Reviews tagging 'Grief'

A Heart That Works: The Sunday Times Bestseller by Rob Delaney

32 reviews

michelarod's review against another edition

challenging reflective sad fast-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Cancer, Child death, Death, Terminal illness, Grief, and Suicide

ambersbooks's review against another edition

dark emotional funny sad fast-paced

5.0

Cried so hard I gave myself a headache. I expected the sadness and pain, but not the humor and beauty also contained within these pages. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Medical content, Cancer, and Grief

Moderate: Pregnancy

mjscooke's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

3.75

A reflection on the tragically short life of one of his sons who battled with cancer and the difficulties and grief that came with that experience. Delaney does a good job of condensing the experience and plethora of emotions. He also performs it well in a way that conveys emotion w it hour being overwhelmed by it (no small feat I can only imagine)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content and Child death

Moderate: Grief

elenamiles's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring sad

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death and Grief

jourdanicus's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective fast-paced

5.0

I picked this up because I was in the mood for a book to make me cry, but this... Didn't? I actually laughed more than I cried?

I really appreciated Delaney's straightforward writing style. I have lost pets, and my pets feel like my children, but I know I will NEVER know what it's like to lose a human child. Delaney doesn't try to make you understand. He just tells his story as it was for him with little embellishment, and it's such good writing.

I don't give memoirs (or any book, honestly) objective star ratings because that feels unfair, I'm not a professional critic and haven't read enough to know how this compares to other memoirs. But this was easily a 5 star read for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Child death, Grief, and Medical content

Moderate: Blood

molliekneath's review against another edition

emotional funny inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide

grise's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Grief, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Vomit and Blood

Minor: Alcoholism

mugguomp's review against another edition

emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Grief, Chronic illness, Death, and Child death

caseythereader's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

 - 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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Cancer, Child death, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Medical content, Pregnancy, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Alcoholism, Blood, Car accident, and Chronic illness

Moderate: Vomit

carriepond's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness, Child death, Medical content, Suicide, and Grief

Moderate: Mental illness and Cursing

Minor: Car accident, Vomit, and Alcoholism