A beautiful, razor-sharp novel by Sarah Handyside, Instructions for Heartbreak is a life-affirming story about female friendship, self-love and how to survive a broken heart.
What if heartbreak came with a manual?
It starts with a late-night knock on the door. Dee, Liv and Rosa share a flat in south London, while Katie lives close by with her boyfriend. But, when Katie's nine-year relationship ends - suddenly and brutally - she turns up on their doorstep with no idea what to do next, or how to do anything after spending so long with her life entwined with someone else's.
Out comes the martini shaker (an old, well-washed gherkin jar) and, with an unused sketchbook, an idea. They'll make Katie the handbook that she needs to process her heartbreak and start rebuilding her life. There are notes on tears, hangovers and roast chicken, scribblings about music, new bedding and pure, white-hot rage.
But Katie is not the only one nursing a broken heart. Rosa is a hopeless romantic, despite still reeling from her ex's infidelity. Scarred by her ex's parting words, Dee is committed to being commitment-free. And while Liv knows that breaking up with her girlfriend was what she wanted, she can't help but wonder if she did the right thing.
Tested by big life changes, even the closest friendships can fray - could the heartbreak handbook they intended for Katie contain the words they all need to hear?
* * * *
| ISBN: | 9781035032754 |
| Publication date: | 30th January 2025 |
| Author: | Sarah Handyside |
| Publisher: | Macmillan an imprint of Pan Macmillan |
| Format: | Hardback |
| Pagination: | 416 pages |
| Primary Genre | Modern and Contemporary Fiction |
| Other Genres: |
A beautiful, razor-sharp novel by Sarah Handyside, Instructions for Heartbreak is a life-affirming story about female friendship, self-love and how to survive a broken heart.
What if heartbreak came with a manual?
It starts with a late-night knock on the door. Dee, Liv and Rosa share a flat in south London, while Katie lives close by with her boyfriend. But, when Katie's nine-year relationship ends - suddenly and brutally - she turns up on their doorstep with no idea what to do next, or how to do anything after spending so long with her life entwined with someone else's.
Out comes the martini shaker (an old, well-washed gherkin jar) and, with an unused sketchbook, an idea. They'll make Katie the handbook that she needs to process her heartbreak and start rebuilding her life. There are notes on tears, hangovers and roast chicken, scribblings about music, new bedding and pure, white-hot rage.
But Katie is not the only one nursing a broken heart. Rosa is a hopeless romantic, despite still reeling from her ex's infidelity. Scarred by her ex's parting words, Dee is committed to being commitment-free. And while Liv knows that breaking up with her girlfriend was what she wanted, she can't help but wonder if she did the right thing.
Tested by big life changes, even the closest friendships can fray - could the heartbreak handbook they intended for Katie contain the words they all need to hear?
* * * *
Instructions for Heartbreak features in the following genres: Modern and Contemporary Fiction, Romance / Relationship Stories, Contemporary lifestyle fiction, Modern and Contemporary romance, Narrative theme: Love and relationships, Narrative theme: Health and illness, Narrative theme: Death, grief, loss, Narrative theme: Interior life, Epistolary fiction
Instructions for Heartbreak is available in Paperback, Hardback
Instructions for Heartbreak was written by Sarah Handyside and published by Macmillan an imprint of Pan Macmillan
Instructions for Heartbreak has 416 pages
£15.29
