Heartbreak Memoir

Diagnosed twice with ADHD, Jordan Stephens found his teens and twenties a whirl of career success and nurturing friendships but also a brutal pattern of self-harm, hedonism, destructive coping mechanisms and heartbreak. When he tried to live up to his own damaged expectations and his world exploded, he stepped away from his previous existence completely and allowed himself to explore the pain he'd repressed his entire life.

As one of Taylor Swift’s most trusted music journalists, Rob Sheffield has enjoyed close access to the mega-star. His unique insight has afforded him a singular perspective of Taylor’s world, as well as her impact on the world. Inspired by his years of this exclusive access, and the Swiftie response to his commentary on their beloved Taylor, Sheffield merges reportage and criticism in a way that only he can.

Kelsey Parker's world was turned upside down in the summer of 2020 when her husband Tom, singer in boyband The Wanted, was cruelly diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor. Heavily pregnant with their second child and coping with her own heartache at losing her partner of 13 years, Kelsey remained a tower of strength and positivity for Tom during his darkest days. When traditional treatments stopped working, she spent hours researching alternative therapies to give her husband extra time with his young children Aurelia and Bodhi.

Having suffered the unimaginable loss of her first husband and child, Lindsay Nicholson worked her way up to become the most successful lifestyle magazine editor in Britain. But when a would-be suicide ran in front of her car, the pages of her picture-perfect life fell apart once more. In just one year, Lindsay lost her marriage, job and home, and was even arrested. Suicidal and suffering from profound PTSD, she tried medication, therapy and New Age courses – until she found the answers she was looking for in the pages of her former magazine.

Sarah Sak's son, Anthony Walgate, was murdered by gay serial killer Stephen Port after they met on dating app Grindr. Stephen Port was sentenced to life imprisonment at the Old Bailey in November 2016. The case received extensive press coverage not only because of the horrific nature of the crimes but also because the police refused to investigate Anthony's death despite three more bodies being found in near identical circumstances. It was not until Scotland Yard's crime squad took over that Stephen Port was arrested, charged, convicted and sentenced to life in prison.

A story of heartbreak and survival by the stepsister of Anne Frank. Eva was arrested by the Nazis on her 15 birthday and sent to Auschwitz. Her survival depended on endless strokes of luck, her own determination and the love and protection of her mother, Fritzi, who was deported with her. When Auschwitz was liberated, Eva and Fritzi began the long journey home. They searched desperately for Eva's father and brother, from whom they had been separated. The news came some months later. Tragically, both men had been killed.

Elizabeth Ford went through medical school unsure of where she belonged. It wasn't until she did her psychiatry rotation that she found her calling - to care for one of the most vulnerable populations of mentally ill people, the inmates of New York City's jails, including Rikers Island, who are so sick that they are sent to the Bellevue Hospital Prison Ward for care.

Kate wasn't expecting to be divorced after less than a year of marriage. She wasn't expecting to be remaking a life that had, for the last 12 years with her partner, seemed so stable. Luckily, her job as a travel journalist offered her the perfect opportunity to escape from it all. But this time, her restless jet-setting felt different. She felt more alone than ever before, particularly against a backdrop of never-ending hen dos, weddings and baby showers.

Herman J. (1897-1953) and Joseph L. Mankiewicz (1909-1993) wrote, produced, and directed over 150 pictures. With Orson Welles, Herman wrote the screenplay for Citizen Kane and shared the picture's only Academy Award. Joe earned the second pair of his four Oscars for writing and directing All About Eve, which also won Best Picture.

“Pat, we need to kill the dog.” When a sudden mental illness struck his wife, Patrick Dylan found himself living with an eerie stranger. Scared and unprepared, he began a desperate battle to protect her from a mysterious disease, shelter their children from her bizarre behavior, and recover the woman he loved. Within weeks, she had been admitted to the emergency room, the hospital, and the local crisis facility, but none of the experts could provide an answer. As her illness eluded diagnosis, the family’s struggle was only beginning.

