationship ends. Many of the healing approaches could be applied to any sort of loss or trauma, because they focus on the person and aim to soothe and build them back up from whatever it is that has changed the trajectory of their life and left them feeling lost.
At the core of both book and healing is something that we can all do with more of and happily can all find ways to seek out - the strength, love, support and help of other women. Friendship is such a strong theme throughout much of the healing discussed, and I thought that was incredibly refreshing. Whether it's a local book group, a bougie yoga retreat, or just your mum/bestie/sister giving you a hug in the jammies you've been wearing for four days straight, this can be a transformative love. It is often something that gets overlooked, but connection to the women around you can be far more healing than throwing yourself back into the dating game. That's a reassuring message that I will take with me, and has been the push I needed to stop isolating myself but to instead seek out deeper bonds with the women in my life. I will definitely keep dipping back into this book as I continue on my own path through the fog.
Oh, and this book also persuaded me that *right now* is probably not a good time to get a puppy. My mum is very relieved.
I was sent a copy of this title as a NetGalley from Hachette Books Ireland in return for a review. All opinions are my own.
Liadan Hynes is a journalist who has written about her life as a single mother following the end of her marriage. In this book she takes us back to the time of her break up, how she made it through the fog and sharing the lamps that lit the way until she was able to see her path more clearly.
I drank this book up, I read it in a day. Liadan's writing is so personable, so open and just so easy to connect with. Although this is based on her own experience, the emotions and struggles she went through are fairly universal - my situation is different in that my marriage hasn't ended mutually (it ended due to infidelity) and yet I could still identify with all of the feelings. And with that foundation, as the book turned to the things that did (or didn't) help in the healing process, I trusted that these are also fairly universal. There are, of course, things that Liadan had access to which are not within the reach of every individual - life coaches, yoga courses, even private therapists which could be beyond many budgets...I know they are out of mine! But even in these, I really took a lot just from the insight she gained and shares with the reader.
And in that insight I really appreciated how this isn't just a book for those left floundering after a relationship ends. Many of the healing approaches could be applied to any sort of loss or trauma, because they focus on the person and aim to soothe and build them back up from whatever it is that has changed the trajectory of their life and left them feeling lost.
At the core of both book and healing is something that we can all do with more of and happily can all find ways to seek out - the strength, love, support and help of other women. Friendship is such a strong theme throughout much of the healing discussed, and I thought that was incredibly refreshing. Whether it's a local book group, a bougie yoga retreat, or just your mum/bestie/sister giving you a hug in the jammies you've been wearing for four days straight, this can be a transformative love. It is often something that gets overlooked, but connection to the women around you can be far more healing than throwing yourself back into the dating game. That's a reassuring message that I will take with me, and has been the push I needed to stop isolating myself but to instead seek out deeper bonds with the women in my life. I will definitely keep dipping back into this book as I continue on my own path through the fog.
Oh, and this book also persuaded me that *right now* is probably not a good time to get a puppy. My mum is very relieved.
I was sent a copy of this title as a NetGalley from Hachette Books Ireland in return for a review. All opinions are my own.
October 12, 2024
Maeve actually gave this to me last year and I found it a little tough to get through until recently when I finished it and loved it! Author wrote it through her divorce -raising her little girl as a now single mother in her 40s and moving on with life without her husband. Mostly centres around the breakup but the way she talks about loss really tapped into grief as well and I thought the way she described it really comforting. It’s not a smooth story of improving everyday and the fact that feeling a loss can come and go for cycles was written really well. She also put emphasis on having friends in similar situations of life as you as well as the importance of female friendships which I loved💖💖 She talks about lots of different methods of self care from therapy, exercise types, retreats ect as well as stuff she scoffs a little at like crystals and meditation - and finds positive messages in trying new things that you might not previously have done and being stronger from it! Really think this is a great book
3 stars because it took my too long to get into it
3 stars because it took my too long to get into it
December 8, 2023
A easy read about divorce and how to move on with no sugar coating. Pure and realistic
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews