How to Survive the Loss of a Love/Cassettes

Rating:
Summary: Succeeds in its goals
Review: "How to Survive the Loss of a Love" is a nice, little, easy-to-read book consisting of 200 pages of tidbits that attempt to quell, numb, or assuage pain. Each page is only half-full of double-spaced text providing a self-contained message, and the facing page contains tidbits of poetry or anonymous biting comments, making the book a quick read and easy to pick up and start at any page.

These pages provide encouragement, sympathy, and warmth. If suffering from major loss or betrayal, advice like "hug yourself ... it feels good" and "be gentle with yourself" may seem patronizing; however, the book will still provide some solace, even if it's the stoic "there is nothing to be done.... Only accept it, and hurt." While those words do not cuddle the aching heart, they do provide sobering realism: life is tough and people can be cruel. For what it tries to be, this book succeeds.

Rating:
Summary: First Aid for a Broken Heart
Review: I've put this book to the test, and it works. Its main virtue is that it gives you a light at the end of the tunnel. You get to realize how similar the steps you're going through are those listed by the authors, and that gives you hope, because you know that eventually the pain will decrease. It is a matter of faith. I found the poems interspersed throughout the book to be beautiful and truthful. During my time of crisis, i held on to this book at all times, and opened it at random, read a few pages, or looked for a passage in particular, and it never failed to make me feel better.

These people knew what they were writing about!

Rating:
Summary: A Comfort To Read
Review: This book is a classic for those who are going through a loss. Facing loss is not easy, it's painful. Most people avoid feeling the pain of their loss by running from it. They either run to the arms of another or they deny it. But for those with the courage to face their pain, let this book be your guide. The book is like a friend that really understands you and what you're going through. It tells you that its okay to be feeling what you're feeling and directs you to the way of healing. Though your eyes may be clouded with tears and you may not even know where all of the pieces of your heart have been scattered to...hang in their... and let this book bring you hope.