Andi Dorfman, star of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, talks candidly about what it's like to be courted by 25 handsome single men in this juicy insider's peek at dating - and breaking up - on national TV. She shares entertaining and heartfelt stories about her fellow Bachelor alums - many of who are still close friends - comes clean about calling out bachelor number 18, Juan Pablo, for bad behavior, and reflects on her personal challenges.

Millions know Emily Maynard Johnson from her unprecedented double appearances on The Bachelor and The Bachelorette. Millions also know that neither of the relationships from those shows lasted much longer than a commercial break. Overcome with embarrassment following her nationally televised failures at romance, Emily finally committed her heart to the only one she knew would never leave her empty and alone. Abandoning her desire to be chosen by men and finding peace in the fact that she was already chosen by God, Emily found the joy she had been looking for in serving God.

When Daniel Gordis, his wife, Elisheva, and their three young children abandoned a safe and comfortable home in Los Angeles to move halfway around the world and find a new life in Israel, the future looked bright. It was 1998, Ehud Barak had just been elected prime minister, and peace appeared to be only a few tough negotiations away. Two years later, hope had turned to terror, as the rattle of machine-gun fire perforated the night and the frightened, exhausted children clung desperately to their stuffed animals in fitful sleep.

Alexandra Collier was a writer living in a light-filled Brooklyn brownstone in New York with the man she loved. But when she woke up to a ravenous hunger to have a baby that her partner didn't share, she had to make a choice between love or a future family. From defying her family's expectations to searching for sperm and navigating pregnancy alone, Ally deftly takes us through the ecstatic, complicated and demanding path to becoming a solo mother by choice.

The Fate We Make: Heartbreak, is the first volume of a remarkable, occasionally tragic. but ultimately redemptive coming-of-age story. From an early age, Simone Warren recognized that she was caught between her family’s expectations and her need to find her own path and voice. Born into a Singaporean Chinese family and a life rooted in tradition, her story is a stunning tale of survival and an inspiring look at how we can learn to move beyond trauma to forge a path toward finding happiness.

Rapper and singer Dessa gives a candid account of her life as a touring musician, her determination to beat long odds to make a name for herself, and her struggle to fall out of love with someone in her band. Raw and intimate, Dessa demonstrates just how far the mind can travel while the body is on the six-hour ride to the next rap show. Dessa finds unconventional approaches to all of her subjects - braiding her lived experience with academic research and a poet's tone and timing. In the vein of thinkers who defy categorization, we get the debut of a deft, likable, and unusual voice.

Her entire life, Anne Friedman chased everything that society told her she should want: Marriage. Professional achievement. Thighs that didn’t touch. But all that got her was depression, anxiety, and disordered eating. When her fiancé dumps her without explanation, she buys a one-way ticket to Costa Rica in search of answers.

As an emergency room doctor working on the rapid evaluation unit, Dr. Thomas Fisher has about three minutes to spend with the patients who come into the South Side of Chicago ward where he works before directing them to the next stage of their care. Bleeding: three minutes. Untreated wound that becomes life-threatening: three minutes. Kidney failure: three minutes. He examines his patients inside and out, touches their bodies, comforts and consoles them, and holds their hands on what is often the worst day of their lives.

Like a River to the Sea is a story of love overcoming loss. In this moving memoir, Jack Grandcolas brings to life his college sweetheart while taking the listener through his long journey to make peace with the loss of Lauren and their unborn child. Jack is honest about the depth of his despair and his battles with depression, PTSI, and heavy drinking. As he digs himself out of the deepest hole imaginable, Jack learns universal truths that will help anyone confronted with tragedy.

Librarians spend their lives weeding - not weeds, but books - books that have reached the end of their shelf life both literally and figuratively. They remove books that patrons no longer check out, and they put back books they treasure. Annie Spence, who has a decade of experience as a Midwestern librarian, does this not only at her Michigan library but also at home, for her neighbors, at cocktail parties - everywhere. In Dear Fahrenheit 451, she addresses those books directly.