May 10, 2021
British comedian Wilby (Is Monogamy Dead?) recounts bad breakups, moments of despair, and her efforts to stay in relationships in these heartfelt but uneven reflections. Mingling personal stories with insights about what makes a healthy relationship (namely, that “everyday thoughtful acts” act as “the crucial glue holding things together”), Wilby stretches to fill the pages as she rehashes the dissolution of various relationships, among them breakups with the “nice ex-girlfriend,” “secretive ex-girlfriend,” and “agoraphobic ex-girlfriend.” Oddly, the most memorable chapters feature stories from other people, as when Wilby asks songwriters and authors to explain songs that provided comfort during heartbreak. A collection of “bite-sized breakup stories” presents a litany of paragraph-long summations that demonstrate how common a loss of dignity can be during a relationship’s disintegration. In the end, Wilby aims to assure readers that no matter how bad the breakup, the jilted will survive to love again: “perhaps if we can share stories and appreciate that we are not alone in our heartbreak, we can comfort one another.” While Wilby’s personal anecdotes can be tedious, the wealth of stories of emotional recovery will be a balm for those suffering through heartbreak.