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Reviews
Heartsick: Three Stories of Falling in Love . . . And What Happens After it Ends by Jessie Stephens
michaelajay's review against another edition
5.0
Wowza! This one got me good, right in the feels! The way Jessie has put emotions that you never fully hear or see into the most beautiful words, so incredibly written. Highly recommend!
vivisms_82's review against another edition
3.0
I thought it would have more guts to it; like really detail the emotional devastation of a break up. Clare's story did this to a degree whilst I found Patrick and Anna's story a bit flat. It felt like I was at a dinner party listening about an acquaintance's relationship and demise - except they don't discuss what it did to them or any of the aftermath.
namakurhea's review against another edition
3.0
“Heartbreak does not seem to be a brand of grief we respect. And so we are left in the middle of the ocean, floating in a dhingy with no anchor, while the world waits for us to be okay again.”
.
This book is written for those whose pain and heartache are still on the present-tense. In this collection of three short stories, we follow the lives of Claire, Patrick, and Ana as they first fall in love till after they’ve fallen out of it. Each of them have their own dedicated story… and though they may be different from one another, there is this universality in how they experience love and pain. And I’m sure this is the kind of feeling recognizable by all readers.
.
A word of caution though: don’t let the “marketing” of the book fool you. This book is categorized as “Non-Fiction”; however to be honest it is much closer to short stories than nonfiction. ALSO!! The parts on heartbreak discussed only in the last one third of the book. Though in the words of the author, she said something like you cannot talk about heartbreak without talking about love.
.
Nevertheless, it still is a touching book. I always salute writers who are able to eloquently write about feelings that are hard to articulate… And I believe Jessie Stephens have done a good job doing this in her debut work 💚💛💗Sharing some of my favorite paragraphs from the book!!
.
This book is written for those whose pain and heartache are still on the present-tense. In this collection of three short stories, we follow the lives of Claire, Patrick, and Ana as they first fall in love till after they’ve fallen out of it. Each of them have their own dedicated story… and though they may be different from one another, there is this universality in how they experience love and pain. And I’m sure this is the kind of feeling recognizable by all readers.
.
A word of caution though: don’t let the “marketing” of the book fool you. This book is categorized as “Non-Fiction”; however to be honest it is much closer to short stories than nonfiction. ALSO!! The parts on heartbreak discussed only in the last one third of the book. Though in the words of the author, she said something like you cannot talk about heartbreak without talking about love.
.
Nevertheless, it still is a touching book. I always salute writers who are able to eloquently write about feelings that are hard to articulate… And I believe Jessie Stephens have done a good job doing this in her debut work 💚💛💗Sharing some of my favorite paragraphs from the book!!
littlerah's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
I'm in my heartbreak era. No seriously. There are elements of this book that resonated with my own experiences quite deeply - of being loved so ferociously, and then having it all disappear in a second. No reason. Just, "I don't love you anymore."
"I will never stop defending you, even when you hurt me" (226).
Stephens does a wonderful job of filling us in on the stories of Ana, Claire and Patrick. We are drawn into their lives and experience the different kinds of heartache they experience. I really loved this.
I think I would have loved it more however, if we read Stephens' experiences. I found the prologue and epilogue the most resonant, being able to understand directly what she thinks of love and loss. There is something quite moving for me to read another person's experiences. And whilst I enjoyed this book, I know this would've enhanced my connection to it.
"Heartbreak does not seem to be a brand of grief we respect" (298).
That said. It's a valuable read. We really don't understand heartbreak and its impact.
"I will never stop defending you, even when you hurt me" (226).
Stephens does a wonderful job of filling us in on the stories of Ana, Claire and Patrick. We are drawn into their lives and experience the different kinds of heartache they experience. I really loved this.
I think I would have loved it more however, if we read Stephens' experiences. I found the prologue and epilogue the most resonant, being able to understand directly what she thinks of love and loss. There is something quite moving for me to read another person's experiences. And whilst I enjoyed this book, I know this would've enhanced my connection to it.
"Heartbreak does not seem to be a brand of grief we respect" (298).
That said. It's a valuable read. We really don't understand heartbreak and its impact.
elnechnntt's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars.
I enjoyed this much more than I anticipated. Stephens is a great writer but about two thirds through it all began to feel dragged out and formulaic.
The three narratives merge into one and there isn’t enough stylistically to give each voice enough of an individual presence in the book. It made me begin to question just how much Stephens added in which then kept pulling me out of the narratives. I also would have liked at least one narrative that didn’t involve infidelity.
An engrossing read, slightly less sophisticated than Three Women, but one that will command a popular audience.
I enjoyed this much more than I anticipated. Stephens is a great writer but about two thirds through it all began to feel dragged out and formulaic.
The three narratives merge into one and there isn’t enough stylistically to give each voice enough of an individual presence in the book. It made me begin to question just how much Stephens added in which then kept pulling me out of the narratives. I also would have liked at least one narrative that didn’t involve infidelity.
An engrossing read, slightly less sophisticated than Three Women, but one that will command a popular audience.
annekap's review against another edition
4.0
I read this for book club and highly recommend as a book club pick! Heaps to talk about.
Overall really enjoyed this, the author’s chapters at the beginning and the end really tied it all together for me. I think it’s a beautiful idea to dedicate a book to the experience of rejection and heartbreak, an emotion that is often not glossed over (“you’ll find someone else!”) but can feel like a total rejection of you as a person.
I found all the characters very honest and real. Patrick was probably the most relatable to me and I really felt for him and how lost he was! Ana’s story was an interesting perspective and although I got frustrated with her often I did appreciate how real she was. Claire just made me so sad and heartbroken for her. Definitely a book that tugs at your heartstrings.
I think the reason it’s not a perfect 5 stars for me is that there wasn’t a lot of character development despite all of the characters going through huge emotional experiences. I think this is probably inherent to the retrospective interviewing and couldn’t be avoided but it was a little frustrating by the end.
Overall really enjoyed this, the author’s chapters at the beginning and the end really tied it all together for me. I think it’s a beautiful idea to dedicate a book to the experience of rejection and heartbreak, an emotion that is often not glossed over (“you’ll find someone else!”) but can feel like a total rejection of you as a person.
I found all the characters very honest and real. Patrick was probably the most relatable to me and I really felt for him and how lost he was! Ana’s story was an interesting perspective and although I got frustrated with her often I did appreciate how real she was. Claire just made me so sad and heartbroken for her. Definitely a book that tugs at your heartstrings.
I think the reason it’s not a perfect 5 stars for me is that there wasn’t a lot of character development despite all of the characters going through huge emotional experiences. I think this is probably inherent to the retrospective interviewing and couldn’t be avoided but it was a little frustrating by the end.