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Heartbreak: A Personal and Scientific Journey
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71/99
Critics
56/99
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Scholars
65/99
Rating
77/99
Volume
46/99
Rating
67/99
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About This Book
When her twenty-five-year marriage unexpectedly falls apart, journalist Florence Williams expects the loss to hurt. What she doesn't expect is that she'll end up in the hospital, examining close-up the way our cells listen to loneliness. She travels to the frontiers of the science of "social pain" to learn why heartbreak hurts so much and why so much of the conventional wisdom about it is wrong. Searching for insight as well as personal strategies to game her way back to health, Williams tests her blood for genetic markers of grief, undergoes electrical shocks in a laboratory while looking at pictures of her ex, and ventures to the wilderness in search of awe as an antidote to loneliness. For readers of Wild and Lab Girl, Heartbreak is a remarkable merging of science and self-discovery that will change the way we think about loneliness, health, and what it means to fall in and out of love.
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Reviews
"It's a perfect metaphor for her fascinating, memorable quest to survive and thrive in an often-heartbreaking world."
"Unflagging research and the author's vulnerability make for an impressive and moving survey."
"Unfortunately, with every relationship comes heartache, and there's no one better to dissect the medical, physical and emotional repercussions of a broken heart than science journalist Florence Williams ..."
"A provocative and rewarding reading experience."
"Readers will appreciate Williams's candid portrayal of her personal journey and the book's understanding of heartbreak's impact on the human body."
"This is one of the joys of reading a gifted science journalist: You learn so much stuff without having to study it yourself."
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