The Little Book of Heartbreak

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The perfect anti-valentine: a whirlwind tour through love’s most crushing moments

What’s the best way to mend a broken heart? Forget ice cream, wine, and sappy movies. Journalist Meghan Laslocky advises: Read through the pain. From forbidden love in 12th century Paris to the art of crafting the perfect “I’m over you” mix, The Little Book of Heartbreak is a quirky exploration of all things lovelorn, including:

• How serial cheater Ernest Hemingway stole his wife’s job just as their marriage was collapsing
• Kinky spells cast by lovesick men in ancient Greece
• Painter Oscar Kokoschka’s attempt to get over an ex by creating (and having liaisons with!) her life-size replica
• Brooding crooner Morrissey’s personal creed about how romantic love is useless
• The surprising science behind heartbreak and love addiction
• The connection between World War II and what you talk about with your therapist
• Insights into the tricky chemistry of monogamy and infidelity, courtesy of tiny rodents
• And other lessons learned from ill-fated romances, lovers’ quarrels, and hell-hath-no-fury spats throughout the ages

Featuring anecdotes from history, literature, culture, art and music, The Little Book of Heartbreak shares the entertaining, empowering and occasionally absurd things that happen when love is on its last legs.

“A hilarious salve for the lovesick.”—O, The Oprah Magazine

“Informative, funny, and comforting…a highbrow take on broken hearts that inadvertently goes a long way to curing [one.]”—The Toronto Star

“Lively with a sassy, wry style…a fun, engaging, comprehensive romp through heartache and heartbreak.”—Julia Alvarez, author of A Wedding in Haiti and How the Garcia Girls Lost their Accents

“A terrifically entertaining compendium of lost love, romantic revenge, and the uniquely excruciating experience that is heartbreak.”—Suzanne Morrison, author of Yoga Bitch

“Fascinating and revelatory delvings into love and loss… The Little Book of Heartbreak is not only a book for the heartbroken or heartbreakers, it’s for anyone who has a heart and is in any way curious about the transformative forces of love, hate, anger, and lust.”—Stephanie V.W. Lucianovic, author of Suffering SuccotashMeghan Laslocky is a freelance journalist and producer for KQED public broadcasting. She has been dumped at least a dozen times, including on her birthday. She lives with her husband and son in the Bay Area.US

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