Reviews with content warning for Suicide - A Heart That Works: The Sunday Times Bestseller

- I am writing this review of A HEART THAT WORKS while curled up crying on the floor forever. What an incredible, painful, beautiful gift to the world this book is.
- I knew Delaney primarily as a comedian on Twitter, and that joyful, weird spirit of his is present in this writing, even on such a horrific topic.
- And Delaney does not hold back on the unending horrors of what he and his family went through. This is one the hardest books I’ve ever read, and I don’t even have children.
- Through it all, even as Delaney unleashes this primal scream, he still shows us the love and joy he found in his son. This book is full of pain, yes, but we also learn about all the little everyday things about a child that only their parent knows, and I will carry a small piece of Henry with me now.

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emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

In the opening chapter of A Heart That Works, Rob Delaney asks us to imagine our child is dead, providing specific details that twist the heart. "That is one thing grief does to me," he says, "It makes me want to make you understand. It makes me want you to understand. I want you to understand." Here, and in many moments throughout this devastating memoir, it feels as if Delaney is there, grabbing your shoulders, staring at you with a look of open grief tinged with an undercurrent of rage. I want you to understand.

As one might expect, Delaney's memoir about his son Henry dying from brain cancer before his third birthday is gut-wrenching, heartbreaking and, at times, nearly unbearable to read. It is devastatingly sad. For those unfamiliar with Delaney's work as a comedian, what might be unexpected is how truly funny it is. And it really is. The book is sad, joyous, full of righteous anger, and absurdly funny, sometimes nearly simultaneously. While reading this book, I laughed out loud, I smiled in recognition at Delaney's reflections on the joys of parenting and his deep love for his family, and I cried, almost crawling out of my skin with sadness.

This book is heartbreaking, yes, but it is also a life-affirming and honest portrayal of grief born out of devastating loss. A Heart That Works is a marvel and a gift. Thank you, Rob Delaney, for sharing sweet Henry with us.

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