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A Heart That Works

A Heart That Works

by Rob Delaney

Spiegel & Grau ·2022 ·196 pages
Best of 2022 Top 25 Overall
Top of the Pile
Top of the Pile
I Index
98/99
Top of the Pile

99/99

Critics' Rating Index

Top of the Pile

97/99

Readers' Rating Index

n/a

Scholars' Citation Index

84/99

Volume of Reviews

94/99

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About This Book

A visceral and deeply personal memoir by the star of the Amazon Prime series Catastrophe , about love, loss, and fatherhood. In 2016, Rob Delaney's one-year-old son, Henry, was diagnosed with a brain tumor. The family had moved from Los Angeles to London with their two young boys when Rob's wife was pregnant with Henry, their third. The move was an adventure and a challenge that would bind them even more tightly together as they navigated the novelty of London, the culture clashes, and the funhouse experience of Rob's fame—thanks to his role as co-creator and co-star of the hit series Catastrophe . Henry's illness was a cataclysm that changed everything about their lives. Amid the hospital routine, surgeries, and brutal treatments, they found a newfound community of nurses, aides, caregivers, and fellow parents contending with the unthinkable. Two years later, Henry died, and his family watched their world fall away to reveal the things that matter most. A Heart That Works is Delaney's intimate, unflinching, and fiercely funny exploration of what happened – from the harrowing illness to the vivid, bodily impact of grief and the blind, furious rage that followed through to the forceful, unstoppable love that remains. In the madness of his grief, Delaney grapples with the fragile miracle of life, the mysteries of death, and the question of purpose for those left behind. Delaney's memoir—profound, painful, full of emotion, and bracingly honest—offers solace to those who have faced devastation and shows us how grace may appear even in the darkest times.


Reviews

"Written in beautiful prose that occasionally veers into justifiable rage, Delaney's words are rich with sorrow while also managing the even more astonishing feat of often being legitimately funny ..."

Zack Ruskin· San Francisco Chronicle Read review ↗ Top of the Pile

"The reality of medical care, especially social and palliative care, is often shrouded in silence ..."

Rory Kinnear· The Guardian Read review ↗ Top of the Pile

"What a world it would be if we did ..."

Mary Laura Philpott· The New York Times Read review ↗ Top of the Pile

"Delaney recounts the ordeal in searingly honest terms, conveying the intricate cobweb of emotions he experienced ..."

Alice Cary· BookPage Read review ↗ Top of the Pile

"Throughout, Delaney includes playful but sincere asides ..."

Kirkus Read review ↗ Top of the Pile

"The result is a book that sings with life: not just Henry's abbreviated one but the lives of the people who loved him, who love him, who will continue to love him ..."

Nora McInerny· The Washington Post Read review ↗ Top of the Pile

"Every parent dreads a child's death but if we haven't experienced it, we can't imagine it: this slim volume brings us far closer than we could possibly have imagined."

Martina Evans· The Irish Times Read review ↗ Top of the Pile

"You wonder, guiltily, if you latched on to the reprieve a bit too eagerly ..."

Peter C. Baker· The New Yorker Read review ↗ Top of the Pile

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