Heartbreak

November 1, 2021
A deep dive into the meaning of heartbreak. At 50, Williams, a contributing editor at Outsideand science writer for other publications, found herself "completely, existentially freaked" by a divorce from the man she had been with since she was 18. She immediately sought to make sense of her pain by researching heartbreak, but she discovered scant research about "what happens on the other side" of falling in love. In this three-part book, Williams draws on personal experiences, readings, and interviews to piece together her shattered emotions and explain the "complex emotional trauma" behind romantic heartbreak. The early emotional fallout of her divorce contextualizes the observations she makes in the first section. As Williams awkwardly attempted to "regain my sexual confidence" and push the boundaries of her limited romantic experiences, she also explored studies on such topics as the relationship between love and heart health and the power of awe as a tool to help the newly single "see themselves as part of a larger, meaningful reality." In the second section, the author probes the impact of heartbreak on the body. Unexpectedly diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, she found research that showed how the stress of heartbreak and the resulting loneliness can lead to physiological problems at the cellular level. Williams then put the idea that awe can heal into practice and went on nature getaways and canoeing and rafting trips in the Rocky Mountains to help her reboot her overtaxed nervous system and "jump-start the process of calming the fuck down." In the third section, Williams records her late-stage healing experiments with psychedelic drugs as well as an eye-opening visit to the Museum of Broken Relationships in Zagreb, Croatia. Complex and thoughtfully researched, this book appealingly chronicles healing from emotional loss and offers fascinating scientific insights into the mechanics and impacts of romantic grief. A provocative and rewarding reading experience.

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December 1, 2021
In this aptly titled memoir, science journalist Williams (The Nature Fix, 2017; Breasts, 2012) shares research on the physical and mental effects of a shattered heart and her own experience with one. The catalyst: her husband, her partner since she was a Yale freshman, leaves her. So at age 50, she finds herself facing an "uncertain future." She's got company in the U.S., with nearly 39 percent of all first marriages ending in divorce. Williams interviews top experts, including biological anthropologist Helen Fisher, author of Anatomy of Love (2016), and presents alarming-but-true statistics about broken hearts. Among U.S. adolescents, breaking up is the largest risk factor for attempted suicide; among adults, intimate-partner problems factor into 27 percent of successful suicides. Williams, a skillful writer, weaves together scientific findings with personal tales, including one about a guy who calls her a "boner killer." In the end, she seems to be benefiting from the best heartbreak cure: time. A nature lover, Williams finishes her story, as she begins it, on a river, with some suspense over what she will do with her wedding ring.

COPYRIGHT(2021) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Starred review from December 6, 2021
“Much has been written about the science of falling in love, but very little about what happens on the other side,” writes journalist Williams (The Nature Fix) in this show-stopping, offbeat story about the science of heartbreak. Deciding to unravel “what the heck had happened to the woman I used to be” after her 25-year marriage ended, and aiming to understand how “heartbreak changes our neurons, our bodies, and our sense of ourselves,” Williams visits psychologists, geneticists, and others researching emotion and behavior. She cites studies showing divorce to be a greater health risk than smoking; hears about experiments on monogamous prairie voles, in which those separated from their partners produce more stress hormones; and learns about “broken-heart syndrome,” the symptoms of which are similar to a heart attack. Along the way, she fills out reams of health evaluations and tries dozens of healing methods, including taking Ecstasy (she hallucinates becoming a tree and her ex-husband “a strangler fig”) and a solo whitewater rafting trip (“I was flowing away from the broken bad lands of my marriage”). Unflagging research—she even flies to London to interview Britain’s first “minister of loneliness”—and the author’s vulnerability make for an impressive and moving survey. This is a courageous, whirlwind tale of healing and self-discovery.

January 1, 2022

While much has been written about love--both falling into it and the intense psychological changes that occur during its first stages--the same cannot be said for heartbreak. Williams (Breasts: A Natural and Unnatural History) works to ameliorate this by walking readers through her own divorce and her navigation of single life, sharing custody of her children with her ex, and getting back on the dating scene. Perhaps the most compelling feature of this work is Williams's foray into the science of heartbreak. Williams uses her own body as an example of the physical manifestations of grief and trauma. After her divorce, she developed adult-onset type-1 diabetes and later learned that so-called "divorce diabetes" is not entirely uncommon. The author describes undergoing blood tests to track her grief's impact on the molecular level, experimenting with psychedelics, and much more in this heartfelt romp through her process of rediscovery and the science of heartbreak. Alongside her own story, Williams includes stories of others navigating divorce or separation. VERDICT Readers will appreciate Williams's candid portrayal of her personal journey and the book's understanding of heartbreak's impact on the human body.--Mattie Cook

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