A Manual for Heartache by Cathy Rentzenbrink will feature on the Radio 2 Fact not Fiction Book Club on Thursday 20 July.
You can win 10 copies of this poowerful book for your reading group.
A Manual for Heartache
Heartache is human: over the course of our lives, we all encounter sadness and loss. But what do we say when the worst has happened to someone we love – and how do we cope when it happens to us?
With boundless warmth and compassion, Cathy Rentzenbrink shares her experiences of living with heartache and looking for hope and joy in a cruel world. The result is a survival guide for hard times; a book that will shine a chink of light into a dark day and remind you that you are not alone.
Selection panel review
The book was selected with the help of a panel of library staff from across the UK. They loved A Manual for Heartache – here are some of their comments:
“This book explores dealing with grief and offers a guide to coping with tragedy and suffering. This is clearly not a textbook advice guide, but written from a very personal view, in some places reads almost as a stream of consciousness, and readers going through a similar experience would find much to relate to. I think that is would appeal to anyone who has experienced loss or wants to understand the experience of others.”
“Dealing with grief hits everyone and this ‘manual’ is written beautifully; it’s easy to read, heart-breaking and hopeful in equal measure is also has Cathy’s ‘guide’ points to dealing with grief. Loved it.”
“I felt it was a very real and honest approach to the subject of grief and would help someone at a difficult time in their lives. There is a lot in it about the author’s own experience of dealing with grief and related depression and treatments, groups and self-help. I always think this approach is more helpful; to know that someone else has been through a situation is reassuring. It’s very readable and is not prescriptive, like so many of these books can be. I would definitely recommend this book.”
About the author
Cathy Rentzenbrink was born in Cornwall, grew up in Yorkshire and now lives in London, where she works as a writer and journalist. She is the author of the bestselling memoir The Last Act of Love, which was shortlisted for the Wellcome Book Prize.
A word from Cathy
“It’s a great honour to have my book selected for the Radio 2 Book Club. Writing is a lonely process and the thing that carries me through is the thought that, if I can stick at it, then one day, when I’ve finished, some people might read my book, and some people might even like it. Book clubs do noble work in connecting writers and readers and I’m delighted to be chosen for this one.”
Get involved
Tune in to the Radio 2 Arts Show on Thursday 20 July to hear a live interview with Cathy.
Have you read A Manual for Heartache? You can share your thoughts with us on Twitter using #ManualforHeartache. You can also follow Cathy.
You can see what other readers thought or add the book to your group’s reading list.
Want to find out more? Take a look at the Radio 2 Book Club Twitter feed.
