'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.

'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


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?

This book is a survival guide for hard times. It will shine a chink of light into a dark day and remind you that you're not alone.

'Big-hearted, moving, deeply sympathetic and gently honest, a goldmine of wisdom and insight'
Daily Express

'A lovely, simple book about how to cope with life's bumps and shocks and sadnesses . . . thoroughly human'
Matt Haig, Observer

'When my life turned upside down, this is the book I wish I could have read'
Decca Aitkenhead

A Manual for Heartache by Cathy Rentzenbrink might not sound like holiday reading, it's the perfect choice for anyone keen to use the time off to make sense of any recent emotional upheaval