Dear Heartbreak

Dear Heartbreak

YA nonfiction
"Oscar Wilde said that 'The heart was meant to be broken.' I
don't know if that's true, but I know that after hearts break they can
be put back together in new and startling ways, and you're forever
different because of it. Our hearts are resilient. They can go a
hundred rounds in the ring, get knocked out, and the next day be right
in there, fists up. But how do you keep from getting the shit beaten
out of you by love? What do you do when you're up against the ropes?"
One of the things that makes coping with heartbreak so
challenging is the tendency to go it alone. If you feel like you're
the only one who has such a troubling, demeaning, or weird experience
you tend to clam up. The subsequent silence reinforces the belief
that you're the only one so stupid, gullible, ugly...basically
worthless. Silence is heartbreak's BFF.
This makes Heather Demetrios' concept for Dear Heartbreak
nothing less than brilliant. She put out a global call for young
adults to submit letters they wrote to Heartbreak. A cadre of well
known YA authors had access to those letters. Each chose a letter
that really spoke to them and answered it. The eloquent and poignant
pairings make up the text of the book. The letters are touching,
candid, authentic, and, although very much unique, about nearly
universal experiences: crushes gone wrong, betrayals, abusive
relationships, dishonesties, and fears of being deficiently different.
I think a lot of young adults (or even older adults) coping with
heartbreak will find assurance in these pages and in the concept that
even really together professional writers went through similar shit in
their younger years.
As Demetrios writes at the end of her introduction, "I hope
these pages give you as much faith in love and in our ability to learn
and grow after we've been hurt as they've given me..."
On a purrrsonal note, another week has flown by. School is going
great. My big challenge has been shaking the virus that hit me like a
semi on my birthday. I was lucky enough to be allowed to work
dishroom so I could fulfill my responsibilities without getting our
diners sick. Yesterday and today I was living on the edge: taking
time from schoolwork to volunteer. Yesterday I put in time at the
library and community garden. Today I did the Paws on Parade walk to
raise money for the Humane Society. I was in my new unicorn costume.
Eugene is at camp this weekend. I'm so out of my mind lonely. What a
difference a purrrfect cat used to make.
A great big shout out goes out to the people and pups who participated
playfully in Paws on Parade and the best little cat in the world who
left a huge pawprint on my broken heart.
jules hathaway


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