Cathy Rentzenbrink

'I devoured A Manual for Heartache in one sitting . . . a kind, honest and wise book about how to make a friend of sadness.' Rachel JoyceWhen Cathy Rentzenbrink was still a teenager, her happy family was torn apart by an unthinkable tragedy. In A Manual for Heartache she describes how she learnt to live with grief and loss and find joy in the world again. She explores how to cope with life at its most difficult and overwhelming and how we can emerge from suffering forever changed, but filled with hope.This is a moving, warm and uplifting book that offers solidarity and comfort to anyone going through a painful time, whatever it might be. It's a book that will help to soothe an aching heart and assure its readers that they're not alone.

A Manual for Heartache

It’s really difficult to rate this book, it’s more like a conversation with a really wise and lovely friend as opposed to a book. Definitely some good sound bites/pieces of advice, but I agree with her foreword, if I was in a rough place I would definitely throw the book across the room a few times 

Hannah Bateman

I think this book gave perfect advice: it will definatly help me for when I fall into dark spots of my life, and I loved the personal touch the author included in this book; it helped us feel seen and understood. 

But whilst it was giving increasingly good information, I found that alot of the chapter titles and the actual content only very loosly connected, and rather this book wasn't much of a literal help. It was more of a chatty memoir. The Talk to Advice ratio was not very helpful to be honest, so to label this is a handbook I found a little misleading. 

I think this book would still be very helpful, but some features I found a little funny in terms of opinions on religion. Honestly, not even opinions. It was just little throw away remarks, throw away comments, which just itched a little. 

But I think this would help you if you're struggling from grief, and need someone who resonates to your story. 

surtified™

I think this book gave perfect advice: it will definatly help me for when I fall into dark spots of my life, and I loved the personal touch the author included in this book; it helped us feel seen and understood. 

But whilst it was giving increasingly good information, I found that alot of the chapter titles and the actual content only very loosly connected, and rather this book wasn't much of a literal help. It was more of a chatty memoir. The Talk to Advice ratio was not very helpful to be honest, so to label this is a handbook I found a little misleading. 

I think this book would still be very helpful, but some features I found a little funny in terms of opinions on religion. Honestly, not even opinions. It was just little throw away remarks, throw away comments, which just itched a little. 

But I think this would help you if you're struggling from grief, and need someone who resonates to your story. 

Mirella Hetekivi

'I devoured A Manual for Heartache in one sitting . . . a kind, honest and wise book about how to make a friend of sadness.' Rachel Joyce, author of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry. When Cathy Rentzenbrink was still a teenager, her happy family was torn apart by an unthinkable tragedy. In A Manual for Heartache she describes how she learnt to live with grief and loss and find joy in the world again. She explores how to cope with life at its most difficult and overwhelming and how we can emerge from suffering forever changed, but filled with hope. This is a moving, warm and uplifting book that offers solidarity and comfort to anyone going through a painful time, whatever it might be. It's a book that will help to soothe an aching heart and assure its readers that they're not alone.

A Manual for Heartache

Reviews